The Evangelical Association of Reformed and Congregational Christian Churches is a fellowship of conservative evangelical

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 Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

congregations in the United States that became disaffected from 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 ...

due to that denomination's national entities professing support for practices such as

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

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 ...

. Unlike other more sectarian churches, the Evangelical Association does not forbid its member congregations to simultaneously belong to other denominations and fellowships, as the local churches continue to practice

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 articul ...

History

The EA began in 1998 from meetings between the clergy of First Protestant Church in

New Braunfels, Texas New Braunfels ( ) is a city in Comal and Guadalupe counties in the U.S. state of Texas known for its German Texan heritage. It is the seat of Comal County. The city covers and had a population of 90,403 as of the 2020 Census. A suburb just north ...

and St. John's Evangelical Protestant Church in

Cullman, Alabama Cullman is the largest city and county seat of Cullman County, Alabama, United States. It is located along Interstate 65, about north of Birmingham and about south of Huntsville. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 14,775, with an ...

, two large UCC congregations of Evangelical and Reformed (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

Protestant) heritage. A core group resulting from interested churches of like mind brought about this initiative to provide a more orthodox alternative fellowship to the UCC in particular matters such as ministerial placement and foreign missions work. Many of the founding churches had been active in the

Biblical Witness Fellowship Biblical Witness Fellowship is an evangelical renewal movement composed of members of the United Church of Christ. Founded in 1978 as the United Church People for Biblical Witness, the movement reorganized as the Biblical Witness Fellowship at a na ...

organization, a renewal group similar to others in connectional denominations such as the

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelical ...

and the

Presbyterian Church (USA) The Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PC(USA), is a mainline Protestant denomination in the United States. It is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the US, and known for its liberal stance on doctrine and its ordaining of women and ...

. The incident that caused many of the EA's current congregations to depart the UCC was that denomination's action at its 2005 General Synod to permit same-sex marriages. Some congregations that had been considering disaffiliation expedited the process in order to disassociate from national entities as quickly as possible. Nearly 300 churches withdrew from the UCC over a four-year period following the General Synod's measure. As of September 2017, the Association listed 105 congregations as affiliates, with

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

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

having the greatest concentration of churches. The congregations in the EA represent all five strands of the UCC, including Reformed, Evangelical, Congregational, Christian and German Congregational Churches.

Faith & Practice

The EA requires its constituent churches to affirm both the

Apostles' Creed The Apostles' Creed (Latin: ''Symbolum Apostolorum'' or ''Symbolum Apostolicum''), sometimes titled the Apostolic Creed or the Symbol of the Apostles, is a Christian creed or "symbol of faith". The creed most likely originated in 5th-century Ga ...

and

Nicene Creed The original Nicene Creed (; grc-gre, Σύμβολον τῆς Νικαίας; la, Symbolum Nicaenum) was first adopted at the First Council of Nicaea in 325. In 381, it was amended at the First Council of Constantinople. The amended form is a ...

and to subscribe to a statement of faith, which explicitly proclaims exclusive salvation in Jesus Christ and denounces extramarital sexual activity or encouragement of the same. Other than those requirements for membership, the EA considers each local congregation as a "complete church" that possess all of the rights and responsibilities of the Universal Church as bestowed upon it by the

Holy Spirit In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as ...

and set forth in God's Word. Each local church has the right to govern its own affairs, including the right to ordain its own clergy. Local churches ordain in a manner similar to other Congregational bodies, through ecclesiastical councils made up of area ecumenical Christian clergy who review candidates who have completed either a Bible college or seminary education."Guidelines for Ordination," Evangelical Association of Reformed & Congregational Christian Churches: Getting Affiliated: How ministers, individuals, and churches gain recognition. The combination of creedal subscription on the one hand and the rights of self-governance on the other makes the EA very similar to

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

denominations, which reflects the Evangelical Synod heritage of some of its congregations. Otherwise, the polity is in effect almost identical to that of the UCC, which almost all the group's congregations once belonged to. EA churches recognize two sacraments:

Baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

and the Lord's Supper or

Holy Communion The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instituted ...

, which local churches are permitted to administer according to their own customs; like the UCC, the EA has no official doctrine pertaining to those ordinances. EA churches administer both infant and adult baptism, by sprinkling (namely among former E&R congregations) or believers' baptism by immersion (former

Christian Connection The Christian Connection was a Christian movement in the United States of America that developed in several places during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, composed of members who withdrew from other Christian denominations. It was influe ...

churches).

References

External links

Official website
{{Presbyterian and Reformed denominations in the United States United Church of Christ Reformed denominations in North America

History

Faith & Practice

See also

References

External links