Disciples Ecumenical Consultative Council

Disciples Ecumenical Consultative Council
AbbreviationDECC
TheologyReformed, Restorationist
AssociationsWorld Communion of Reformed Churches
HeadquartersIndianapolis
Origin1979
Members4.5 million
Official websitedisciplesworldcommunion.org

The Disciples Ecumenical Consultative Council (DECC) a.k.a. Disciples of Christ World Communion is a Reformed Restorationist Christian denomination. It is an associate member of the World Communion of Reformed Churches. The headquarters is in Indianapolis.

History

The Council has its origins in a meeting organized by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Nairobi during the World Council of Churches conference in 1975.[1] The Council was officially founded in 1979 in Kingston, Jamaica by 12 denominations.[2] According to a denomination census released in 2020, it claimed 19 member denominations and 4.5 million members.[3]

Member list

In 2024, the DECC had 18 members:[4]

Country denominational subfamily Denomination Number of congregations Number of members Year
Argentina Disciples of Christ Evangelical Church of the Disciples of Christ 7 700 2006[5]
Australia Churches of Christ Churches of Christ in Australia 430 40,000 2006[6]
Canada Disciples of Christ Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Canada 25 2,606 2006[7]
Congo (Democratic Republic of Congo) Disciples of Christ Church of Christ in Congo - Community of Disciples of Christ 193 650,000 2006[8]


Ghana Churches of Christ United Churches of Christ of Christ (Ghana) - - -
India United Churches (Presbyterians, Anglicans, Methodists and Disciples of Christ) Church of North India 4,000 1,500,000 2006[9]
Jamaica United Churches (Presbyterians, Congregationalists and Disciples of Christ) United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands 204 60,000 2006[10]
Malawi Churches of Christ Church of Christ in Malawi 4,000 75,000 1991[11][12]
Mexico Disciples of Christ Association of Evangelical Christian Churches (Disciples of Christ) - - -
New Zealand Churches of Christ Association of Churches of Christ in New Zealand 33 2,000 2006[13]
Paraguay Disciples of Christ Disciples of Christ Church in Paraguay 12 - 2020[14]
Puerto Rico Disciples of Christ Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Puerto Rico 105 19,000 2024[15]
South Africa Congregational United Congregational Church of Southern Africa 450 500,000 2013[16]
United Kingdom United Churches (Presbyterians, Congregationalists and Disciples of Christ) United Reformed Church 1,383 46,481 2018[17]
United Kingdom Churches of Christ Fellowship of the Churches of Christ in England 63 2,621 2020[18]
United States of America Disciples of Christ Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) 3,624 277,864 2022[19]
Vanuatu Churches of Christ Churches of Christ - Vanuatu - - -
Zimbabwe Churches of Christ Association of Churches of Christ in Zimbabwe - - -
Global Total Ecumenical Disciples Advisory Council 14,529 3,176,272 2004-2022

Beliefs

The Council is an associate member of the World Communion of Reformed Churches.[20]

References

  1. ^ Ans Joachim van der Bent, Historical Dictionary of Ecumenical Christianity, Scarecrow Press, Lanham MD, 1994, p. 76
  2. ^ J. Gordon Melton, Martin Baumann, Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices, ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara, 2010, p. 891
  3. ^ Disciples Ecumenical Consultative Council, About the DECC, disciplesworldcommunion.org, USA, retrieved December 5, 2020
  4. ^ "Disciples Ecumenical Advisory Council". Retrieved December 18, 2024.
  5. ^ "Evangelical Church of the Disciples of Christ in Argentina". World Council of Churches. January 1975. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
  6. ^ "Churches of Christ in Australia". World Council of Churches. January 1948. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
  7. ^ "Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Canada". January 1948. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
  8. ^ "Church of Christ in Congo - Community of the Disciples of Christ". January 1965. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
  9. ^ "Church of North India". January 1948. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
  10. ^ "United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands". World Council of Churches. January 1967. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
  11. ^ "A brief history of the Churches of Christ in Africa". November 1991. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
  12. ^ Erik Tryggestad (January 1, 2011). "The face of Malawi: In a small African Nation, Churches of Christ Thrive". Retrieved December 18, 2024.
  13. ^ "Christian Churches New Zealand". World Council of Churches. January 1948. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
  14. ^ "Disciples of Christ Church in Paraguay". Retrieved December 18, 2024.
  15. ^ "Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Puerto Rico". Retrieved December 18, 2024.
  16. ^ "History of the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa". Archived from the original on July 25, 2013. Retrieved July 25, 2013.
  17. ^ "United Reformed Church Statistics". Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  18. ^ "Statistics of the Fellowship of Churches of Christ in England". Retrieved December 18, 2024.
  19. ^ Jeffrey Walton (September 15, 2023). "Review: Disciples of Christ suffer huge drop in membership after 2019". Retrieved April 15, 2024.
  20. ^ World Communion of Reformed Churches, Members, wcrc.ch, Germany, retrieved December 5, 2020