The Fellowship of Fundamental Bible Churches (FFBC) is a fellowship of independent, autonomous, fundament churches established in 1939.[1] It is considered only a fellowship of like-minded churches, rather than a denomination. Local congregations in the fellowship have no financial obligations to the fellowship, and the fellowship exercises no control over them. It is only expected that the churches believe and teach Wesleyan theology, consistent with the Fundamentals of the Faith.[2]
| Fellowship of Fundamental Bible Churches | |
|---|---|
| Classification | Methodism |
| Theology | Wesleyan |
| Associations | American Council of Christian Churches |
| Origin | 1939 |
| Separated from | Methodist Protestant Church |
| Official website | ffbcupdate.weebly.com |
The church originated in a split from the Methodist Protestant Church, which was in merger talks with the Methodist Episcopal Church and the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Shortly before almost all of the Methodist Protestant Church joined the two Methodist Episcopal bodies to form The Methodist Church, the Eastern Conference of the Methodist Protestant Church reorganized as the Bible Protestant Church. It took its current name in 1985.[2]
Doctrinally, the FFBC professes to hold these distinctives: "Biblically literal in our interpretation; dispensational (not covenantal) in our theology; premillennial and pretribulational in our eschatology; evangelistic and missions-oriented in our outreach; Biblically separated in personal life and ecclesiastical associations, and baptistic with regard to the mode and subjects of baptism." They also oppose the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements, holding that spiritual gifts such as speaking in tongues were sign gifts that ceased to operate after the close of the New Testament canon.
Currently (2018), the FFBC comprises 18 churches spread out over New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Michigan, and California. The fellowship operates the Tri-State Bible Camp & Conference Center in Montague, New Jersey. Most churches in the fellowship are either "Bible Churches" or "Baptist Churches". The Fellowship of Fundamental Bible Churches is a member of the American Council of Christian Churches.
The Fellowship of Fundamental Bible Churches is not to be confused with the International Fellowship of Bible Churches, another conservative Methodist association of churches with a similar name.
References
edit- ^ Melton, J. Gordon (7 December 2018). Religious Bodies in the U.S.: A Dictionary. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-52353-4.
The Fellowship of Fundamental Bible Churches was formed by former members of the Methodist Protestant Church in New Jersey who opposed their church's merger into the Methodist Church in 1939. For many years they retained the name Methodist Protestant Church, but adopted their present name in 1985.
- ^ a b Lewis, James R. (2001). The Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religions. Prometheus Books. p. 329. ISBN 978-1-61592-738-8.