History The Church of Christ originated from the Congregationalists of New England. The church is a symbol of one of the most valuable outcomes of the ecumenical movement (Hill et al.165; Reid 134). In 1957, four leading Christian movements, in America, amalgamated to form the Church of Christ. These included the Christian church, the Evangelical Synod, the Reformed church and the Congregational church in the United States (Atwood et al. 29). The Christian church and the Congregational church had earlier united in 1931 to form Congregational Christian Churches. The Reformed church in the United States and the Evangelical Synod of America had also integrated in 1934. Twenty-four years later, these mergers with four different denominations, came together to form the Church of Christ. Essentially, the Church of Christ was a coalition of four denominations with allied but distinct identities. Local worshippers continued to hold the faith and theological perspectives they had prior to the union. All the four denominations that united to form the Church of Christ evolved from the Disciples of Christ during the early 20th century. In the peak of the conflict between theological liberals and fundamentalists in American Protestantism, traditionalists within the Disciples blamed their management of weakening the traditional power of the Bible (Kleber 186). When the management failed to address these concerns, the traditionalists decided to form their own denominational bodies (Queen 261). In the early 20th century, the Church of Christ grew swiftly. The Church spread its message across wide regions. Preachers volunteered their time and did not receive any financial remuneration. They all used the Lipscomb’s Gospel Advocate periodical to spread their message, despite coming from different denominations. The church of Christ established several colleges that served as centers of influence. Some of these colleges include “David Lipscomb college in Nashville; Harding College in Searcy; Abilene Christian university in Texas; and Pepperdine University in Los Angeles” (Queen 261). Doctrine After merging into the Church of Christ, representatives from each of the four denominations adopted a decree, seen as a testimony and not a test of faith. The decree asserts a strong belief in God. “…God the creator who in Jesus Christ, the man of Nazareth, our crucified and risen Lord, has come to us and shared our common lot, conquering sin and death and reconciling the world to himself” (Atwood et al. 29). Besides, the decree recognizes the church as a covenant that is full of different people, who have a task of serving fellow men. “…people of all ages, tongues, and races…to the service of men (Atwood et al. 29).” The Church of Christ shares many views with the American evangelism. Both religions oppose most types of social and theological liberalism. Both religions also believe that the Bible is Holy as it resulted from divine inspiration. However, some institutions belonging to the Church of Christ claim that the Bible is inerrant, while others assert that the Bible offers a perfect way to salvation as it has no mistakes. The church of Christ believes in baptism by immersion. This distinguishes the church, as baptism is a prerequisite for church membership (Queen 261). Government Local churches join together to form an association. The associ