Bible Missionary Church
Bible Missionary Church | |
---|---|
Classification | Pilgrim Nazarene Church |
Members | 18,000 roughly worldwide[1] |
The Bible Missionary Church, founded in 1955, is a Christian denomination in the Wesleyan-Holiness tradition aligned with the Conservative Holiness Movement. It is headquartered in the United States.
History
Prior to its existence, a multitude of conservative Nazarene Preachers felt that their denomination, the
In the late 1950s the Bible Missionary Church built their Institution to train laymen and preachers in Rock Island, Illinois.
In 1958 Rev. Glenn Griffith left the Bible Missionary Church and a few others due to the issue of divorce,[citation needed] later forming the Wesleyan Holiness Association of Churches.
In 1987 several churches left the B.M.C. due to some conflict of interest regarding the direction of the church,[citation needed] and it would be considered a dark time for the denomination.
In 2003, several churches left the B.M.C. after the General Conference due to conservative usage of internet[citation needed] and legalism[citation needed]; however, unlike the 1987 split, the churches that left were a lot more organized[2] in the matter and formed the Pilgrim Nazarene Church.[3] Interesting to note the P.N.C. merged with the Bible Methodist Connection of Churches in 2019,[4] but in 2008 a couple of P.N.C. churches left to form the Wesleyan Nazarene Church due to what they felt that modernism was creeping into the denomination
However they tend to be one of the more isolated. They do not recognize other holiness churches. They believe they are the only Conservative Holiness group. They are unofficially considered to be part of the Interchurch Holiness Convention, but do not attend any of the Conventions.
Beliefs
The Bible Missionary Church holds a
The BMC teaches that believers are cleansed from innate and inbred sin and rebellion towards God by a second definite experience referred to as entire sanctification, as taught by the historic Methodist Church and the Church of the Nazarene. In conjunction with entire sanctification, the BMC teaches that true believers will live godly lives, manifesting this by compliance to an outward standard of holiness. Many of these standards are codified in the rules contained in the church manual. They believe that complete obedience to God is a joy and delight.[5]
In 1999, the Bible Missionary Church adopted a resolution against
The Bible Missionary Church holds a strong premillennialism view of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, but its adherents hold a variety of views on the timing of the Rapture of the Church.[8]
The Bible Missionary Church believes in aggressive evangelism[9] and in addition to its worldwide missionary efforts is currently expanding in North America with several new churches in the United States and Canada.
Church government
The Bible Missionary Church government is patterned on the Church of the Nazarene. Its form of government is republican in nature giving equal representation to local churches, lay members, and elders.
The church holds a general conference every four years at which major policy issues for the denomination as a whole are addressed. The most recent general conference took place August 2023 in Springdale Arkansas. The general conference elects general officers, including two general moderators, and a general board. The current General Moderators are Rev. Rodger Moyer and Rev. John Kinnaman. The general conference also governs additions and deletions to the manual (termed "memorials"). General conference business follows Parliamentary Procedure and Robert's Rules of Order.
In addition, the American church is composed of the following self-governing districts:[10]
- Arkansas District (Arkansas),
- California-Arizona-Nevada District,
- Intermountain District (Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, Alaska, West Kansas),
- Iowa-Illinois District,
- Louisiana-South Texas District,
- Great Lakes District (Michigan, Wisconsin, and Ontario)
- Midwest District (Missouri, East Kansas)
- Northeast District (New England, Pennsylvania, and Eastern seaboard),
- Northwest District (Idaho, Montana, East Oregon),
- North Pacific District (Washington, West Oregon),
- Southeast District (Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida),
- Southwest District (Oklahoma, Texas).
- North Central District
(Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky). Disbanded 2023 Although most foreign churches come under the jurisdiction of the foreign missions committee (appointed by the general board), the churches in Mexico, Japan, Papua New Guinea, and the Philippines are self-governing, organized districts of the Bible Missionary Church, while the churches in Canada are included with American districts.
Educational institutions
The Bible Missionary Church's schools include
In addition, the denomination maintains schools in Mexico, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Ghana, Guyana, and Nigeria.
References
- ^ Although the most relevant information is contained in the 2007 General Conference Journal of the Bible Missionary Church, not all churches report; therefore, accurate information is not available.
- ^ Carr, Timothy A., 2019 Chapter 4, Perilous Period, For Such A Time As This, Volume 3 Country Pines, Inc., Shoals, Indiana p. 278
- ^ Carr, Timothy A., 2019 Chapter 4, Perilous Period, For Such A Time As This, Volume 3 Country Pines, Inc., Shoals, Indiana p. 280
- ^ https://www.holinessmovement.org/pilgrim-nazarene-church/
- ^ For an introduction to this doctrine, https://www.classicholinesssermons.com/ is invaluable.
- ^ General Conference Journal, 1999
- ^ King, Lucille: Remember the Sabbath http://wesley.nnu.edu/wesleyctr/books/1901-2000/HDM1972.pdf
- ^ Manual of the Bible Missionary Church
- ^ The Missionary Revivalist, November 2007, page 3
- ^ Bible Missionary Church Manual