The believers' Church is a theological doctrine of Evangelical Christianity which teaches that one becomes a member of the Churchbynew birth and profession of faith. Adherence to this doctrine is a common defining feature of an Evangelical Christian church.
This doctrine has its origin in the Radical Reformation within Anabaptism.[1] The 1527 Schleitheim Confession by the Swiss Brethren, a group of Anabaptists of which Michael Sattler was part, is a publication that spread this doctrine.[2][3] In this confession, the believer's baptism after a profession of faith is placed as an essential theological foundation.[4] In 1644, the 1644 Baptist Confession of Faith published by Particular Baptists stated the same.[5] In 1916, the Pentecostal Assemblies of God Statement of Fundamental Truths stated the same too.[6][7][8][9] In 1967, the Believers' Church Conference was established at Southern Baptist Theological SeminaryinLouisville, Kentucky, in the United States, and is held every two or three years at a different Evangelical Bible college.[10][11]
Adherence to the doctrine of the believers' Church is a common feature of defining an Evangelical church in the specific sense.[12][13]
A widely accepted definition of characteristics is that of the American historian Donald Durnbaugh, who summarizes the doctrine of the believers' Church in seven points:[14][15][16][17][18][19][20]
The doctrine of the believers' Church should not be confused with that of the free church, which is a concept designating the separate churches of states.[21][22] Some Christian denominations that can be identified in the free church movement do not adhere to the doctrine of the believers' Church.[23][24][25]
Despite the nuances in the various evangelical movements, there is a similar set of beliefs for movements adhering to the doctrine of the believers' Church, the main ones being Anabaptism, Baptists and Pentecostalism.[26][27][28][29][30][31]
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