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INDEPENDENT CHRISTIAN
CHURCHES HISTORY

Christian Churches / Churches of Christ
Commonly known as the Restoration Movement

Hope International University's rich legacy of ministry and Restoration Movement roots were highlighted in a 3-minute video featuring HIU president Paul Alexander and present and former professors—K. C. Richardson, David Matson, and Joe Grana—quickly summarizes the foundational ideas and objectives of the Restoration Movement.  Please take a quick look...

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PIONEERING SPIRIT

The Restoration Movement was born on the frontier of America in the early 19th century. From its inception, it has had a fearless pioneering spirit. Some of today’s greatest church planting organizations and events have roots in the Independent

Christian Churches. 

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Early leaders of the Restoration Movement (clockwise, from top): Thomas Campbell, Barton W. Stone, Alexander Campbell, and Walter Scott

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LACK OF PRETENSE

Because of the nature of

their beginnings, the Restoration Movements/Christian Churches.”

are traditionally simple and

not overly bound by extraneous traditions. The movement was formed to strip the local church of what was unnecessary and return it to its Acts 2 roots. No church leaders “keep it real” better than Restoration Movements/Christian Churches.”

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Monksthorpe church of Christ meeting house.  In 1701 it was one of the very first churches built specifically by a Restorationist congregation.

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PRAGMATIC FAITH

An effective church has both

a commitment to God’s Word, and awareness of the practical realities of our world. No group of churches does a better job of balancing these than the ICC’s. They are quick to adapt strategies to be more effective without compromising their  commitment to scripture.

Declaration and Address of the Christian

Written in 1809, the Declaration and Address of the Christian Association is one of the founding documents that sketched out the vision for a restoration of the New Testament church.

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EVANGELICAL HEART

The phrase “more and better”

best describes our  efforts to

help churches increase their Kingdom impact.  We want both: more and better disciples!  This commitment to growth definitely comes from our roots in the Independent Christian Church. 

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The Cane Ridge Revival resulted in one of the largest and longest lasting Christian revivals in American history. From here the Restoration Movement gained popularity.

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CHRISTIAN ONLY

Christians only, not the

only Christians. If we are going

to impact the world for Christ, we must do more to link arms

as church leaders in new and exciting ways. This makes us well suited to cross uncrossable boundaries and unify Christ-followers . 

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Before there were Independent Christian Churches, the Restorationists were Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians - all meeting together under the name: "Christian".

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SCRIPTURE FIRST

The Restorationist 

Movement taught us to

begin with scripture. Man-made doctrines and creeds are fine

for edifying the believer, but nothing but the Bible alone

is worth building a church on. Everything you need to

reach and grow people for

Christ is found there.  We just need a great plan to unleash the inherent power of the Gospel.

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The foundational concept of the Restoration Movement is simply that no creeds or doctrine should lead us to divide churches from one another.

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SIMPLE VISION

In this digital age of information overload, its easy to over-complicate our church leadership strategies. Let’s get the big stuff right! Our focus is on preaching and worship, building eternal relationships, and sending people into the world to impact others in the name of Christ. Stripping away complexity is a conviction we embrace as an Independent 

Christian Church.

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Barton Stone & Alexander Campbell, two very different leaders with two very different ideas for a restored church collaborate on a simple premise: the Bible and the Bible alone to build a church on,

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