When was your church started?

Question

No for those of you who are brave enough to say, at pentecost or by Christ then please do the following:

provide me factual documented proof that people believed what your congregation believe existed and lived lives from that time till now.

Prove it that they existed and that it didnt just start in the past few hundred years.

It would also be nice for people here if some kind Catholic would post the list of popes that are documented as historical fact from Peter till now.

Anyone else have that type of credibility??

Answer 1

33 AD

Answer 2

I'm glad you realize that for a church to be the same church as the original, then they must teach and practice the same things!

The church of Christ started at Pentecost.  It is our goal to return to being that same church in doctrine, method of worship, organization, work, name, and example.

The church of Christ is called a name found in the scriptures (Romans 16:16)

Individual members are simply called Christians (Acts 11:26, 1 Peter 4:16), members (Romans 12:5), saints (Hebrews 13:24), and brethren (1 Cor. 1:10)

Christ is the only head of the church (Eph 1:22-23), therefore, there is no "headquarters" on Earth.

Instead, each congregation goes directly to the scriptures to determine the doctrine that should be taught. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

Each congregation is overseen by a group of men called elders, bishops, or pastors who meet the qualifications in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1.  Notice it is a group of faithful men, and never just one.

Also, a pastor is not the same as a preacher or "evangelist". (Ephesians 4:11)

In addition to elders who oversee the spiritual well-being of the congregation, deacons are appointed to organize and accomplish certain tasks or areas of service.  They meet the qualifications in 1 Timothy 3.

The job of the preacher is simply to preach and teach. (2 Tim 4:1-4)

There is much more I could tell you about the church, but rather I will refer you to the article and the book in the links below.

We strive to speak where the Bible speaks, be silent where the Bible is silent, do Bible things in Bible ways, and call Bible things by Bible names.

------Edit----

Peter was not a "pope" or the ultimate leader of the church on Earth, establishing an office that was to continue through the history of the church.

First, a Pope in the Catholic Church must be an unmarried man.  Peter, however, was married.

Matthew 8:14 speaks of his wife's mother.  Also, Peter was an Elder in the church (1 Peter 5:1).  According to 1 Timothy 3:2 and Titus 1:5-6, an elder must be the husband of one wife.

Secondly, Paul rebuked Peter openly.  Galatians 2:11 says, "Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed."  If Peter was the ultimate authority on Earth, Paul would not have been able to do this.

Third, JESUS said He has "all authority" and the apostles were to teach the things he had commanded (Matt. 28:18-20).  Peter did not have the authority to establish new doctrine, but rather he was to teach the things that Christ had instructed.  If Peter had any authority above this, then Christ no longer had "all authority".

Answer 3

On the day of Pentecost!

And it is the Lord's church, not mine.

Answer 4

You dont have enough room on here to post all of the popes through history.... And Peter was not a pope. He did not start the Catholic church. He preached Christ and Christ only. Not Mary or holy water or a man in a box to forgive your sins....or..well, thats enough of that.....

Answer 5

I think a better question is Who started your Church.

Only one Church was started by Jesus Christ.

Answer 6

Oh dear... I'm afraid the Church of Satan was only started in 1969. I guess mine only started within the past 50 years.  

Answer 7

The church I attend started in the late sixties during the Jesus People movement.

My faith began at the first prophecy regarding the Messiah in Genesis 3:15. His foot was bruised to save me.

Answer 8

I'd guess it was about the time our species started painting on cave walls.

Peace

Answer 9

For Christians, people will hopefully separate the start of their beliefs from the start of their church.  Christianity may have begun with Jesus Christ's ministry.. BUT.. the creation of the church they attend didn't start until much later.

I think many people will confuse these two.

Catholic church -- EVEN IF you dispute the succession of Popes from Peter.. there are still MANY early christian documents which substantiate that the Catholic church was the FIRST organized christian church. Documents from the 1st and 2nd centuries.

Definitely pre-dating any other organized churches.

Here is a list of Catholic Popes starting with St. Peter in 32AD which was approximately when Jesus Died.

NOTE: This site is not a Catholic site.

http://www.stuardtclarkesrome.com/pontif...

Of cources many will say the age of their church has nothing to do with anything religious or spiritual and that the term "church" means the body of those who follow Jesus. And certaintly in a few places the bible might be trying to say this.. but to use the same definition of the term "church" in ALL of scripture runs into some logic and interpretational issues.  I'm not a theolgian or biblical scholar, nor do I read Koine Greek or Hebrew..but I quick point.

If the bible means church to mean a group of followers..then A) why do people use the word church to mean a building/organization? B) Why do people splinter off to form their own organizations if we all believe in Jesus and thus are "followers" ?  C) Why would Jesus appoint Peter his ROCK and base his group of followers on him? If we are ALL Jesus's church..then why do we need a "rock" to base anything on?  Why didn't Jesus say ALL his disciples were "rocks" if his church is just a bunch of followers/believers?

Answer 10

I don't belong to a church. But my belief system comes from a very old one.

http://www.hknet.org.nz/History-and-Sour...

http://www.geocities.com/narenp/history/...

What does it matter anyway?

Answer 11

Christ started and still runs my life.  It's all about the personal relationship.  

People should go to church to learn of God but it's not a competition of how many cars are in the parking lot.  God lives in us and we in Him.  Christ should also run the church...no one else.

God bless.  

Answer 12

The Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church have continuous historical continuity with the original disciples appointed by Jesus himself.

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12272b.h...

The Protestant organizations were started by men who protested against Jesus' organization, beginning less than 500 years ago.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protestant_...

Surely we can agree on the historical facts.  The Catholic Church has had a continuous history for about 2000 years, and the earliest Protestant counter-organization appeared less than 500 years ago. We can debate doctrine and policy, but history cannot be rewritten.

Cheers,

Bruce

Answer 13

the most credible way to say that you are following the same beliefs and teachings as the early church is to compare your teachings with those of the New Testament.

The documentation is that of the New Testament documents compared with the statement of faith of the church in question.

Answer 14

2000 years ago.

13When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"

14They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

15"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"

16Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ,[b] the Son of the living God."

17Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18And I tell you that you are Peter,[c] and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades[d] will not overcome it.[e] 19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be[f] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be[g] loosed in heaven." 20Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.

Those who believe Peter's confession are that church.

Answer 15

The Encyclopedia Britannica has a list of Popes (and antipopes):

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topi...

Answer 16

The only Church that was started in 33 AD was the Catholic Church otherwise give the proof which you have not

Who started your church

1521, Martin Luther started the Lutherans when he broke away from the one true Church that had already existed for 15 centuries. Prior to this time, the false doctrine of "Sola Scriptura", or "Bible only", had not existed, and neither had the false man made doctrine of "Individual Interpretation" of Holy Scripture.

1521, Thomas Munzer started Anabaptists by breaking from Lutheranism in the same year.

1534, King Henry VIII started the Church of England. (Anglican)

1536, John Calvin, teaching predestination, formed the Calvinists.

1560, John Knox, who studied under Luther, started Presbyterians.

1582, Congregationalists started by Rob Brown, as a branch from Puritanism.

1609, John Smyth formed the Baptists. They have severely splintered since then.

1739, John Wesley started the Methodists, in a split from Anglicanism.

1774, Theophilus Lindley started Unitarians.

1789, Samuel Seabury started Episcopalians.

1793-1809, Churches of Christ had four separate founders.

1830, Joseph Smith founded the Mormons in Palmyra New York.

1860, William Miller, a farmer, started the Adventists.

1863, Ellen Gould White started the Seventh-Day Adventists.

1865, William Booth started the Salvation Army.

1875, New Age was started by Helena Blavatsky. *COL 2:8

1879, Mary Baker Eddy started Christian Scientists.

1879, Charles Russell started the Jehovah's Witnesses.

1895, French Abbe, Alfred Loisy and English Jesuit, George Tyrrell started Modernism.

1900-1920, conservative Episcopalians, Lutherans, Presbyterians, and Methodists,

formed a consortium, and started Fundamentalism.

1901, Pentecostalism was started in the United States. It has since split into many independents.

1914, Felix Manalo started Iglesia ni Cristo.

1930, Independent Churches of America (IFCA), was formed by a consortium of churches

1952, L. Ron Hubbard started the Church of Scientology.

1965, Chuck Smith began Calvary Chapel.

1968, Disciples of Christ, started as a splinter of Churches of Christ.

1974, Ken Gullickson started the Vineyard Christian Fellowship.

20th century. Assemblies of GOD, and other splinter Pentecostal groups, are some of hundreds of new sects founded by mere men.

The very founder of the "Reformation", Martin Luther, was the "regrettable" one, as he surveyed the damage that his rebellion against authority had caused. His writings show that he lamented his deed when he penned the following remarks...

"This one will not hear of Baptism, and that one denies the sacrament, another puts a world between this and the last day: some teach that Christ is not God, some say this, some say that: there are as many sects and creeds as there are heads. No yokel is so rude but when he has dreams and fancies, he thinks himself inspired by the Holy Ghost and must be a prophet."

De Wette III, 61. quoted in O'Hare, THE FACTS ABOUT LUTHER, 208.

"Noblemen, townsmen, peasants, all classes understand the Evangelium better than I or St. Paul; they are now wise and think themselves more learned than all the ministers."

Answer 17

Last Thursday.  I can show you papers.

If it was hundred of years old, I'd have thrown it out by now.  It would have broken or become obsolete long ago.  Windows even comes out with a new version every couple of years at least.

Answer 18

I think trusting in God to send the Saviour began right in Eden

  Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel."

Some wrongly write that verse as "she shall bruise" but it was the first promise of Christ.