The Kansas City Statement of Faith is a 1913

confession of faith 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 e ...

adopted by the

National Council of the Congregational Churches of the United States The National Council of Congregational Churches of the United States was a mainline Protestant, Christian denomination in the United States. Its organization as a denomination was delayed by the Civil War. Congregational leaders met again in B ...

at Kansas City, Missouri. This concise statement of Congregational beliefs restates traditional

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 endorses ecumenism, while also displaying the drift away from

Reformed theology 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 Calv ...

that had occurred in American Congregationalism.

American Congregationalists American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the " United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

had adopted earlier confessional statements. The

Savoy Declaration The Savoy Declaration is a Congregationalist confession of Faith. Its full title is ''A Declaration of the Faith and Order owned and practised in the Congregational Churches in England.'' It was drawn up in October 1658 by English Independents a ...

, a modified version of the

Westminster Confession of Faith The Westminster Confession of Faith is a Reformed confession of faith. Drawn up by the 1646 Westminster Assembly as part of the Westminster Standards to be a confession of the Church of England, it became and remains the "subordinate standard" ...

, had been in use in America since the 18th century and reflected an earlier commitment to

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 ...

theology. The Kansas City Statement of Faith was crafted in 1913 to "affirm traditional congregationalist principles in a form that would meet the needs" of the 20th century. The statement is organized into three sections on "Faith", "Polity", and "Wider Fellowship". The section on faith affirms belief in God the Father,

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

as lord and savior, and the Holy Spirit. The will of God is described as being found in 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 ...

. The mission of the

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

is described as proclaiming

the gospel The gospel or good news is a theological concept in several religions. In the historical Roman imperial cult and today in Christianity, the gospel is a message about salvation by a divine figure, a savior, who has brought peace or other benefit ...

to all, worshiping God, and "laboring for the progress of knowledge, the promotion of justice, the reign of peace, and the realization of human brotherhood." It commits Congregationalists to "work and pray for the transformation of the world into the kingdom of God" and looks forward to the ultimate triumph of

righteousness Righteousness is the quality or state of being morally correct and justifiable. It can be considered synonymous with "rightness" or being "upright". It can be found in Indian religions and Abrahamic traditions, among other religions, as a theologi ...

and

everlasting life Immortality is the concept of eternal life. Some modern species may possess biological immortality. Some scientists, futurists, and philosophers have theorized about the immortality of the human body, with some suggesting that human immorta ...

. According to historian William Youngs, the section on faith "suggests the degree to which dogmatic Calvinism had disappeared from Congregationalism". Youngs notes that the statement lacks any mention of the

means of grace The means of grace in Christian theology are those things (the ''means'') through which God gives grace. Just what this grace entails is interpreted in various ways: generally speaking, some see it as God blessing humankind so as to sustain and e ...

, original sin or

predestination Predestination, in theology, is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God, usually with reference to the eventual fate of the individual soul. Explanations of predestination often seek to address the paradox of free will, whereby G ...

. Though the statement officially recognized the movement away from

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

theology, its section on polity is largely consistent with early Puritan beliefs in the autonomy of the local church. In this section,

is affirmed. The statement also affirms the cooperation of churches together in district, state and national bodies (such as the National Council of Congregational Churches). The section on "Wider Fellowship" endorses ecumenism and the efforts to achieve unity with other Christian denominations. This section reflects future initiatives of the Congregationalists to unite with other Christian denominations, ultimately culminating in the formation of 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 approximatel ...

in 1957.

References

External links

Statement of Faith
{{Reformed confessions United Church of Christ Christian statements of faith Congregationalism in the United States

Contents

References

External links