The Gospel Halls are a group of independent Christian assemblies throughout the world that fellowship with each other through a set of shared Biblical doctrines and practices. Theologically, they are

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 ...

and dispensational. They are a conservative strand of the

Open Brethren The Open Brethren, sometimes called Christian Brethren, are a group of Evangelical Christian churches that arose in the late 1820s as part of the Assembly Movement within the Plymouth Brethren tradition. They originated in Ireland before spreadi ...

movement and tend to only collaborate with other assemblies when there is doctrinal agreement. Christians who meet in Gospel Halls generally hold that a scriptural Christian assembly should avoid the use of a "sectarian" name (the name "Gospel Hall Assemblies" is a Wikipedia designation, and they are often called “

Plymouth Brethren The Plymouth Brethren or Assemblies of Brethren are a low church and non-conformist Christian movement whose history can be traced back to Dublin, Ireland, in the mid to late 1820s, where they originated from Anglicanism. The group emphasizes ...

”, though members of this tradition are not in communion with other Plymouth Brethren who organized the

Plymouth Brethren Christian Church The Plymouth Brethren Christian Church (PBCC) also known as Raven Brethren or Taylorites is a Christian denomination currently led by Australian businessman Bruce Hales. The group is a subset of the Exclusive Brethren, a Plymouth Brethren group. ...

). They typically describe themselves simply as "Christians" gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus rather than adopting a denominational title, which has been a long-standing practice. Two Roads Chart

History

According to Acts 2:42 of the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

, the first assembly of Christians commenced in Jerusalem around AD32. Gospel Hall assemblies consider this to be their true roots in a spiritual sense. As Christianity spread throughout the Near Eastern world, other churches were planted in new locations (see Revelation chapters 2–3). Two popular books among Gospel Halls — '' The Pilgrim Church'' by E.H. Broadbent and ''Church History'' by Andrew Miller make the claim that throughout the centuries of church history, there has always been a remnant independent evangelical testimony, and that the modern Gospel Hall movement, which began in the 1800s, with hundreds of new independent assemblies appearing almost simultaneously in various places around the world (particularly in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, and continental Europe) was a recovery of numerous New Testament beliefs and practices which had been largely lost in Christendom over the centuries. One book discussing this phenomenon is an anonymous work called ''Assembly Life Experiences'' by "an old disciple", recording the story of a group of Christians who were converted in the 1859 revival in Scotland. Through reading only their Bibles they concluded that

clericalism Clericalism is the application of the formal, church-based, leadership or opinion of ordained clergy in matters of either the Church or broader political and sociocultural import. Clericalism is usually, if not always, used in a pejorative sense ...

and

denominationalism A religious denomination is a subgroup within a religion that operates under a common name and tradition among other activities. The term refers to the various Christian denominations (for example, Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, and the many variet ...

were unscriptural and subsequently met together to break bread and depend on God for gifting and leadership. During the Revival of 1859 which affected much of

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

and

, “exercised” (stirred in spirit) evangelists, such as Alexander Marshall, Donald Ross and Donald Munro, crossed the Atlantic to preach the gospel, leading to numerous assemblies being planted in

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 ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Norman Crawford has documented this story in a chapter of his book ''Assembly Truth'' published by Gospel Tract Publications (Glasgow, 1994). (See also J.J. Rouse for information on an early Canadian Gospel Hall pioneer). Currently, there are hundreds of Gospel Halls worldwide.

Doctrinal beliefs

Gospel Halls claim to follow the pattern of New Testament church doctrine and practice found in the

Acts of the Apostles The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its messag ...

and expounded by the

Apostle 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; ...

in his epistles, notably, 1 Corinthians and 1 Timothy. Assemblies meeting in Gospel Halls do not usually print an official statement of faith, but rather, prefer to reference the Bible alone as their authority. The following basic doctrines would be held very widely among them:

Bibliology

* The verbal, plenary inspiration of the Bible (all 66 books, but not the

Apocrypha Apocrypha are works, usually written, of unknown authorship or of doubtful origin. The word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to writings which were kept secret because they were the vehicles of esoteric knowledge considered ...

) *

Biblical 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 ...

Sola scriptura , meaning by scripture alone, is a Christian theological doctrine held by most Protestant Christian denominations, in particular the Lutheran and Reformed traditions of Protestantism, that posits the Bible as the sole infallible source of au ...

Theology

* There is one God existing as three co-equal and co-eternal divine persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Creation

* The creation of the world and human beings is a supernatural act of God

Christology

* Virgin birth of Christ * Christ is both fully God and fully man (See also --

Hypostatic union ''Hypostatic union'' (from the Greek: ''hypóstasis'', "sediment, foundation, substance, subsistence") is a technical term in Christian theology employed in mainstream Christology to describe the union of Christ's humanity and divinity in one h ...

) * Christ is the eternal Son of the Father * Christ was/is perfectly sinless and impeccable * Christ is the Head of the universal Church

Soteriology

* All humanity is universally condemned as a result of the fall in Eden * Faith in Christ and His substitutionary death and bodily resurrection are the basis of salvation * The new birth is required for sinners to be made right with God * Justification by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone * Baptism is by immersion in water as a public declaration after personal faith. Baptism contributes nothing to salvation.

Pneumatology

* The Holy Spirit indwells believers immediately upon conversion * The ministry of the Holy Spirit in conversion, sanctification, and witnessing

Ecclesiology

* Two aspects of "the Church" – firstly the "body of Christ" composed of all believers from Pentecost to the return of Christ, and secondly local assemblies composed of baptized believers who have been received into fellowship. * No

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

or salaried ministers/priests/pastors * Each assembly is an autonomous locally functioning body of baptized believers * Local assemblies are led by a plurality of pastors/elders and acknowledged * There is no central ecclesiastical authority, formal

creed A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) in a form which is structured by subjects which summarize its core tenets. The ea ...

, or prescribed

liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

. Although a formal liturgy is not adopted or acknowledged, the generally assumed liturgy follows what is known as the "open meeting," consisting of prayer, bible reading, hymns, and partaking of the Lord's Supper (also referred to as "communion" amongst many denominations), which is common in Open Brethren assemblies.

Eschatology

* Dispensational * Pretribulational

rapture The rapture is an Christian eschatology, eschatological position held by some Christians, particularly those of American evangelicalism, consisting of an Eschatology, end-time event when all Christian believers who are alive, along with resurre ...

Premillennial Premillennialism, in Christian eschatology, is the belief that Jesus will physically return to the Earth (the Second Coming) before the Millennium, a literal thousand-year golden age of peace. Premillennialism is based upon a literal interpreta ...

return of Christ to the earth * Eternal kingdom bliss for the believer and eternal damnation for the unbeliever

Assembly practices

* Visitors seeking assembly fellowship are required to either bring a "letter of commendation" or have an interview with the elders before being allowed to participate in certain assembly activities such as the

Lord's Supper 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 ...

. * Numerous hymn books are in wide circulation among Gospel Halls such as ''The Believer's Hymn Book'', ''Hymns of Light and Love'', ''The Gospel Hymn Book'' and others. * North American assemblies generally refrain from using musical accompaniment in worship. In most Gospel Halls the following weekly meetings are convened at varying times, and may be combined: * The breaking of bread or Lord's Supper (once a week, always on Sunday) *

Sunday school A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West. Su ...

* Gospel preaching meeting (distinct from a

revival meeting A revival meeting is a series of Christian religious services held to inspire active members of a church body to gain new converts and to call sinners to repent. Nineteenth-century Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon said, "Many blessings may come ...

in that they are a regular weekly meeting) *

Prayer meeting A prayer meeting is a group of lay people getting together for the purpose of prayer as a group. Prayer meetings are typically conducted outside regular services by one or more members of the clergy or other forms of religious leadership, but the ...

* Bible teaching/study meeting (often referred to as a “Ministry Meeting”) * Bible study (often referred to as the "Bible Reading")

Evangelism and teaching

Gospel Halls around the world are involved in spreading the gospel of Christ through various means including public preaching, literature work, Bible exhibitions, Sunday schools, radio programmes, prison and school visitation, hospital work and gospel tent meetings during the summer months. Distribution of gospel tracts, gospel calendars and other evangelistic material is commonplace as well as

open-air preaching Open-air preaching, street preaching, or public preaching is the act of evangelizing a religious faith in public places. It is an ancient method of proselytizing a religious or social message and has been used by many cultures and religious tradit ...

. With thousands of assemblies and with many hundreds of full-time itinerant evangelists, missionaries and Bible teachers, the enterprise of spreading the message of Jesus Christ and upholding the fundamental truths of the Bible continues as the vision of Christians gathering in Gospel Halls worldwide. During the last half of the 20th century and into the 21st century, while shrinkage was a feature in Europe, expansion was seen in numerous places, notably Canada, South and Central America and Mexico. Conferences are a significant feature of life among Gospel Halls. Many Gospel Halls will host an annual conference to which visitors will be invited to come and hear Bible teaching. Typically in the UK these will be one-day events, whereas in North America they will span a whole weekend. In Scotland, the New Year period is a popular time for conferences. The Easter weekend is also popular for conferences, with notable ones in Belfast, Toronto and Vancouver, as well as some Latin American countries such as Venezuela and Guatemala. Residential Bible study weeks are also carried out among Gospel Halls throughout the world. Recordings of Bible teaching from conferences in Gospel Halls are available on numerous localised Gospel Hall websites and on some central audio collection sites.

Buildings

Holding that the biblical word ἐκκλησία (ekklēsia, Greek for "church") refers to people, not a building, they avoid calling their buildings "churches," preferring to use the title "Gospel Hall" to indicate that the

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

is preached and upheld within. They place little emphasis on their actual church buildings, not considering them to be sacred, and many of the buildings take other names, for example Bethesda Hall, Main Street Hall, Hebron Hall, Gospel Centre, or Believer's Meeting Room. In England and Wales, several buildings named "Gospel Hall" are registered for worship under some Brethren designation, however, the name "Gospel Hall" has also been used by

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

and conservative

Pentecostals Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

Publications

Literature has always been emphasized among Gospel Halls. The Scottish publisher John Ritchie Ltd. publishes material from authors connected with Gospel Halls, as well as publishing ''The Believer's Magazine'', a monthly periodical that has a wide circulation among these assemblies. Other well-known magazines read by Christians in these assemblies are ''Assembly Testimony'', ''Present Truth'' and ''Precious Seed''. In the US and Canada, the magazine most widely circulated among Gospel Halls is ''Truth and Tidings''. Missionary magazines such as ''Look on the Fields'' and ''Horizons'' are also much used.

References

External links

gospelhall.org
Gospel Halls in North America
gospelhall.org.uk
Gospel Halls in the United Kingdom
gospelhallaudio.org
Audio and video sermons from Gospel Halls around the world
graceinchrist.org
A library of systematic Bible Teaching and Gospel preaching from the Bridgend Gospel Hall, New Cumnock, Scotland
ballyclaregospelhall.org
Gospel preaching from Ballyclare Gospel Hall in Northern Ireland Religious organizations established in 1859 Plymouth Brethren Christian denominations in the United Kingdom

History

Doctrinal beliefs

Bibliology

Theology

Creation

Christology

Soteriology

Pneumatology

Ecclesiology

Eschatology

Assembly practices

Evangelism and teaching

Buildings

Publications

References

Further reading

History

Doctrine

External links