Directions

From: the Church at Jerusalem

To: East Freetown Congregational-Christian Church

Time – Distance: 1,983 years - 11,107 miles

30 - [Jerusalem, Start] The first Christian community was centered in Jerusalem and its leaders included Peter, James, and John.

385 - [Rome, 1434 miles] Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire. The Holy See was established in Rome.

1517 - [Wittenberg, 690 miles] The Rev. Martin Luther posted his "Ninety-Five Theses", objecting to the doctrines, rituals, and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church.

1533 - [London, 546 miles] The English church broke away from the authority of the Roman Catholic Church after the Pope excommunicated Henry VIII over his divorce from the barren Catherine of Aragon. This created the Anglican Church as a predominantly political entity.

1620 - [Plymouth, 3276 miles] Established by the Pilgrims of Plymouth, and later, the Puritan Emigration to New England, Congregational churches held Puritan (Separatist) theological and political perspectives, maintaining a broadly orthodox faith while cultivating a passion for freedom, equality, and justice.

1800 - [Portsmouth, 124 miles] Convinced that the American Revolution demanded a thorough break with "British" modes of operation; some churches gathered calling themselves only "Christian." They demanded radical reform, claimed no creed, and professed strict reliance on the Bible. These new churches rejected the doctrine of election (Calvinism) and were vehemently opposed to centralized church government.

1850's - Christians and Congregationalists began to share similar experiences of social movements such as the temperance movement, the Sunday School movement and the heyday of Bible societies. As modes of transportation improved, the churches engaged more in Missionary activity. In the course of this, they began to overlook their differences.

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1931 - [Seattle, 2,480 miles] The Christian Churches merged with the Congregational Churches in 1931 to form the Congregational Christian Churches.

1957 - [Detroit, 1,935 miles] Preferring to preserve their traditional autonomy, some churches joined together in a National Association of Congregational Churches (NACCC), rather than join a new merger of other churches with a centralized government.

Arrive [East Freetown, 622 miles] Congregational-Christian Church.

And there we are. We have no doctrine other than the whole Bible itself. We emphasize traditional evangelical themes such as regeneration, revivalism, acceptance of personal salvation, and the performance of good works of charity.