{{portal, Christianity
Conservative Grace Brethren Churches, International (CGBCI) is a biblically conservative and fundamentalist group that separated from the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches in 1992.
In 1939 the ''National Fellowship of Brethren Churches'' developed from struggles that occurred within the progressive
Brethren Church
The Brethren Church is an Anabaptist Christian denomination with roots in and one of several groups that trace its origins back to the Schwarzenau Brethren of Germany.
Background
The Brethren church tradition traces its roots back over 300 ...
during the 1920s and 1930s. Later the ''National Fellowship'' became known as the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches (FGBC). In 1992, due to doctrinal disagreements in the FGBC, the ''Conservative Grace Brethren Churches, International'' was formed. A central issue involved in the division within the FGBC was the so-called Membership Issue. The conservative faction objected to the bestowal of membership status upon individuals who could not tangibly demonstrate their support for the church’s doctrinal convictions with regard to Baptism, which is traditionally regarded as a triple immersion within historic Brethren circles, in accordance with Jesus’ directives in Matt. 28:19. Within a larger context, the division within the FGBC paralleled the division between Fundamentalists and Neo-Evangelicals that was taking place within many evangelical groups. Conservatives within the FGBC felt that the broader group was compromising its standards in the name of pragmatic growth strategies. Division was further cemented in the minds of conservatives with what was regarded as the unjust and ill-advised ouster of a much beloved and internationally respected professor, Dr. John C. Whitcomb, from the faculty of what was perceived as an increasingly liberalized Grace Theological Seminary, which was viewed by many conservatives as having fallen under the dominating influences of Neo-Evangelicalism.
The Conservative Grace Brethren maintain a 12-article Statement of Faith similar to the original FGBC statement of faith—-which was subsequently radically restructured and revised by the FGBC (now known as the
Charis Fellowship
Charis Fellowship, known before 2018 as the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches, and before 1976 under the name of National Fellowship of Brethren Churches, is a theologically conservative fellowship of Brethren churches that was founded in 1939 ...
). Minor revisions and additional comments added to the CGBCI’s Statement of Faith in 1994 were designed to "conserve" what the CGBCI asserts are the original Grace Brethren tenants, including a ''young earth'' creation, the cessation of miraculous sign gifts, a seven-year eschatological tribulation period, the doctrine of eternal punishment as a conscious state of unending torment, the absolute and unlimited inerrancy of Scripture, and the exclusive practice of Baptism by trine immersion, as well as the exclusive practice of Communion as a threefold Ordinance (involving Foot-washing, the Love Feast, and the Eucharist).
In 2003 the CGBCI had 46 churches in 15 states of the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, with the main concentration being in
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
and
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
. In 2007, a ministerial dispute over the discipline of a Mansfield, Ohio pastor resulted in the withdrawal of several congregations from the CGBCI, and the participating congregations dropped to 39 churches. In 2020, the CGBCI listed 35 member churches in 10 states within the CGBCI fellowship in the United States.
The CGBCI supports endorsed foreign missions in Africa, Papua New Guinea, Myanmar, and India.
The Conservative Grace Brethren is one of six
Schwarzenau Brethren
The Schwarzenau Brethren, the German Baptist Brethren, Dunkers, Dunkards, Tunkers, or sometimes simply called the German Baptists, are an Anabaptist group that dissented from Roman Catholic, Lutheran and Reformed European state churches during t ...
groups that cooperate ecumenically in the Brethren World Assembly (founded 1992), and with the ''Brethren Encyclopedia'' having one representative on the Board of Directors with the following groups:
Church of the Brethren
The Church of the Brethren is an Anabaptist Christian denomination in the Schwarzenau Brethren (german: link=no, Schwarzenauer Neutäufer "Schwarzenau New Baptists") tradition that was organized in 1708 by Alexander Mack in Schwarzenau, Germa ...
,
Dunkard Brethren Dunkard may refer to:
*
* Dunkard Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania – administrative territorial subdivision in the United States
* Dunkard Creek – stream in Greene County, Pennsylvania and Monongalia County, West Virginia
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Old German Baptist Brethren
The Old German Baptist Brethren (OGBB) is a conservative Plain church which emerged from a division among the German Baptist Brethren in 1881 being part of the Old Order Movement. Like the church it emerged from, it has roots both in Anabaptism ...
, and
The Brethren Church
The Brethren Church is an Anabaptist Christian denomination with roots in and one of several groups that trace its origins back to the Schwarzenau Brethren of Germany.
Background
The Brethren church tradition traces its roots back over 3 ...