CHAPTER XVIII.

THE DISCIPLES OF CHRIST.

THIS body, often called also Christians, was one of the results of the great revival movement which began in Tennessee and Kentucky in the early part of the present century. Rev. Barton W. Stone, a Presbyterian minister who was prominent in the revival movement, withdrew from the Presbyterian Church, and in 1804 organized a church with no other creed than the Bible and with no name but that of Christian. One of his objects was to find a basis for the union of all Christian believers. A little later Thomas and Alexander Campbell, father and son, who came from Ireland, where the former had been a Presbyterian minister, organized union societies in Pennsylvania. Changing their views as to baptism, they joined the Redstone Association of Baptists. Shortly after, when Alexander Campbell was charged with not being in harmony with the creed, he followed the Burch Run Church, of which he was pastor, into the Mahoning Baptist Association, which, leavened with his teachings, soon ceased to be known as a Baptist association. In 1827, after some correspondence with Rev. B. W. Stone and his followers of the Christian Connection, there was a union with a large number of congregations in Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee, and the organization variously known as " Disciples of Christ" and "Christians" is the result.

The leading principles of the Disciples of Christ are, to quote from one of their tracts: (1) "To restore the lost unity of believers and so of the Church of Christ by a return in doctrine, ordinance, and life to the religion definitely outlined" in the New Testament; (2) no human creed, but the Bible only as the rule of faith and practice; (3) baptism by immersion of believers only, in which "comes a divine assurance of remission of sins and acceptance with God"; (4) the celebration of the Lord's Supper as a "feast of love" every Sunday. The central doctrine of their teaching is that "Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God." They hold that "personal trust in a personal Redeemer" is the faith that is necessary to salvation.

In polity they are congregational. Their ministers are ordained, but are not, in denominational usage, addressed with the title "Rev." They have as church officers elders, also called bishops, pastors, or presbyters, deacons, and evangelists. The latter are itinerant missionaries. The churches are united in State and district associations for missionary work, and there is also a national convention for home and another organization for foreign missions, and a Woman's Board of Missions for both home and foreign missions.

The Disciples of Christ are represented in all the States but New Hampshire and Nevada, and in all the Territories except Alaska. In number of members Missouri leads the States, with 97,773; Indiana is second, with 78,942; Kentucky third, with 77,647; Illinois fourth, with 60,867; and Ohio fifth, with 54,425. They have an aggregate of 7246 organizations, 5324 church edifices, valued at $12,206,038, and 641,051 members or communicants. The average seating capacity of the churches is 302, and the

average value $2292; 1141 halls, with a seating capacity of 139,325, are occupied.

In many States no little difficulty was encountered in the attempt to gather full statistics for the census. The most competent person in each State was appointed to do the work, but it was not possible to get returns for all congregations known or believed to be in existence. This was particularly true of Tennessee, where estimates only, founded on various sources of information, were possible for several counties. A small percentage of members in a number of the States is not, therefore, embraced in the following tables, which are believed, however, to be the most complete of any ever before published: