The Conservative Congregational Christian Conference (CCCC or 4Cs) is an

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

Christian denomination A Christian denomination is a distinct religious body within Christianity that comprises all church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadership, theological doctrine, worsh ...

in the United States. The denomination maintains headquarters in

Lake Elmo, Minnesota Lake Elmo is a city in Washington County, Minnesota, Washington County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 11,335 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. According to 2021 census estimates, the city is estimated to have a popula ...

, a suburb of

St. Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

. It is a member of the

World Evangelical Congregational Fellowship The World Evangelical Congregational Fellowship (WECF) is a global association of evangelical Christian Congregational Churches, from various national associations around the world, which is united by a common belief in the lordship of Jesus Chris ...

and the

National Association of Evangelicals The National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) is an association of evangelical denominations, organizations, schools, churches and individuals, member of the World Evangelical Alliance. The association represents more than 45,000 local churches ...

History

The CCCC has its roots in the Conservative Congregational Christian Fellowship, which was formed in 1945 within the

Congregational Christian Churches The Congregational Christian Churches were a Protestant Christian denomination that operated in the U.S. from 1931 through 1957. On the latter date, most of its churches joined the Evangelical and Reformed Church in a merger to become the United ...

by churches and ministers who disagreed with what they perceived as an unacceptable

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

direction being taken by the majority of the denomination's members and leadership. In 1948, this group established itself as the CCCC. The CCCC was one of two U.S. Congregational Christian bodies to split from the main denomination in the decade leading up to the 1957 merger of the Congregational Christian Church with the

Evangelical and Reformed Church The Evangelical and Reformed Church (E&R) was a Protestant Christian denomination in the United States. It was formed in 1934 by the merger of the Reformed Church in the United States (RCUS) with the Evangelical Synod of North America (ESNA). A ...

, forming the

United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Calvinist, Lutheran, and Anabaptist traditions, and with approximately 4 ...

(UCC). The other dissenting Congregational Christian group was the

National Association of Congregational Christian Churches The National Association of Congregational Christian Churches (NACCC) is an association of about 400 churches providing fellowship for and services to churches from the Congregational tradition. The Association maintains its national office in Oak ...

(NACCC), which split from the main group in 1955 over concerns about maintaining

congregational polity Congregationalist polity, or congregational polity, often known as congregationalism, is a system of ecclesiastical polity in which every local church (congregation) is independent, ecclesiastically sovereign, or " autonomous". Its first articu ...

and opposition to some national CC ethical and political stances, not over theology ''per se.''

Theology/doctrine

The CCCC espouses theologically conservative views. It opposes

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

, and non-marital sexual activity. The CCCC holds fast to orthodox Protestant

Christian faith Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global populat ...

and

inerrancy Biblical inerrancy is the belief that the Bible "is without error or fault in all its teaching"; or, at least, that "Scripture in the original manuscripts does not affirm anything that is contrary to fact". Some equate inerrancy with biblical i ...

is a guiding principle in Biblical interpretation carried out by ministers and teachers. Some ministers have sought to revive an interest in the study and teachings of

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Catholic Church, Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become m ...

ism; however, both Reformed and

Arminian Arminianism is a branch of Protestantism based on the theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius (1560–1609) and his historic supporters known as Remonstrants. Dutch Arminianism was originally articulated in the ''Re ...

emphases may be found in the CCCC, as is usually the case with larger, more broadly-based

groups.

Practices

The CCCC admits churches of any origin that operate according to

and that subscribe to the denomination's ''Statement of Faith,'' which contains most of the tenets of conservative evangelicalism as developed throughout the 20th century. Although refusing to permit critiques concerning the main points of doctrine, the CCCC does allow for local opinion and practices in matters not pertaining to those subjects addressed in the Statement. The motto “In essentials, unity. In non-essentials, liberty, and in all things, love” is repeated freely in CCCC circles. Member churches derive not only from the founding Congregational and Christian traditions, but also Evangelical and Reformed (former UCC member congregations), Baptist, and non-denominational heritages; most churches joining the CCCC subsequent to the denomination's founding have been acquisitions, rather than new starts.

Structure

The local church is the basic unit of the CCCC, but churches and pastors nevertheless agree to voluntarily associate with other churches of like mind. To that end, regional fellowships are established across the United States, much in the same manner as the UCC and NACCC; the role of the regional body is more similar to the NACCC than the UCC, in order to restrain the tendency toward inter-congregational authority. Moderators of each area fellowship are chosen by the local fellowship (composed of representatives from area CCCC churches and nearby CCCC member ministers). Area Representatives are appointed by the Conference Minister (who functions as the Executive Director or National Pastor for the CCCC). Area Representatives serve as local CCCC contacts, to represent the Conference Minister, and to serve as a liaison between the national organization and the area fellowships.

Statistics

As of 2005, the CCCC had 42,838 members in 275 churches. Information attributed to the 2008 ''

Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches First published as the ''Federal Council Year Book'' in 1916, The ''Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches'' is a comprehensive descriptive and statistical listing of major religious bodies and other important religion-related organizations in th ...

'', published by The National Council of Churches. It has experienced steady growth since its founding. As of 2000, there were congregations in 30 states. Membership is concentrated primarily in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

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, ...

, and the

Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

. As of 2010, the CCCC had 42,296 members in 298 member churches.Yearbook for the CCCC

References

Sources

''Yearbook,'' Conservative Congregational Christian Conference
''Handbook of Denominations,'' 12th edition (Abingdon Press)
''Modern Day Pilgrims'' (2000: Foresee Publications, St. Paul, Minn.)
''Foresee'' (official newsletter of the Conference)

External links

CCCC WebsiteSome Statistics on the CCCCArticle about UCC Churches joining the CCCCProfile of the CCCC on the Association of Religion Data Archives website
{{Methodist Episcopal Church Christian organizations established in 1948 Reformed denominations in the United States Congregational denominations established in the 20th century 1948 establishments in the United States Members of the National Association of Evangelicals