The Churches of Christ in Christian Union (CCCU) is a

Wesleyan Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan– Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charle ...

Holiness Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

and Restorationist Christian denomination. The CCCU has a presence in 15 U.S. states and several nations, with about 200 churches in 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 territori ...

Ohio Christian University Ohio Christian University (OCU) is a private Christian college in Circleville, Ohio. It is denominationally affiliated with the Churches of Christ in Christian Union. History The school was founded in 1948 as Mount of Praise Bible College, whic ...

is its educational wing with denominational world headquarters nearby, just outside

Circleville, Ohio Circleville is a city in and the county seat of Pickaway County, Ohio, United States, set along the Scioto River, 25 miles (40 km) south of Columbus. The population was 13,927 at the 2020 census. The city is best-known today as the host ...

History

The Churches of Christ in Christian Union became a separate denomination in 1909 when five ministers and about 60 lay people were separated from the steadily declining Christian Union headquartered in Ohio. While the Christian Union was originally formed in 1864 to protest the

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In ...

's support of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

, the CCCU was forged by a dispute over doctrine in 1909. Those holding to a

view on sanctification were censured by the leadership of the South Ohio Conference of the Christian Union during a period of time in which many other Holiness movement supporters were at loggerheads within established denominations. Adherents of Holiness movement teachings contended that Christian Union was dedicated to unity on a few basic principles and should have been able to tolerate Holiness beliefs within its ranks as a matter of Christian liberty. Opponents of the Holiness teaching, however, saw it as a divisive movement that contradicted the Christian Union’s central commitment to harmony. In the Christian Union's development from Methodist dissenters to a Restorationist denomination, it picked up many

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 ...

traits (as did the Churches of Christ, the

Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States and Canada. The denomination started with the Restoration Movement during the Second Great Awakening, first existing during the 19th ...

, etc.). The leadership of the Christian Union did not see things through the

Wesleyan-Arminian Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan–Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charles W ...

theological prism but through a more

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

lens and, therefore, a non-Holiness perspective. When the national organization of the Christian Union decided the censured members could only remain as part of the South Ohio Annual Conference, the members of the new group found themselves without a denominational home and thus pursued an independent course. The new organization was established under the leadership of James H. McKibban on September 20, 1909, and set up headquarters at

Washington Court House, Ohio Washington Court House (often abbreviated as Washington C.H.) is a city in Union Township, Fayette County, Ohio. It is the county seat of Fayette County and is located between Cincinnati and Columbus. The population grew almost 1.5% from 2010 to ...

. By 1915, 40 churches belonged to CCCU. The number of churches increased to 60 by 1925. Most of the Churches of Christ in Christian Union's activities, including camp meetings, new church plants, and evangelistic campaigns, focused on Ohio, although revivals were held in Tennessee and New York. In 1952, the like-minded Reformed Methodist Church (which had split from the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1813) merged with the CCCU to form its Northeast District. As common among many Wesleyan-Holiness bodies of the time, the CCCU called for the suffrage of women, the end to secret societies, and abstinence from alcohol and tobacco products. The organization also formed institutions of higher education, including Circleville Bible College (now

), which opened in 1948 in

Doctrine and polity

Like many Restorationist bodies (e.g. the Churches of Christ) CCCU congregations put minimal emphasis on ritual or formalism in worship. Like Wesleyan-Holiness denominations (e.g. the

Evangelical Methodist Church The Evangelical Methodist Church (EMC) is a Christian denomination in the Wesleyan-Holiness tradition headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The denomination reported 399 churches in the United States, Mexico, Burma/Myanmar, Canada, Philippines ...

), it teaches a Wesleyan and Arminian doctrine. Revival campaigns, missionary conventions, and camp meetings are vital to the local, district, and general levels of the denomination.

Organization

The CCCU cooperates with other, like-minded denominations. As an example, it sends an observer to the general conferences of its "sister denomination," the

(formerly Circleville Bible College, founded in 1948) trains pastors, evangelists, missionaries, teachers, youth directors and ministers of music circle for the CCCU as well as other denominations. Denominational-level committees include the General Evangelism Committee, General Stewardship Department, Christian Education Department, Evangelical Christian Youth Department, Evangelical Christian Ladies Department, Gifts Of Praise bookroom, and a periodical, the '' Evangelical Advocate''. The Mount of Praise Camp Meeting in Circleville serves as the general level annual camp meeting for all the congregations.

Notable members

* John C. Maxwell, minister and motivational speaker/author * Alvin C. York aka. "Sergeant York"Sidwell, Mark: "The Churches of Christ in Christian Union: A Fundamentalism File Research Report," Bob Jones University, pg. 3 http://libguides.bju.edu/ld.php?content_id=919108

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Churches Of Christ In Christian Union Christian organizations established in 1909 Christian denominations established in the 20th century Members of the National Association of Evangelicals Holiness denominations Restoration Movement denominations