Origins

The United Church of Christ came into being in 1957 with the union of two Protestant denominations: the Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Churches.  Each of these was, in turn, the result of a union of two earlier denominations.  The Congregational Churches were organized when the Pilgrims of Plymouth Plantation (1620) and the Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony (1629) acknowledged their essential unity in the Cambridge Platform of 1648.  The Re-formed Church in the United States traced its beginnings to congregations of German settlers in Pennsylvania founded from 1725 on. Later, its ranks were swelled by Reformed folk from Switzerland and other countries.  The Christian Churches sprang up in the late 1700's and early 1800's in reaction to the theological and organizational rigidity of the Methodist, Presbyterian, and Baptist churches of the time.  The Evangelical Synod of North America traced its beginning to an association of German Evangelical pastors in Missouri.  This association, founded in 1840, reflected the 1817 union of Lutheran and Reformed churches in Germany.  Through the years, members of other groups such as Native Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, Volga Germans, Armenians, Hungarians, and Hispanic Americans have joined with the four earlier groups.  Thus the United Church of Christ celebrates and continues a wide variety of traditions in its common life.

Characteristics   The characteristics of the United Church of Christ can be summarized in part by the key words in the names of the four denominations that formed our union: Christian, Re-formed, Congregational, Evangelical.

Christian    By our very name, the United Church of Christ, we declare our self to be a part of the body of Christ- the Christian church.  We continue the witness of the early disciples to the reality and power of the crucified and risen Christ, Jesus of Nazareth.

Reformed    All four denominations arose from the tradition of the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformers: We confess the authority of one God.  We affirm the primacy of the Scriptures, the doctrine of justification by faith, the priesthood of all believers, and the principle of Christian freedom.  We celebrate two sacraments: baptism and the Lord's Supper or Holy Communion.

Congregation   The basic unit of the United Church of Christ is the congregation.  Members of each congregation covenant with one another and with God as revealed in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit. These congregations, in turn, exist in covenantal relationships with one another to form larger structures for more effective work.  Our covenanting emphasizes trustful relationships rather than legal agreements.

Evangelical    The primary task of the church is the proclamation of the gospel, or evangel-the good news of God's love revealed with power in Jesus Christ.  We proclaim this gospel by word and deed to individual persons and to society.  This proclamation is the heart of the leiturgia—in Greek, the "work of the people" in daily and Sunday worship.  We gather each Sunday for the worship of God, and through each week, we engage in the service of humankind.

What we believe

We can tell you more about the United Church of Christ with the help of seven phrases from Scripture and Tradition which express our commitments.

That they may all be one.  (John 17:21) This motto of the United Church of Christ reflects the spirit of unity on which it is based and points toward future efforts to heal the divisions in the body of Christ.  We are a uniting church as well as a united church.

In essentials unity, in non-essentials diversity, in all things charity.  The unity that we seek requires neither an uncritical acceptance of any point of view, nor rigid formulation of doctrine.  It does require mutual understanding and agreement as to which aspects of the Christian faith and life are essential.

The unity of the church is not of its own making.  It is a gift of God.  But expressions of that unity are as diverse as there are individuals. The common thread that runs through all is love.

Testimonies of faith rather than tests of faith.  Because faith can be expressed in many different ways, the United Church of Christ has no formula that is a test of faith.  Down through the centuries, however, Christians have shared their faith with one another through creeds, confessions, catechisms and other statements of faith.  Historic statements such as the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Heidelberg Catechism, the Evangelical Catechism, the Augsburg Confession, the Cambridge Platform, and the Kansas City Statement of Faith are valued in our church as authentic testimonies of faith.

There is yet more light and truth to break forth from God's holy word.  This affirmation by one of the founders of the Congregational tradition assumes the primacy of the Bible as a source for understanding the Good News and as a foundation for all statements of faith.  It recognizes that the Bible, though written in specific historical times and places, still speaks to us in our present condition.  It declares that the study of the scriptures is not limited by past interpretations, but it is pursued with the expectation of new insights and God's help for living today.

This is the challenge of the United Church of Christ. 

United Church of Christ Statement of Faith—original version

We believe in God, the Eternal Spirit, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and our Father, and to his deeds we testify:

He calls the worlds into being, creates man in his own image and sets before him the ways of life and death.

He seeks in holy love to save all people from aimlessness and sin.

He judges men and nations by his righteous will declared through prophets and apostles.

In Jesus Christ, the man of Nazareth, our crucified and risen Lord,he has come to us and shared our common lot, conquering sin and death and reconciling the world to himself.

He bestows upon us his Holy Spirit, creating and renewing the church of Jesus Christ, binding in covenant faithful people of all ages, tongues, and races.

He calls us into his church to accept the cost and joy of discipleship, to be his servants in the service of men, to proclaim the gospel to all the world and resist the powers of evil, to share in Christ's baptism and eat at his table, to join him in his passion and victory.

He promises to all who trust him forgiveness of sins and fullness of grace, courage in the struggle for justice and peace, his presence in trial and rejoicing, and eternal life in his kingdom which has no end.

Blessing and honor, glory and power be unto him.