Who Are the Disciples?

The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a community of about 800,000 Christians in 3,800 congregations in the United States and Canada. Two groups of frontier Christians came together in 1832 to form the foundation of today's Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). They shared the view that people should not be excluded from fellowship in the church because they didn't adhere to a particular human-made creed. They used to say there is "no creed but Christ." Today's Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) still thinks that way. We study the Bible to deepen our connection to God through Jesus Christ, and to discover what God wants us to do.

We believe that God is calling the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) of the 21st century to be a faithful, growing church that demonstrates true community, deep Christian spirituality and a passion for justice. Our mission is to be and to share the good news of Jesus Christ, witnessing, serving and loving from our doorsteps to the ends of the earth. We are devoted to strengthening our congregations for this mission.

Some Disciples have liberal views. Others have conservative views. But we share the belief that we are united in our faith that "Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, the Savior of the World."

Two really important things to Disciples are communion and baptism. We celebrate communion, or the Lord's Supper, each time we get together to praise God. The communion table is open to all believers. We like it when there are a lot of different people at communion. We believe that Christ heals the pain of human separation around the communion table.

People who become Christians in a Disciples congregation do a couple of things. First, they say "I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God." Then, usually on another day, they are baptized - that is, they are lowered fully under water (we call that baptism by "full immersion") in a small pool right in the church. When they come up they are new people in Christ and their congregation pledges to support them and help them grow into a deeper relationship with God through Jesus Christ. People who have been baptized in another way in another Christian tradition are welcome. They don't have to be immersed to get in.

Disciples' congregations own their own property and have full control of their budgets and program. They decide whom to call as a pastor. Pastors may be men or women.

The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) does a lot to help people in need in North America and around the world. It also is very active in developing relationships and ministries that try to bring together Christians from a variety of traditions.

The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a community of believers who, through baptism into Jesus Christ are bound by covenant to God and to one another. Disciples draw their inspiration from Scripture and the Holy Spirit, celebrating around the Lord's Table the life, death and resurrection, and continuing presence of Christ. We proclaim the good news of our salvation. We claim as our particular witness the quest for Christian unity as a sign of God's intention for the unity of the whole community.

While stressing freedom and diversity under God, we believe unity and mission are inseparable; we witness and serve among the whole human family in the interest of peace, justice, mercy and kindness.

—General Minister and President Emeritus KennethTeegarden

While Disciples honor no human-made creed, the preamble to a document called The Design for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) poetically and prayerfully expresses our shared affirmations in this way:

As members of the Christian Church,

We confess that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of the living God,
and proclaim him Lord and Savior of the world.

In Christ's name and by his grace
we accept our mission of witness
and service to all people.

We rejoice in God,
maker of heaven and earth,
and in the covenant of love
which binds us to God and to one another.

Through baptism into Christ
we enter into newness of life
and are made one with the whole people of God.

In the communion of the Holy Spirit
we are joined together in discipleship
and in obedience to Christ.

At the table of the Lord
we celebrate with thanksgiving
the saving acts and presence of Christ.

Within the universal church,
we receive the gift of ministry
and the light of scripture.

In the bonds of Christian faith
we yield ourselves to God
that we may serve the One
whose kingdom has no end.

Blessing, glory and honor
be to God forever. Amen.

—Preamble to the Design for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

While some congregations invite those uniting with the church to confess Christ as their "personal savior"—language not in the Bible—the Affirmation of Faith found in the Disciples Chalice Hymnal declares "We confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and proclaim him Lord and Savior of the world." Disciples have always understood that salvation, though a personal relation between the believer and God, is not private or individualistic. To "be saved" is to be "added to the church" (Acts 2:47). Participation in the life of the church means worship, witness, evangelism, and service in the world as God's people.

—Brite Divinity School faculty members