A Brief History of Kallam Grove Christian Church

That founding group of believers knew they needed a church, but what kind of church would they be? The preacher at the revival, Miss Mamie Moon, was affiliated with the “United General Conference of  Christians”,  more often referred to as simply the “Christian Church”. These churches operated on a congregational model – meaning most all of the decision making of any individual church was up to the congregation. To this day, virtually all of our church business is presented to the congregation and voted on during quarterly business meetings.

Unlike some other protestant denominations, the Christian Churches did not add on to the historic confessions of the church. These were their six principals of belief:

• Christ is the only head of the Church
• The Bible is the sufficient rule of faith and practice
• Christian character is the only measurement for membership
• The right of private judgment, interpretation of scripture, and liberty of conscience are supremely defended
• The name “Christian” is the only name to be given to the churches
• There is a United Conference of Christians whose ministry is on behalf of all mankind

These denominational principles became the founding principles of Kallam Grove Christian Church.

That all explains where Kallam Grove and the Christian Church came from, but what is an Evangelical Covenant Church? While the members of Kallam Grove have always placed a high value on the right to individual conscience and democratic decision making, we also acknowledge the need for accountability to a larger group of people.

In 1994 Kallam Grove joined the denomination called the “Evangelical Covenant Church” (ECC). Like the old “Christian Churches”,  the local church is the highest body of legislature in the ECC. Credentialing and discipline for pastors is conducted by the ministerium, or body of ECC pastors. Any ECC wide policy is voted on by local churches at a yearly business meeting.

So what does all this mean for us now? Well, Kallam Grove is an old church. We have been in the Bethany community for over 130 years. We are a family church; in some cases we have members representing 5 and 6 generations of membership. We consider ourselves evangelical protestants accepting the scriptures as the only perfect rule for faith and conduct. We also submit ourselves to the authority of the Apostle’s and Nicene Creeds. We respect the work of the reformers, but we do not define ourselves by their confessions.

We believe in the independence of each believer, but also in the responsibility we all hold to the rest of the church body. Everyone hears the same scripture and sermon, but ultimately we are all free to our own opinions. We are grateful for the guidance and support of our conference superintendent, but in the end, we decide what paths we follow. At the same time, we understand that church is not the sole responsibility of professional ministers, whether on a denominational or local level. The church and its business belongs to the entire congregation.  We are not however, an Independent Church; we belong to a larger body and are accountable to them.

                                                                                            What We Believe:

All of this history has informed what we believe today. Here are the Statements of Faith and the Principals of Affirmation from our constitution.
                                                                                                    Faith: 

The church acknowledges as its sole Head, Jesus Christ, the son of God and the Savior of humankind. It acknowledges as brother and sisters in Christ all who share in this confession. It looks to the Word of God in the Scriptures and to the presence and redemptive work in the world. It claims as its own, the faith of the historic Church expressed in the ancient creeds and reclaimed in the basic insights of Protestant Reformers. It affirms the responsibility of the Church in each generation to make this faith its own, in accordance with the teaching of our Lord and the practice prevailing among evangelical Christians. It recognizes two Sacraments: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper or Holy Communion regardless of where administered. One expression of this faith is upheld in the principles of affirmation of the founders of Kallam Grove Christian Church.

                                                                                    Principles of Affirmation:

• Christ is the only head of the Church.
• The name Christian is the only appellation by which we will be known to the exclusion of all party or sectarian names.
• The Holy Bible or the Scriptures of Old and New Testaments is our only creed and confession of faith.
• Christian character or vital piety is the true Scriptural test of fellowship and of church membership.
• The right of private judgment and the liberty of conscience is a right and privilege that should be accorded to and exercised by all.

For more on our beliefs and practices you can reference our Constitution and By-Laws, located on the Connecting in Community Page