Disciples of Christ Origins: 6 Things That Led to Development of Christian Denomination

The Disciples of Christ, later known as the Christian Church, emerged during the Second Great Awakening in the early 19th century. Reformers tried to unite Evangelical denominations during the Protestant revival movement for Christians in America.

Here are six elements involved in forming the Disciples of Christ:

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1. Presbyterian minister Thomas Campbell and his son, Alexander also a Presbyterian minister, wanted to unite Christians despite their differences during the revival movement. In 1809 they named their church Disciples of Christ, using the principles of the New Testament Church from the first century and hoping to clear up disagreements. Alexander began promoting the idea and the church throughout Pennsylvania, Ohio and Virginia.

2. Barton W. Stone, a dissatisfied minister with the Presbyterian church in Kentucky, found he could no longer adhere to the principles of the current Presbyterian doctrine and desired a return to the word of the Bible to follow the earlier teachings of the church.

3. In 2824,Stone and Alexander Campbell crossed paths in Georgetown, Kentucky. They both discovered they shared interests in restoring the idea of using the Bible's authority in church affairs, but each had different names for their groups. Stone had been using the term "Christians" to describe his group and focus on the scriptural definition instead of separating the church with denominational names.

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4. Because the ideas and practices of the two groups were similar, they decided to merge in 1832 in Lexington, Kentucky, as the Christian Church/Disciples of Christ. Many Christians began joining the group in a short time, but the idea didn't have a major effect on uniting the various denominations.

5. Dissension over the years led to division in 1906. One group, which wanted to practice worshiping strictly according to the New Testament, opposed using instrumental music in church and organized missionary activity. The group became known as the Church of Christ.

6. Another split occurred in the 1920s between liberal and conservative elements. The conservative side became known as an independent Christian Churches/Church of Christ branch. Disciples of Christ became the Christian Church and governed over congregations that followed its principles.

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