Disciples of Christ

Mainline Protestant (religious) denominationThe Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a 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 century as a loose association of churches working towards Christian unity, then slowly forming quasi-denominational structures through missionary societies, regional associations, and an international convention. In 1968, the Disciples of Christ officially adopted a denominational structure at which time a group of churches left to remain nondenominational. The denomination is referred to by several versions of its full name, including "Disciples of Christ", "Disciples", "Christian Church", and "DOC". The Christian Church was a charter participant in the formation of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and of the Federal Council of Churches (now the National Council of Churches), and it continues to be engaged in ecumenical conversations. The Disciples' local churches are congregationally governed. In 2008 there were 679,563 members in 3,714 congregations in the United States and Canada. By 2015, this number had decl