THE ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF COMMUNITY AND BIBLE CHURCHES

By: Guillermo Santamaria

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

I. The Rise of Community Churches

• Frontier Roots (1700s–1800s): Sparse populations led settlers to share meetinghouses across denominational lines (“Union Churches”), creating a cooperative spirit.

• Ecumenical Phase (1880–1920): Influenced by the Social Gospel (Gladden, Rauschenbusch), ministers promoted moral reform and social unity rather than doctrinal precision.

• Community Church Movement (1910–1940): Liberal leaders like Harry Emerson Fosdick and philanthropists like John D. Rockefeller Jr. envisioned “one church for the whole town.” Riverside Church became the model — modern, inclusive, civic-minded.

• Postwar Suburban Era (1940–1970): “Community” became a friendly, nonsectarian brand used by both liberal and conservative congregations.

• Modern Use: Today, “Community Church” signifies local identity more than theology—independent, welcoming, and media-savvy.

II. The Genealogy of Undenominationalism

The movement unfolded in five main phases:

1. Frontier Cooperation (1770–1850): Practical unity out of necessity.

2. Social Gospel Idealism (1880–1920): Moral cooperation for reform.

3. Community Church Era (1910–1940): Institutional unity and civic religion.

4. Evangelical-Interdenominational (1940–1970): Theological unity across denominations (Billy Graham).

5. Non-Denominational/Megachurch (1970–present): Entrepreneurial Christianity driven by media and lifestyle.

Through all of them ran one American instinct: faith should be voluntary, practical, and socially relevant.

III. The “Theological Engine”

Each generation redefined core doctrines:

• Salvation: From conversion (revivalism) → to social renewal (Social Gospel) → to self-development (Community Church) → back to personal atonement (evangelicalism) → to emotional wholeness (megachurches).

• Scripture: From plain authority → to ethical guide → to narrative tool.

• Kingdom of God: From future heaven → to moral civilization → to community fellowship.

The pendulum swung from creed to experience, heaven to earth, and revelation to relevance.

IV. Architecture, Worship, and the Minister

Each era’s theology appeared in its buildings and clergy:

• Frontier: Tents and brush arbors; shouting preachers.

• Social Gospel: Institutional churches; pastors as reformers.

• Community Church: Neo-Gothic civic centers; pastors as cultured counselors.

• Evangelical: Auditorium churches; preachers as Bible expositors.

• Megachurch: Theater stages and screens; pastors as CEO-communicators.

Together, these show the drift from vertical awe to horizontal welcome, from altar to platform.

V. The Bible Church Movement

• Origin: Emerged 1910–1940 among conservatives fleeing liberal denominations.

• Influences: Dispensationalism (Scofield Bible, Dallas Theological Seminary); premillennial literalism; IFCA fellowship.

• Traits: Expository preaching, local autonomy, rejection of modernism, strong focus on evangelism.

• Contrast:

  • Community Church: Liberal, civic, inclusive.

  • Bible Church: Conservative, separatist, doctrinal.
    Both independent—but one inclusive for unity, the other exclusive for purity.