The Conservative Congregational Christian Conference is a Congregationalist denomination in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It is the most conservative and oldest Congregationalist denomination in America following the dissolution of the Congregational Christian Churches. It is a member of the

World Evangelical Congregational Fellowship The World Evangelical Congregational Fellowship (WECF) is a global association of evangelical Christian Congregational Churches, from various national associations around the world, which is united by a common belief in the lordship of Jesus Chris ...

and the

National Association of Evangelicals The National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) is an American association of Evangelical Christian denominations, organizations, schools, churches, and individuals, member of the World Evangelical Alliance. The association represents more than ...

History

Background

The congregationalist tradition traces itself to English and American Puritanism.

Presbyterians Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

and Congregationalists both opposed certain practices and liturgical requirements of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

, including its

episcopal polity An episcopal polity is a hierarchical form of church governance in which the chief local authorities are called bishops. The word "bishop" here is derived via the British Latin and Vulgar Latin term ''*ebiscopus''/''*biscopus'', . It is the ...

. Presbyterians desired a system in which bodies of elders ( presbyteries) would govern the churches, while congregationalists believed that local churches ( congregations), each with its own elders, were to govern themselves individually (though, ideally, in communion and coöperation with similar congregations). As early as the 16th century, the

Brownists The Brownists were a Christian group in 16th-century England. They were a group of English Dissenters or early English Dissenters#Puritans, Separatists from the Church of England. They were named after Robert Browne (Brownist), Robert Browne, wh ...

advocated for independent congregations. New England ministers formalized the congregationalist system with the Cambridge Platform of 1648, and those in England with the Savoy Declaration of 1658. Congregationalists enjoyed the dominant position in early

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

: theirs was the established church of several states, even into the 19th century. Congregationalists founded several prominent universities, including

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

and

Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...

. They were key players in the First and

Second Great Awakening The Second Great Awakening was a Protestant religious revival during the late 18th to early 19th century in the United States. It spread religion through revivals and emotional preaching and sparked a number of reform movements. Revivals were a k ...

and in the modern mission movement, establishing the

American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) was among the first American Christian mission, Christian missionary organizations. It was created in 1810 by recent graduates of Williams College. In the 19th century it was the l ...

. After the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, the American denominational mainline formed the National Council of the Congregational Churches of the United States, which in 1931 merged with the restorationist Christian Connection and became the Congregational Christian Churches (CCC).

Denominational Origins

The CCCC has its roots in the ''Conservative Congregational Christian Fellowship'', formed in 1945 by

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

members of the CCC concerned about the dominance of

liberalism Liberalism is a Political philosophy, political and moral philosophy based on the Individual rights, rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality, the right to private property, and equality before the law. ...

in their denomination. Due to the decentralized nature of

congregational polity Congregational polity, or congregationalist 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 articul ...

, a denominational split was not first seen as necessary. Soon, conservatives became concerned with a proposed merger with the Evangelical and Reformed (E&R) church, fearing it would compromise their polity. Additionally, the terms of the proposed merger first required a 75% affirmative vote from all churches, but only received 53%. In 1948, the ''Fellowship'' established itself as the CCCC. Cadman Memorial Church

Concerned parties sued the General Council of the CCC in New York, Judge Steinbrink halting the merger in 1950. The

New York Court of Appeals The New York Court of Appeals is the supreme court, highest court in the Judiciary of New York (state), Unified Court System of the New York (state), State of New York. It consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeal ...

would reverse this judgment in 1953, allowing the CCC and E&R to ultimately form the

United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a socially liberal mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Restorationist, Continental Reformed, and Lutheran t ...

in 1957. The CCCC was not the only Congregationalist denomination to oppose merger. Other churches left the CCC to become independent, or joined the

National Association of Congregational Christian Churches The National Association of Congregational Christian Churches (NACCC) is an association of 304 churches providing fellowship for and services to churches from the Congregational tradition. The Association maintains its national office in Oak Cree ...

(NACCC) which formed in 1955 over the same polity concerns, without concerns over liberal theology.

Genealogy

Theology

The CCCC is theologically

and

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

. It opposes

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

, and non-marital sexual activity while promoting

evangelism Evangelism, or witnessing, is the act of sharing the Christian gospel, the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. It is typically done with the intention of converting others to Christianity. Evangelism can take several forms, such as persona ...

, missions and orthodox theology. Congregationalism is historically Reformed (Calvinist), and some ministers have an interest in the study and teachings of

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

ism, especially those in the ''Reformed Congregational Fellowship.'' However, both Reformed and

Arminian Arminianism is a movement of Protestantism initiated in the early 17th century, based on the Christian theology, theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed Church, Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius and his historic supporters known as Remo ...

emphases may be found in the CCCC, as is usually the case with larger, more broadly-based

groups.

The CCCC ''Statement'' ''of Faith'' is short, just seven points, and contains most of the tenets of 20th century evangelicalism. These cover: # The inspiration,

infallibility Infallibility refers to unerring judgment, being absolutely correct in all matters and having an immunity from being wrong in even the smallest matter. It can be applied within a specific domain, or it can be used as a more general adjective. Th ...

and inerrancy of the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

. # The doctrine of the

trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...

. # The

deity A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...

, virgin birth, sinlessness, miracles,

atonement Atonement, atoning, or making amends is the concept of a person taking action to correct previous wrongdoing on their part, either through direct action to undo the consequences of that act, equivalent action to do good for others, or some othe ...

resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions involving the same person or deity returning to another body. The disappearance of a body is anothe ...

, ascension and

return Return may refer to: In business, economics, and finance * Return on investment (ROI), the financial gain after an expense. * Rate of return, the financial term for the profit or loss derived from an investment * Tax return, a blank document or t ...

Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...

. # The regeneration of sinful man. # The indwelling and ministry of the

Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit, otherwise known as the Holy Ghost, is a concept within the Abrahamic religions. In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is understood as the divine quality or force of God manifesting in the world, particularly in acts of prophecy, creati ...

. # The

resurrection of the dead General resurrection or universal resurrection is the belief in a resurrection of the dead, or resurrection from the dead ( Koine: , ''anastasis onnekron''; literally: "standing up again of the dead") by which most or all people who have died ...

. # The unity of believers. The ''Statement'' is almost identical to that of the

. Harold Ockenga, a founder of the NAE, was a prominent pastor in the early years of the CCCC. The conference does not govern the doctrine of its constituent churches, but it does occasionally produce position papers stating the denomination's view on various issues. These include statements on biblical marriage, the ministerial standing of women, racial reconciliation, the

charismatic movement The charismatic movement in Christianity is a movement within established or mainstream denominations to adopt beliefs and practices of Charismatic Christianity, with an emphasis on baptism with the Holy Spirit, and the use of spiritual gift ...

and

euthanasia Euthanasia (from : + ) is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different Legality of euthanasia, euthanasia laws. The British House of Lords Select committee (United Kingdom), se ...

Practices

The CCCC admits churches of any origin that operate according to

, subscribe to the ''Statement of Faith,'' and support the activity of the conference. Although committed to common points of faith, the CCCC does allow room for disagreement in matters not pertaining to those subjects addressed in the ''Statement''.

We are a Conference that “majors in the majors”, i.e. clings to the non-negotiables of the historic, orthodox faith, while allowing freedom of form and expression of the great faith passed on to us. Our members have different evangelical theological traditions and perspectives. We allow for diversity of beliefs in secondary issues. Our churches are large and small, with worship that is traditional, contemporary, or blended.

Member churches derive not only from the founding Congregational and Christian Connection traditions, but also Evangelical and Reformed, independent Community churches, and

Baptists Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

. Most joining the CCCC have been existing churches rather than new church plants.

Structure

Conference membership is voluntary and afforded to churches, ministers, Consecrated Laborers, and individual

laymen In religious organizations, the laity () — individually a layperson, layman or laywoman — consists of all members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-ordained members of religious orders, e.g. a nun or a lay brother. ...

. The CCCC is divided into regions (Northeast, Mideast, Mid Atlantic, Southeast, North Central and West), with regional pastors, area pastors, and local fellowships. Moderators of each area fellowship are chosen by the local fellowship (composed of representatives from area CCCC churches and nearby CCCC member ministers). Area Representatives are appointed by the Conference Minister (who functions as the Executive Director or National Pastor for the CCCC). Area Representatives serve as local CCCC contacts, to represent the Conference Minister, and to serve as a liaison between the national organization and the area fellowships. The Conference is governed by an elected

board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

of twelve to thirty people for established terms. The board is responsible for Conference business, the appointment of a Chaplaincy Endorsing Agent, and the denominational publication arm (th
FORESEE
. Like other

decentralized Decentralization or decentralisation is the process by which the activities of an organization, particularly those related to planning and decision-making, are distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative location or group and gi ...

denominations (cf. the Friends' Yearly Meeting or

Southern Baptist Convention The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), alternatively the Great Commission Baptists (GCB), is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist organization, the largest Protestant, and the second-largest Chr ...

), much of the denominational activity happens at an annual event, called the "Annual Gathering."

Growth

Over a quarter million members of Congregational Christian Churches opposed or abstained from the vote to form the UCC. Despite the scale of concern, the conference started very small, having only sixteen churches in 1959. It has experienced steady growth since its founding, with 34 churches in 1961, 132 in 1980, 256 in 2001, and 301 by 2023. Membership is concentrated in the

Northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—eac ...

and

Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

. As of 2010, the CCCC had 42,296 members.Yearbook for the CCCC Church multiplication is a "ministry priority" of the CCCC, and the denomination operates a church planting arm called Nineveh Network.

References

Sources

''Yearbook,'' Conservative Congregational Christian Conference
''Handbook of Denominations,'' 12th edition (Abingdon Press)
''Modern Day Pilgrims'' (2000: Foresee Publications, St. Paul, Minn.)
''Foresee'' (official newsletter of the Conference)

External links

Statement of FaithArticle about UCC Churches joining the CCCCProfile of the CCCC on the Association of Religion Data Archives
{{National Association of Evangelicals Christian organizations established in 1948 Reformed denominations in the United States Congregational denominations established in the 20th century 1948 establishments in the United States Members of the National Association of Evangelicals Christian denominations founded in the United States