The church of Christ dates back to the days of the New Testament (Romans 16:16). It was founded by Christ on the Day of Pentecost, A.D. 33 (Acts 2), just after His ascension back to heaven. In the years that followed, it rapidly grew to fill Jerusalem, then Judea, Samaria, and finally the whole Roman Empire (Acts 1:8; Colossians 1:23). It was first established in America in the late 1700s, up in the New England states.
The church of Christ is noted for its emphasis upon returning to New Testament Christianity and for its desire to unite all Christians into one body (1 Corinthians 1:10). We believe that the New Testament is the only rule for faith and practice in religious matters (2 Timothy 3:17; I Peter 4:11) and that it must authorize all that is done in Christian worship (Colossians 3:17; Revelation 22:18–19). Thus we try to strictly follow the New Testament. For this reason, only a cappella music is used in worship assemblies and the Lord’s supper is observed every Sunday. We believe the Bible teaches that sinners are saved by faith, repentance, confession, and baptism (John 3:16; Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; Romans 10:9–10) and that a Christian must remain faithful to the Lord after conversion (Revelation 2:10). The church of Christ is organized with elders, deacons, preachers, and members as in New Testament times (Philippians 1:1).
We believe that Jesus is the Son of God (John 20:30– 31), that the Bible is inspired of God (2 Timothy 3:16– 17), and that Jesus will return to take His kingdom (church) home to God (1 Corinthians 15:24). We emphasize sincere worship (John 4:24), every- member evangelism (Acts 8:4), godly living (Titus 2:11–12), love for each other (John 13:33–34), and helping those in need (James 1:27). We believe that it is possible to have religious unity in a day of division by simply following the New Testament pattern and putting aside human traditions.