The World Convention of Churches of Christ 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� ...

world communion that links

Restoration Movement The Restoration Movement (also known as the American Restoration Movement or the Stone–Campbell Movement, and pejoratively as Campbellism) is a Christian movement that began on the United States frontier during the Second Great Awakening (17 ...

churches known by a range of names including Christian Churches,

Churches of Christ The Churches of Christ is a loose association of autonomous Christian congregations based on the '' sola scriptura'' doctrine. Their practices are based on Bible texts and draw on the early Christian church as described in the New Testament. ...

and

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 ...

. The first Global Gathering of the World Convention was held in Washington, D.C. in 1930 at the initiative of evangelist Jesse Bader. The convention continues to organize regular international gatherings. The 19th Global Gathering was held in Damoh, India, January 12–15, 2018 and the next was scheduled for Manzini, Swaziland but postponed because of "internal tensions". Between these events, the World Convention seeks to build effective relationships among its member churches and promote Christian unity across the world. The world convention is governed by an international board of about 20 members, currently presided by Paul Chimhungwe of Swaziland. Its offices are located in Nashville, Tennessee.

Gary Holloway Gary Holloway is the executive director of the World Convention of Churches of Christ. Life Gary Holloway ministered witHolland Street Church of Christin San Marcos, Texas. He then taught at Austin Graduate School of Theology in Austin, Texas, ...

serves as Executive Director (General Secretary). The Executive Director travels the world preaching, teaching, and encouraging Christians on behalf of World Convention. They also represent the Stone-Campbell Movement family at a number of international ecumenical/world communion meetings. The World Convention website has a number of features, including National Profiles of the 199 countries where Stone-Campbell Movement Churches have a presence.

History

The churches who participate in the convention all grew out of the 19th Century

with origins in both the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

(with leaders such as William Jones and James Wallis) and the

United States of America 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 territo ...

(with leaders such as

Barton Stone Barton Warren Stone (December 24, 1772 – November 9, 1844) was an American evangelist during the early 19th-century Second Great Awakening in the United States. First ordained a Presbyterian minister, he and four other ministers of the Washingt ...

and Alexander Campbell). Congregations participating in the Convention come from more than 195 countries and represent a range of beliefs and practices. National profiles are made available for many. Dr. Jesse Bader initiated the first global gathering after attending a similar meeting of the Baptist World Alliance in 1925. He canvassed support from leaders in several countries including Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The World Convention of Churches of Christ was formed and in October 1930, up to 10,000 people attended the first gathering in Washington DC, U.S. The program included an afternoon tea at the White House hosted by President

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gre ...

and the First Lady. Bader became the first president of the convention (1930–35) and was also appointed as the first general secretary, a post he held (part-time until his retirement) until his death. The endowed Bader Lecture in Contemporary Evangelism was instigated in 1970 is his honor. The previous Global Gatherings with sitting presidents and Bader lecturers are:

Distinctive characteristics

In keeping with much of the movement's focus on unity it highlights both the features it has in common with the wider Christian Church and unique gifts it has to offer the whole church. Its mission statement says: "In Christ, all are reconciled to God and to each other, and in the Spirit, God calls us to proclaim this good news throughout the world. World Convention (Christian-Churches of Christ-Disciples of Christ) embodies and encourages fellowship, understanding, and common purpose within this global family of churches and relates them to the whole Church for the sake of unity in Christ Jesus." Former General Secretaries of the World Convention of Churches of Christ Lyndsay and Lorriane Jacobs list these major distinctive characteristics: # A concern for Christian Unity # A commitment to

Evangelism In Christianity, evangelism (or witnessing) is the act of preaching the gospel with the intention of sharing the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are ...

and

Christian Mission A Christian mission is an organized effort for the propagation of the Christian faith. Missions involve sending individuals and groups across boundaries, most commonly geographical boundaries, to carry on evangelism or other activities, such as ...

# An emphasis on the centrality of the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chris ...

# A simple

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 ea ...

Believer's Baptism Believer's baptism or adult baptism (occasionally called credobaptism, from the Latin word meaning "I believe") is the practice of baptizing those who are able to make a conscious profession of faith, as contrasted to the practice of baptizing ...

# Weekly Communion # A

Biblical 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 ...

Name #

Congregational Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

autonomy #

Lay Lay may refer to: Places *Lay Range, a subrange of mountains in British Columbia, Canada *Lay, Loire, a French commune * Lay (river), France *Lay, Iran, a village * Lay, Kansas, United States, an unincorporated community People * Lay (surname) ...

Leadership # Diversity/Freedom/Liberty The World Convention of Churches of Christ supports – but is administratively separate from – Global Women Connecting, a similar organization for women in churches of Stone-Campbell heritage.{{cite web , url=http://globalwomenconnecting.org/ , publisher=Global Women Connecting , access-date=May 25, 2018 , title=Global Women Connecting

References

External links

Official website

Global Women Connecting
Churches of Christ