Can someone tell me a little about the CHURCH OF CHRIST?

Question

I am curious about this religion, I don;t know much about it as I was raised methodist. I really want to get involved in a church again, and there is the church of christ church by my house that my kids have been going to their kids night out for several years, and the people of this church are so wonderful. I would like to start attending there services, but would like to be a little educated on this religion. What are their beliefs? Do you have to convert? If so what does that involve?
Thanks so much!!

Answer 1

The “church of Christ” is neither Catholic, nor Protestant. The church of Christ is not a denomination.

A denomination is larger than a local congregation but smaller than the universal church. The church of Christ has no man-made organizeation between the local church (which is not a denomination) and the church as a whole (which is not a denomination). Each congregation of the church of Christ is autonomous.

The church of Christ identifies itself by name as a church that is trying to follow the “doctrine of Christ” (2 John 9). The “church of Christ” identifies itself by name as a church that belongs to Christ. The name points to the owner and builder. The name points to the one who purchased the church. (Matthew 16:18, Acts 20: 28)

In contrast to this the name of many denominations point to the name of a man, a particular practice, or the way they are organized. A member of a denomination identifies himself by name as one who submits to the authority of that denomination and tries to follow the doctrine (teaching) of that denomination. Why not just follow the doctrine and authority of Christ?

The church of the Bible is compared to a bride, with Christ being the groom. A bride honors the groom when she agrees to wear his name. But many churches today wear man made names.

Suppose, for example, Mr. Smith asks his girlfriend to marry him. She agrees, but says, “Our friend Mr. Jones is a good man, so when we get married, instead of being called Mrs. Smith, I want to be called Mrs. Jones.” Would Mr. Smith have a reason to question her loyalty to him? Would he feel honored? Why would a bride wear another man’s name? Why would a church want to wear a man-made name? The “church of Christ” wears a name found in scripture (Romans 16: 16).


The church of Christ wishes to restore the church to the teaching that was established and authorized by Christ and his apostles. We wish to have Biblical authority for everything we practice and teach. (Col. 3:17)

The Bible teaches that Jesus is the head of the church and the church is his body. (Eph. 1:22-23) The church of Christ recognizes this, and therefore there is no “headquarters” on earth. Each congregation is independent and goes directly to the Bible to learn what should be taught and how we should worship. We believe the Bible is sufficient and we need no other authority or creed books. (2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Peter 1:3) Christ has “all authority” and we wish to follow this authority by following the things He taught. (Matt 28:18-20) We don’t want to add any man-made doctrine. (If we follow the authority or teaching of men, then Christ does not have “all authority” in our spiritual lives.) If we teach as doctrine the commandments of men, this makes our worship vain! (Matthew 15:9)

Please do not confuse the church of Christ with the “United Church of Christ”, the “International Church of Christ”, the “Church of Christ Scientists”, or the “Church of Jesus Christ of Later-Day Saints (Mormons)”. These groups are not the same and they teach drastically different things!

If you wish to know more about those who simply want to be New Testament Christians (nothing more, nothing less, nothing else), I invite you to investigate the church of Christ by comparison to the Scriptures! I have included a few web sites below that you might wish to visit, or you can e-mail me with any additional questions.

Thank you for your good question and interest in the church.

You may find it helpful to go to this question someone asked about the worship of different churches.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AjV2nAW6HC4vOX7MdXYjAVsjzKIX?qid=20061108074108AAqVF7t

I answered by quoting an article by Calvin Barber, a preacher from the church of Christ. That article was titled, "What to Expect When You Visit the Church of Christ".

Also, the first link below will take you to a six-lesson video study that shows what the Bible says about the church.

Thank you again for your interest in the church!

Answer 2

This is a tough situation and I do sympathize with you. The thing is, if you told her that you were granted a conversion you might very well have to answer many questions as to why you believe what you do. You might have to go through the whole thing and explain much. I am afraid that if she asks you would be under an obligation to tell the truth, charitably of course. To much that has been given, more will be required. You have been given a certain degree of knowledge of Christ and His Church and not to share that if put in the situation would be wrong. If what you tell her is authentic and she rejects it so be it. At least you will have planted the seed in her mind. Sometimes these things take time. God does things on his own time and conversions are granted in his "time" also. Patience. Remember the Cross and the Eucharist have been stumbling blocks from the beginning. They are one and the same, as you know.

Answer 3

Attending a church of Christ worship service may be somewhat of a culture shock if you do not have prior knowledge. I applaud your question and hope I can give a few details that will help. Having come from a denominational background, converting, going to a church sponsored college, and eventually falling away probably makes me more qualified than most to answer your question.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me at [e-mail].

First, let me say that the churches of Christ are not a "cult" as I have seen some posts label it. Their beliefs are no more different than a Methodist's is from a Baptist's. You will, however, find more zeal and evangelical fervor than in most denominations.

The church of Christ is best classified as anti-denominational as opposed to non-denominational. Their goal is to return the church to the New Testament model where the only church was the one established by Jesus. Any division (denomination) from the original model is considered a split from what Jesus intended. For this reason, they do not consider themselves a denomination. This has led to the reputation of thinking they are the only ones going to heaven.

There are no church "doctrines" other than the Bible. The worship service and "feel" of most congregations tend to be more like Baptist churches. The primary difference is the absence of musical instruments, although some more liberal congregations have added these in recent years. Again, the reason is that there is no mention of musical instruments in the New Testament worship.

Churches of Christ are also autonomous. The New Testament example shows that each congregation was self-sustaining with its own leadership (elders). In most denominations, you find that the preacher/minister/pastor/reverend is one of the top leaders. While this may be the case in some churches of Christ, most are led solely by "elders" who are members of the congregation that have met the qualifications set forth in the New Testament. The preacher is usually hired solely for the role of preaching and ministering to the congregation and may have very little to do with the actual business of the congregation.

The church of Christ is very evangelical and will push for your "conversion." This is really much less formal than it sounds. Either you like it and agree with it and stay, or you don't like it, disagree with it and leave. You may get by visiting for a short while, but eventually, you will be pressed to join in on Bible studies and to be baptized by immersion. The Bible studies will be your best opportunity to ask questions and learn more about the church firsthand. Remember, even if you decide you don't like it, you will at least have built relationships with some very good people.

Again, I will be happy to answer any specific questions and provide more detail by email. For the sake of space and time, I wish you the best of luck.

Answer 4

Im a member of Church of Christ. We are a non-denom church that believes in having no creed but Christ. We believe in order for a person to get saved they..
A. repent
B. Accept Jesus as Lord.
C. Get baptized (emmersed) for the forgiveness of sins and the HS. (acts 2:38)
D. Live faithfully

If you were baptized at another church, then you are already considered a believer and when youre ready just pledge membership should you really want to be a part of the church.

Btw, depending on where youre from, some that say "Church of Christ" are non-instrumental and they can get pretty radical with it. But if you have any other Q's just let me know or talk to one of their elders. They love to visit with people and talk things over like that.

Answer 5

Christ said that HE would build HIS church (singular) Matt. 16:18...

He did NOT say that He would build a bunch of different denominations with conflicting doctrines and traditions that are contrary to the very oracles of God.

Where the word churches (plural) is used in scripture it is NEVER used to designate different denominations, but rather, CHRIST's church in different locations/communities. Example: Corinth, Ephesus, Jerusalem, etc.

The church of Christ is not a denomination. The denominations came about when folk split from Christ's church to keep their own thought process rather than the word of God.

Departures cause division. These divisions divide into more divisions. We were born into a world of hundreds of divisions. God is not the author of this confusion.

All church of CHRISTcongregations were autonomous, self ruled according by scriptures, having elders as overseers, their constitution the scriptures, their evidences of persuasion the scriptures, their practices the scriptures.

When church of CHRIST is on the sign outside the building it is NOT a name of a denomination....it shows WHO are meeting in the building and WHOM they follow.

Their worship services are simple, spirit filled, and according to the scriptures. They believe that the scriptures are God inspired and the final authority...not man's thought process.

Denominationalism is contrary to the teachings of the Bible.

"Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the SAME thing, and that there be NO divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the SAME mind and in the SAME judgment" (I Corinthians 1:10).

CHRIST is the head of THE body (Col. 1:18)...

THE body is THE church...Eph. 1:23..

CHRIST is the SAVIOR of THE body (Eph. 5:23)..

There is only ONE body (Eph. 4:4)..

CHRIST loved THE church and gave HIMSELF (shed his blood) for IT (singular)...Eph. 5:25

Christ purchased the church with HIS blood (Acts 20:28).

He must have thought that His church was to be a VERY important part of a Christian's life because HE adds the saved to THE church according to Acts 2:47.

One does not "join" Christ's church....it is He who adds the saved to His church.

Here are some sites that might help you in your desire.

church-of-christ.org
www.tftw.org
www.churchzip.com
www.searchtv.org
whatsaves.com
www.apologeticspress.org
www.christiancourier.com
www.biblecharts.org
cartersvillechurchofchrist.org

These are a few sites to help you in your quest. I wish you well....I was added to the Lord's church in 1974 when I left the denominational religious thought processes. I wish the same for you. :o)

Answer 6

The only things I have heard about the church of christ is that they believe that they are the only one's going to heaven. And that they do not allow musical instruments in their church, which I know is true cause I have visited one before myself.

Answer 7

One must hear, believe, repent, confess your faith, and be immersed in water (baptized) for the remission of sins.
Then one must be faithful in study of the Bible, worship the Lord with other Christians and grow as a Christian.