The believers' Church is a

theological Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of an ...

doctrine within

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

which teaches that one becomes a member of the Church by new birth and profession of faith. Adherence to this doctrine is generally defining feature of an Evangelical Christian church.

History

This doctrine has its origin in the

Radical Reformation The Radical Reformation represented a response to perceived corruption both in the Catholic Church and in the expanding Magisterial Protestant movement led by Martin Luther and many others. Starting in Germany and Switzerland in the 16th cen ...

within

Anabaptism Anabaptism (from Neo-Latin , from the Greek language, Greek : 're-' and 'baptism'; , earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re-baptizers"), considering it biased. ...

. The 1527 Schleitheim Confession by the Swiss Brethren, a group of Anabaptists of which

Michael Sattler Michael Sattler (1490 – 20 May 1527) was a monk who left the Roman Catholic Church during the Protestant Reformation to become one of the early leaders of the Anabaptist movement. He was particularly influential for his role in developing t ...

was part, is a publication that spread this doctrine. In this confession, the

believer's baptism Believer's baptism (also called credobaptism, from the Latin word meaning "I believe") is the practice of baptizing those who are able to make a conscious profession of faith, as contrasted to the practice of Infant baptism, baptizing infants. C ...

after a profession of faith is placed as an essential theological foundation. In 1644, the 1644 Baptist Confession of Faith published by Particular Baptists stated the same. In 1916, the

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...

Assemblies of God Statement of Fundamental Truths stated the same too. In 1967, the Believers' Church Conference was established at

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) is a Baptist theological institute in Louisville, Kentucky. The seminary was founded in 1859 in Greenville, South Carolina, where it was at first housed on the campus of Furman University. The s ...

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

, in the United States, and is held every two or three years at a different

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

Bible college. Adherence to the doctrine of the believers' Church is a common feature of defining an

church in the specific sense.

Doctrine

A widely accepted definition of characteristics is that of the American historian Donald Durnbaugh, who summarizes the doctrine of the believers' Church in seven points: # Voluntary membership in the church. One becomes a member of the Church by new birth and profession of faith. The

baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

, reserved for adolescent or adult believers (

), is a symbol of this commitment. # The Church is a fraternal community of mutual aid and edification. #

Charity Charity may refer to: Common meanings * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sha ...

and service in the church are an expression of a healthy Christian life. # The

Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit, otherwise known as the Holy Ghost, is a concept within the Abrahamic religions. In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is understood as the divine quality or force of God manifesting in the world, particularly in acts of prophecy, creati ...

and the Bible are the only bases of authority in the Church. Some non-biblical religious traditions must be rejected. Members who do not respect the confession of faith of the Church and do not want to repent must be excommunicated from the community. # Willingness to return to the fundamentals of the

Early Church Early Christianity, otherwise called the Early Church or Paleo-Christianity, describes the historical era of the Christian religion up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Christianity spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and bey ...

. # A simple structure of the Church. # Faith in the Church as the body of Christ. The doctrine of the believers' Church should not be confused with that of the free church, which is a concept designating the separate churches of states. Some

Christian denominations A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

that can be identified in the free church movement do not adhere to the doctrine of the believers' Church.

Main adherent movements

Despite the nuances in the various evangelical movements, there is a similar set of beliefs for movements adhering to the doctrine of the believers' Church, the main ones being

Baptists Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

and

Pentecostalism Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...

.Robert H. Krapohl, Charles H. Lippy, ''The Evangelicals: A Historical, Thematic, and Biographical Guide'', Greenwood Publishing Group, USA, 1999, p. 11

References

External links

Believers' Church conference
{{Evangelical Protestantism in the United States Evangelical theology

History

Doctrine

Main adherent movements

See also

Further reading

References

External links