1

Jessi Barnes

Dr. Spencer

Foundations of Worship Arts - MUS 245

09 October 2023

Denominational Heritage Paper

As for my church experience, I have grown up in the church my whole life. I was

dedicated as a baby and have been through all the Sunday school classes, middle school

programs, and high school youth groups. I have been serving in children’s ministries since I was

in first grade when I helped out my mom with the Kindergarten class. Ever since then, my mom

and I have taught all levels of Elementary Sunday School, served in the Nursery, and helped out

with our Special Needs Ministry consistently. She really encouraged me to get involved and

serve in the church as the church has served me and been a home to me as I have grown up.

From there, as a high-schooler I became a front-door greeter and got more involved in various

high school programs. My senior year of high school, I ended up attending a youth group at

another church because I couldn’t seem to connect with my home church’s youth group.

Nonetheless, my family has stuck to going to this same church ever since I was born, and we

continue to attend there today. My whole family continues to serve–all of them in the children's

ministry, and my dad as a deacon.

My home church is called College Church and it is located in Wheaton, Illinois. The

congregation is led by Senior pastor, Josh Moody. College Church in Wheaton is

Non-Denominational and this local congregation has been formed since 1861. The focus of
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College Church has always been to proclaim the Gospel. This began with the founding and first

senior pastor, Jonathan Blanchard, who doubled as the first president of Wheaton College, where

College Church originally began to meet. Blanchard devoted the majority of his life to serving

and helping slaves as an abolitionist.1 He is notably one key leader who helped to establish

College Church as non-denominational. Non-denominational churches “are not formally aligned

with, or part of, any specific Christian denomination” (ChristianMinistry.org)2. This

denomination spread with the American Restoration Movement or the Stone-Campbell

Movement in the 1800s. This movement aimed for "the unification of all Christians in a single

body patterned after the church of the New Testament” (Wikipedia). Early Christianity was

sought to be attained by two groups in particular. Alexander Campbell led one of the groups and

his followers called themselves “Disciples of Christ”, while Barton Stone led the other and his

followers referred to themselves as “Christians.” Seeing their similarity in not believing in

conforming to a singular denomination, but believing in “no creed but Christ,” they joined

together. During this time, The Second Great Awakening (1790-1840) occurred alongside this

movement all across the United States.3 This was a time of revivals with the aim of converting

others to Protestant Christianity. “The Christianity of the revivals came to be known as

‘evangelical.’ The word evangelical has its root the ancient Greek word for ‘good news.’

Evangelical Christians emphasized personal commitment to faith over the authority of priests.

They also emphasized doing good works and perfecting humankind” (The Second Great

1
“Homepage - College Church: Church in Wheaton Il.” College Church | Church in Wheaton IL, 2 Oct.
2023, college-church.org/.
2
Turley, Written by Rebecca. “What Is a Non-Denominational Church?” Christian Bible Colleges and
Universities Online, 21 Aug. 2023, christianministryedu.org/faq/what-is-a-non-denominational-church/.
3
“Nondenominational Christianity.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 19 Sept. 2023,
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nondenominational_Christianity.
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Awakening). As these revivals spread, abolitionism did as well. The abolitionists' meetings were

impacted by the revivals with their “emotional atmosphere” causing many people in favor of

slavery to openly repent and join the abolitionists to try to stop slavery in the name of the Lord.4

Additionally, many people were drawn to this movement as they sought to avoid the principles

that mainline denominations held so tightly, and join the non-denominational belief. Later on in

1861 when College Church in Wheaton was formed, this is when Abraham Lincoln began to

serve as the sixteenth president of the United States. He was against slavery, which led many into

uproar over the slavery controversy at that time. The Confederate United States was born as a

result standing for proslavery made up of eleven states–South Carolina, Alabama, Florida,

Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas–who seceded from the United States as well as

Arkansas, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia who threatened to leave too. They created

their own government and constitution, led by president Jefferson Davis. Lincoln attempted to

keep the states united, but many states went back and forth. However, some slave states

remained part of the Union (the North) and chose not to join the Confederacy (the South). In his

first year of presidency, the First Battle of Bull Run occurred as General McDowell led

under-trained troops to attack the Confederate South in Virginia, but ended up retreating. This

resulted in Lincoln replacing General McDowell with General McClellan. Their soldiers and

reinforcements improved as they began to blockade the South.5 Illinois–where College Church is

located–remained a part of the Union or the North holding firm to their stance against slavery.

4
The Second Great Awakening and Reform in the 19th Century,
www.crf-usa.org/images/pdf/the-second-great-awakening.pdf. Accessed 9 Oct. 2023.
5
“1861 : Time Line of the Civil War : Articles and Essays : Civil War Glass Negatives and Related
Prints : Digital Collections : Library of Congress.” The Library of Congress,
www.loc.gov/collections/civil-war-glass-negatives/articles-and-essays/time-line-of-the-civil-war/1861/. Accessed 9
Oct. 2023.
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The non-denominational church holds some theological distinctives to differentiate from

other denominations. The most notable distinction is that non-denominational christianity

believes in the sole authority of the Bible and that Scripture is the ultimate truth and guide for

how we should live for Christ. The church approaches Scripture seeing that every area and part

of the church should revolve around what is stated in the Word including beliefs, philosophies,

practices, leadership, structure, and more.6 Another key aspect is belief in the Trinity–that our

God is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, all in one. And another is that by faith through

grace we can have salvation through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. In alignment with these

beliefs, the nondenominational church commonly practices communion and baptism as a

congregation. Mission-mindedness is also a key element to the church in their commitment to the

Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20).7 The church values and recognizes the importance of

evangelism and making disciples, encouraging the body as a whole to participate in this

command from our God of either being the one sent out to be a missionary, discipling others, or

supporting those called to be sent out. The church approaches leadership structure and pastoral

responsibility in having both pastors and elders in leadership. The pastors lead the congregation

and help to delegate responsibility. The elders form a council that discusses various matters in

the church and make decisions for the body of Christ.8 As for women in pastoral roles, beliefs

and standings vary on this controversial topic in the church. Some nondenominational churches

support women in pastoral leadership–seeing it as an act of inclusion and equal opportunity as

6
Turley, Written by Rebecca. “What Is a Non-Denominational Church?” Christian Bible Colleges and
Universities Online, 21 Aug. 2023, christianministryedu.org/faq/what-is-a-non-denominational-church/.
7
“What Is a Non-Denominational Church?: Christian Pure.” RSS,
www.christianpure.com/learn/what-is-a-non-denominational-church. Accessed 11 Oct. 2023.
8
Turley, Written by Rebecca. “What Is a Non-Denominational Church?” Christian Bible Colleges and
Universities Online, 21 Aug. 2023, christianministryedu.org/faq/what-is-a-non-denominational-church/.
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many denominations are against taking that position on the matter. Other nondenominational

churches–my home church being one of them–hold fast to what can be gathered from Scripture

as they see that as the ultimate source of truth. They form their stance from passages like 1

Corinthians 11:3-12, 14:34-35, 1 Timothy 2:11-15, and Titus 1, 2 as the baseline. The church

sees men and women as given different roles, all of equal importance, and all with the aim of

furthering the kingdom of God. “Women, just as much as men, are called to minister to others, to

demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22–23), and to proclaim the gospel to the lost

(Matthew 28:18–20; Acts 1:8; 1 Peter 3:15)” (gotquestions.org). It goes on to say that “Women

are also to set an example in their lives, but in a different way (1 Peter 3:1-6). Women are

encouraged to teach other women (Titus 2:3–5)” (gotquestions.org)9. Nondenominational

churches vary on their stance, but some hold the authority of the Scripture more tightly on this

matter while others hold a more progressive stance. As for worship, the nondenominational

church typically practices worship through song with contemporary music. There might also be

other equipment and technology used in order to enhance the atmosphere in a way to create a

welcoming and freeing environment. It might also be seen as more informal than worship at

other mainstream denomination churches aiming to allow people to genuinely connect with the

Lord and others around them.10 This may be what is most commonly practiced, but my home

church–which is nondenominational–majorly utilizes traditional music for our time of worship as

a congregation. We sing mostly hymns from our hymnal books, songs that revolve around

specific Scripture, or songs that were produced in past generations.

9
GotQuestions.org. “Home.” GotQuestions.Org, 31 Oct. 2014, www.gotquestions.org/women-pastors.html.
10
“What Is a Non-Denominational Church?: Christian Pure.” RSS,
www.christianpure.com/learn/what-is-a-non-denominational-church. Accessed 11 Oct. 2023.
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Growing up within a non-denominational church has been formative in my life and

shaped my views in numerous ways. My whole life it has been ingrained in my head and rooted

so deeply in my heart’s convictions that the Word of the Lord–the Bible–is the sole authority and

ultimate source of truth that should dictate how we live our lives and how we see the Lord our

God. This has greatly shaped what I look for in a church. Coming to college, I feel like I was

equipped with more discernment (of false teachers and preaching) than I knew I had regarding

finding a church that preaches the authority of Scripture. I have attended many different churches

during my two and a quarter years attending Taylor University and have found it rather difficult

to find a church that does not cherry pick nor preach upon ideas and concepts, but instead

dissects and meditates on the Word of the Lord from the Bible. Another aspect that I appreciate

about my nondenominational home church is their emphasis on church community. We are the

body of Christ and I feel like my church recognizes that so well in our outreach programs, small

groups, after-church lunches, and other programs and ministries. These all have facilitated

intentional community and upheld the truth that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ. I also

now see how the nondenominational church is good at adapting and catering to the needs of the

community and congregation, and this is due to the lack of strict oversight from denomination

leaders implementing certain principles and dogmas that they believe the church must abide by

in order to honor Christ in their viewpoint. These principles that other denominations uphold

might come across as intimidating to non-christians, which allows the nondenominational church

to be more missional with their openness and approachability. There is more freedom without a

denomination to set aside the principles and focus solely and simply on the Lord, His Word, and

His people. Overall, I feel like I grew up not appreciating my church. However, since coming to
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Taylor two years ago, I have not been able to find a church that encompasses everything that my

home church does so well. My home church has shaped what I believe, what I look for, and who

I am today.
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Works Cited

“1861 : Time Line of the Civil War : Articles and Essays : Civil War Glass Negatives and
Related Prints : Digital Collections : Library of Congress.” The Library of Congress,
www.loc.gov/collections/civil-war-glass-negatives/articles-and-essays/time-line-of-the-ci
vil-war/1861/. Accessed 9 Oct. 2023.

GotQuestions.org. “Home.” GotQuestions.Org, 31 Oct. 2014,

www.gotquestions.org/women-pastors.html.

“Homepage - College Church: Church in Wheaton Il.” College Church | Church in Wheaton IL,
2 Oct. 2023, college-church.org/.

“Nondenominational Christianity.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 19 Sept. 2023,

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nondenominational_Christianity.

The Second Great Awakening and Reform in the 19th Century,

www.crf-usa.org/images/pdf/the-second-great-awakening.pdf. Accessed 9 Oct. 2023.

Turley, Written by Rebecca. “What Is a Non-Denominational Church?” Christian Bible Colleges

and Universities Online, 21 Aug. 2023,

christianministryedu.org/faq/what-is-a-non-denominational-church/.

“What Is a Non-Denominational Church?: Christian Pure.” RSS,

www.christianpure.com/learn/what-is-a-non-denominational-church. Accessed 11 Oct.

2023.