Old Testament Survey Powerpoint' title='Old Testament Survey Powerpoint' />Churches of Christ Wikipedia. Churches of Christ are autonomous. Old Testament Survey Powerpoint' title='Old Testament Survey Powerpoint' />Christiancongregations associated with one another through distinct beliefs and practices. Represented chiefly in the United States and one of several branches to develop out of the American Restoration Movement, they claim Biblical precedent for their doctrine and practice and trace their heritage back to the early Christian church as described in the New Testament. More broadly, the Restoration Movement was an evangelistic and Bible based effort launched in various places as several people sought a return to the original teachings and practices of the New Testament. Christian leaders including Robert Sandeman, Abner Jones, Elias Smith, James OKelly, Rice Haggard, Thomas Campbell, Alexander Campbell, Walter Scott, and Barton W. Stone were trailblazers of similar movements that impacted the eventual phenomenon known as the American Restoration Movement. The Restoration ideal was also similar and somewhat connected to earlier restoration efforts in Europe such as those of John Glas, Robert Haldane, and James Haldane, as well as Puritan movements in colonial America. Though differing somewhat in details, each group consisted of like minded Christians who, although often independent of one another, had declared independence from their various denominations and the traditional creeds, seeking a fresh start to return to the doctrines and practices of the New Testament church. They did not see themselves as establishing a new church but rather sought the unification of all Christians in a single body patterned after the original church of the New Testament. The names Church of Christ, Christian Church, and Disciples of Christ were adopted by the movement because they believed these terms to be Biblical, rather than denominational. Old Testament Survey Powerpoint' title='Old Testament Survey Powerpoint' />Jeremiah a book of warning lamentations a book of mourning. According to the Bible, God killed or authorized the killings of up to 25 million people. This is the God of which Jesus was an integral part. Old+Testament+Survey%3A+Book+of+Jeremiah.jpg' alt='Old Testament Survey Powerpoint' title='Old Testament Survey Powerpoint' />Prior to the U. S. Religious Census of 1. Restoration Movement had been reported together by the Census Bureau. But as the movement developed, tensions grew between those who emphasized unity and those who emphasized restoration, highlighting differences in the groups underlying approaches to Biblical interpretation. For the Churches of Christ, practices not present in accounts of New Testament worship were not permissible in the church. In contrast, the Christian Church may consider any practice not expressly forbidden. For example, the Christian Church uses musical instruments in worship known as the Christian Church, whereas the Churches of Christ believe a cappella singing to be proper. In addition, there was also disagreement over the appropriateness of organizational structures above the congregational level, such as those of missionary societies and funding orphanages. Though not officially recognized as distinct movements until 1. Churches of Christ and the Christian Churches had been taking place gradually for decades. The Restoration Movement was not a purely North American phenomenon, and active mission efforts began in the 1. There are now Churches of Christ in Africa, Asia, Australia, South America, Central America, and Europe. OvervieweditMembers of the church of Christ do not conceive of themselves as a new church started near the beginning of the 1. Rather, the whole movement is designed to reproduce in contemporary times the church originally established on Pentecost, A. D. 3. 3. The strength of the appeal lies in the restoration of Christs original church. Modern Churches of Christ have their historical roots in the Restoration Movement, which was a converging of Christians across denominational lines in search of a return to an original, pre denominational Christianity. Participants in this movement sought to base their doctrine and practice on the Bible alone, rather than recognizing the traditional councils and denominational hierarchies that had come to define Christianity since the first century A. D. 67 8. 2,1. Members of the Churches of Christ believe that Jesus founded only one church, that the current divisions among Christians do not express Gods will, and that the only basis for restoring Christian unity is the Bible. They simply identify themselves as Christians, without using any other forms of religious or denominational identification. They believe that they are recreating the New Testament church as established by Christ. Churches of Christ generally share the following theological beliefs and practices 6Autonomous, congregational church organization without denominational oversight 1. Refusal to hold to any formal creeds or informal doctrinal statements or statements of faith, stating instead a reliance on the Bible alone for doctrine and practice 1. Local governance1. Baptism by immersion of consenting believers1. Weekly observance of the Lords Supper1. Sunday1. 3 1. 071. In British congregations, the term breaking of bread is commonly used. In American congregations, the terms Communion or body and blood are used. The term Eucharist is not used. Though doctrinally Churches of Christ hold to the closed communion viewpoint, in practice congregations rarely prohibit visitors from taking communion, on the view that per 1 Corinthians 1. All but a very small segment of churches use unfermentedgrape juice instead of wine1. Practice of a cappella singing, and the rejection of instrumental music, in worship. Ephesians 5 1. 9In keeping with their history, the Churches of Christ claim the New Testament as their sole rule of faith and practice in deciding matters of doctrine and ecclesiastical structure. Col. They view the Old Testament as divinely inspired1. New Covenant in Christ unless they are repeated in the New Testament Hebrews 8 7 1. They believe that the New Testament demonstrates how a person may become a Christian and thus a part of the universal Church of Christ and how a church should be collectively organized and carry out its scriptural purposes. DemographicseditThese churches comprise about 2,0. There are approximately 1. United States. 2. Overall U. S. membership was approximately 1. Estimates of the proportion of the US adult population associated with the Churches of Christ vary from 0. Roughly 1,2. 40 congregations, with 1. African American. Spanish speaking. The average congregation size is approximately 1. In 2. 00. 0, the Churches of Christ were the 1. U. S. based on the number of members, but the 4th largest in number of congregations. Within the U. S., membership in the Churches of Christ has grown by approximately 2 over the period from 1. Nixon Es The Manual Ii. Membership grew in 3. The current retention rate of young adults graduating from high school appears to be approximately 6. The percentage of members attending services appears to be high relative to that of other Christian groups. Membership is concentrated, with 7. U. S. membership in 1. Churches of Christ had a presence in 2,4. United Methodist Church, Catholic Church, Southern Baptist Convention and Assemblies of God  but the average number of adherents per county was low at 6. The divorce rate was 6. Church of Christ is the most common name used by this group. In keeping with their non denominational focus, recently some congregations have identified themselves primarily as community churches and secondarily as Churches of Christ. A much earlier tradition is to identify a congregation as the church at a particular location, with no other description or qualifiers.