How We Got Started: United States of America
The Birth of the Movement in the United States of America
The Charis Alliance officially began in America in 1723. This followed the initial formation of the Brethren movement in 1708 at Schwarzenau, Germany, where a small group of anabaptist pietists joined together to form a church faithful to the teachings of the Bible and only the Bible. Together they were baptized by triune immersion. While some freedoms were initially enjoyed, persecution soon drove these early Brethren to seek solace and freedom overseas in the newly established region known as Pennsylvania.
In 1719 many of these Brethren made the arduous journey across the ocean, initially settling in Germantown on the outskirts of the city of Philadelphia. For the first few years, there was no formal organization of the church in America. On Christmas day 1723, a group of Brethren gathered in Germantown and Peter Becker was selected to be their elder. Becker baptized six new members in the Wissahickon creek, where a thin layer of ice was broken to enable the baptisms to take place. The group then met at a home nearby for the first recorded love feast in America. The rest of the Brethren followed ten years later, effectively transplanting the entire religious community from Germany to North America.
The Growth of the Movement in the United States of America
Originally known as Brethren, Dunkers, or German Baptists, over the next 300 years their growth and establishment of new churches followed the migration patterns of early German pioneers, extending first into the regions of Virginia, Ohio, and Indiana, and ultimately becoming established in 25 states, from Hawaii and Alaska to Florida, and from California to Massachusetts. Differences in theology and Scripture interpretation resulted in several divisions of the movement, most notably in 1882 and 1939. Although those times were challenging and difficult, God ultimately used each of those moments to drive our Fellowship back to its commitment to pursue biblical truth, biblical relationship, and biblical mission.
The movement became known as the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches in the mid-twentieth century. In 2016 the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches rebranded as Charis Fellowship. This name carries on two core elements of our movement: Charis, the Greek word for grace, emphasizes our need for God’s saving grace; and Fellowship reflects our desire to interdependently support one another as we pursue our shared mission of starting new churches, developing leaders, and doing good for the sake of the Gospel.
Today there are 230 churches and at least 11 established Points of Light in the United States of America.
A Call to Prayer and Support
At various times in our history, God has led our Fellowship into seasons of intentional church planting initiatives. Pray that He would again stir the hearts of a new generation to proactively plant many new healthy churches in communities who need to hear the Gospel.
Healthy churches need healthy leaders who are committed to God, committed to His Word, and willing to serve sacrificially for His glory. There continues to be a vital need to raise up, train, and develop more leaders, and we are praying for God to guide and provide to meet this need.
As our country continues to deal with the challenges of diverse public opinion and ideological division, pray that our brothers and sisters will tangibly demonstrate God’s love and work together interdependently to share the unifying message of the gospel with all who are in desperate need of it.
