The International Council of Community Churches (ICCC) is a

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 ...

religious association of ecumenically co-operating

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 ...

s and

Independent Catholic Independent Catholicism is an independent sacramental movement of clergy and laity who self-identify as Catholic (most often as Old Catholic or as Independent Catholic) and form "micro-churches claiming apostolic succession and valid sacrament ...

s. Based in Frankfort,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, in the

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, it is the main organization of the

Community Church movement The Community Church movement aims to bring together and support local community churches. Community churches have existed in the United States since the early nineteenth century. Small communities did not always have the population or finances t ...

. The ICCC is a member of Churches Uniting in Christ, the

National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, usually identified as the National Council of Churches (NCC), is the largest ecumenical body in the United States. NCC is an ecumenical partnership of 38 Christian faith groups in the Un ...

and the

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most juri ...

. In 2010, the ICCC had 148 congregations with 68,300 members. Membership is concentrated primarily in the Midwest. However, there are several congregations in California, New York, and Florida. According to the World Council of Churches, the council has 108,806 members worldwide.

History

In 1950, the biennial council of the Peoples Church of Christ and Community Centers led by Joseph M. Evans (until then all Afro-American) and the National Council of Community Churches led by the Rev. Roy A. Burkhardt (until then all Caucasian) joined in a historic merger. At the time, their joining represented the largest interracial merger of religious bodies in America. The new creation was the International Council of Community Churches. Member churches united to be a fellowship of ecumenically minded, freedom-loving congregations cooperating in fulfilling the mission of the church in the world. As a post-denominational movement, the council has witnessed and worked for Christian unity, justice and reconciliation in human society.

Government

The council operates with an “inverted” pyramid of authority. The local congregations own the council and determine its emphases and operation. They do so by sending delegates to an annual conference. Each local church is entitled to two voting delegates, of which both may be laity or one each lay and clergy (but not two clergy.) Decisions about council policy are made by the local church delegates voting at the annual conference. Delegates elect a volunteer board. The board hires and supervises staff and oversees everyday operations. The Rev. Phil Tom is the current council minister.

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Members of the National Council of Churches Members of the World Council of Churches

History

Government

See also

References

External links