The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a North American denomination. North America has long been racially and culturally diverse but church life is not always integrated. The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) participates in the racial and cultural diversity of North America, including in its membership European Americans, African Americans, Hispanic Americans and Pacific Island/Asian Americans. Disciples are working to become a pro-reconciling anti-racist church. We also have brothers and sisters in Canada who joined our movement with a slightly different history.
We are Disciples of Christ, a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world.
As part of the one body of Christ, we welcome all to the Lord’s Table as God has welcomed us.
To be a faithful, growing church, that demonstrates true community, deep Christian spirituality and a passion for justice.
– Micah 6:8
To be and to share the Good News of Jesus Christ, witnessing, loving and serving from our doorsteps “to the ends of the earth.”
– Acts 1:8
This confession is the opening paragraph in the Preamble to the Design of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). It is used by many Disciples congregations in worship as an affirmation of the faith of the church throughout the ages – not as a “test of fellowship,” but as a statement of faith that identifies the Disciples’ commitment to and place within the universal and ecumenical church.
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 God’s 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.
The logo of the Disciples of Christ is a red chalice with a white St. Andrew's Cross.