Needed Truth Brethren

Needed Truth Brethren, as they are sometimes known, call

Needed Truth Brethren (or
themselves “The Churches of God in the Fellowship of the Son of
God, the Lord Jesus Christ". Although this is their official legal Churches of God)
title, other Christians often classify them as a very conservative Classification Protestant
strain of the Plymouth Brethren, connexional in nature, and Orientation Plymouth
holding themselves separate from what they consider to be
Brethren
erroneous practices. The designation "Needed Truth" was given to
them by others based on the Needed Truth Magazine, which began Polity connexional
to be distributed among the Open Brethren in 1888. This magazine Origin 1892
espoused what it considers a fresh understanding of biblical
Separated from Open Brethren
teaching of the proper constitution of the local church, principles of
church government, and doctrinal subjects such as The House of
God, the Church of God, the Kingdom of God, and the Body of Christ. The magazine presented these
views as being a return to fundamental New Testament principles which had been forgotten. (The
Plymouth Brethren movement as a whole had, from the beginning, seen itself as practicing a return to
fundamental New Testament principles which denominational organizations had lost sight of.)

History of the Churches of God

The Churches of God (Needed Truth Brethren) seceded from the Open Brethren around 1892 ("The
Separation"), as a result of the ideas propagated in the Needed Truth magazine finding acceptance in some
Open Brethren circles, but not all. This division: 1) put into effect what they considered to be a clearer
biblical understanding of the different usages of the term 'church' as found in the New Testament
(specifically differentiating between local gatherings of faithful disciples and the overall spiritual entity
known as the Church which is Christ's Body); 2) took adherence to the Apostles Teaching as the ground of
gathering (as opposed to the simple possession of common life in Christ); and 3) established a system of
church governance between the local churches which featured local elders consulting together (as an
elderhood) across the entire community of churches, maintaining unity of teaching and practice throughout
(something they saw to be manifestly lacking among the Open Brethren).

Although a minority of the Open Brethren assemblies officially separated and joined the Needed Truth
movement, their literature continued to influence many of the "Gospel Hall Brethren", who tended to be
more conservative than many of their fellow-Brethren.

Doctrine and structure

The Needed Truth Brethren teach that the basis of reception to local assembly fellowship is faithful
adherence to the Apostles Teaching as defined in the New Testament, as opposed to the One Body basis of
reception taught by Open Brethren - especially the Bible Chapel Brethren. Their basic doctrine regarding
the functioning of the local church can be viewed as summarized in Acts 2:41 - 42, which is seen by them
as consistent with all other New Testament teaching. They understand that there is only one church of God
in any particular city where such exists, and that the weekly Christian ordinance of the breaking of bread in
remembrance of the Lord is a function of that one church (albeit there may be multiple companies of that
one recognized church which each break bread). According to their teaching, two or three believers
gathered together informally or temporarily, but not as a scripturally designated gathering of the local
church, do not by themselves constitute a church, and so it is inappropriate for them to attempt to fulfil the
functions of a church of God (they can of course meet for prayer and to carry out the procedures described
in Mat.18).

Their assemblies, unlike Open Brethren assemblies, are not independent and autonomous, but are
interdependent, with discipline being enforced movement-wide. In an Open Brethren meeting someone
under discipline might manage to join another open assembly. Dissatisfaction with such loose practice led
to the separation.[1] Needed Truth Brethren hold that there is only one Church of God in any city or
district.[2]

Needed Truth influence on Gospel Halls

The Gospel Hall Brethren movement spread out from the work in Scotland after the Revival of 1859.
Evangelists like Alexander Marshall and Donald Ross did much work in spreading the gospel, and starting
assemblies. Many of the Gospel Halls in Canada were pioneered by these Scottish evangelists.

Initially, Donald Ross, a close friend of Duncan Matheson, did not hold to the Needed Truth teaching that
reception was the to local Assembly. But after Matheson's death, Ross began to hold this. This teaching
became the basis of fellowship and reception in many Gospel Halls, yet they never joined with the
assemblies who separated out as Needed Truth Brethren.

Alexander Marshall broke with the Needed Truth movement early on,F over their insistence that any two or
three gathered together could not be called an assembly, and could not break bread together. Marshall
believed that, "Where two or three are, having been gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst
of them" was sufficient proof that, in his opinion, the Needed Truth brethren were not following the New
Testament Pattern. The Needed Truth brethren countered that this was an inaccurate appreciation of the
context of these verses and continued to assert that only gatherings connected to an already existing
assembly could be considered an assembly. Informal gatherings were not recognized as being the Lord's
Table. Disciples were seen to be joined together in a fellowship in which they were to continue steadfastly.
This showed its conditional aspect, and precluded any such thing as casual fellowship. From 1 Corinthians
5 they held that a believer could be excommunicated from such a local church of God as that at Corinth;
whereas he could never lose his place in the Church which is Christ's Body.

In their scriptural searches, many brethren came to the view that interdependency between churches is
taught in the New Testament. Provincial and wider groupings of churches are mentioned in Galatians 1:2
and 1 Peter 1:1. Paul taught the same doctrine throughout all the churches (1 Cor. 1:2; 7:17). As to their
principle of government, it was understood from Acts 15 that cohesion among the local churches of God
was maintained by a united elderhood. Thus the churches collectively were one house; the house of God.
All this answers to the Old Testament which provided in practice for the consultation of city elders in
judgement (Deut. 19:12), and in type provided for the linking of tabernacle curtains, so that the tabernacle
was one (Ex. 26:6).

As this Needed Truth teaching gained influence in Gospel Halls in the period 1892–1896, many left their
former association with the Brethren Movement. Their vision then was of a fellowship of churches,
comprising disciples who had been baptized by immersion, gathered together in obedience to the Word of
God, separated to God from worldly associations, and who were under the leadership of God-appointed
elders.

Scandals
The Needed Truth Brethren have had to deal with scandals involving many of the same problems faced by
other churches, such as pedophilia, divided families, women's rights, excommunication for allegedly non-
biblical reasons, and issues of leadership such as power and control. In claiming to deal scripturally with
these difficult issues, the church has lost followers in some places while growing in others — notably in the
developing world.

The Churches of God believe from their interpretation of Scripture that those in the churches should "marry
only in the Lord". Those marrying a Christian outside of the Needed Truth movement were previously
excommunicated. More recently, the churches, while re-affirming that the people of God should marry only
the people of God, stated that in any breach of this, they would discriminate between rebellion and
weakness of faith, and only excommunicate where a spirit of rebellion in going against the counsel of
Scripture was evident.

Separation
The official position of the Churches of God is that they believe that they exclusively form the House of
God on earth. The Needed Truth Brethren hold to the biblical doctrine of separation as per 2 Thes.3:6 etc.
Throughout the history of the continuing Reformation through ‘the Brethren Movement’ and on into
Churches of God, separation from error was essential at each stage. The only way to perpetuate biblical
truth, they believe, is to separate it from all error and compromise: it cannot be perpetuated through
compromise, and compromise cannot be avoided without separation.

References
1. "Archived copy" (https://web.archive.org/web/20050515174740/http://www.chaptertwobooks.
org.uk/assets/own/190001.pdf) (PDF). www.chaptertwobooks.org.uk. Archived from the
original (http://www.chaptertwobooks.org.uk/assets/own/190001.pdf) (PDF) on 15 May 2005.
Retrieved 17 January 2022.
2. "Hayes Press Christian Resources, Gospel Tracts, Posters, Booklets, Gifts" (http://www.haye
spress.org/). Hayespress.org. Retrieved 2017-01-04.

External links
Churches of God website (http://www.churchesofgod.info)
Hayes Press (http://www.hayespress.org)
The Churches of God Taped Ministry (http://www.tapedministry.co.uk)
Rice Thomas Hopkins 1842-1916: An Open Brother (http://www.brethrenhistory.org/qwicsite
Pro/php/docsview.php?docid=406) by Ian McDowell

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