Our Ecclesia = Christadelphian Church

In the Christian world people may find many denominations having different churches.

English: Major branches within Protestantism (excludes Restoration movements): Diagram of Protestant denominations and movements; see also Image:ChristianityBranches.svg (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

All over the world you may find Christadelphians. They all may are independent communities, not linked to a ‘Main Church’ like in the other Christian denominations. This means that in the comparatively small religious body who have attempted to get back to the faith and character of the early Christian church, you may find different groups with different customs and attitudes. Even in one community or parish you might have differences in services between one day and another.

Christadelphia – Wereldwijde Vereniging van Broeders en Zusters in Christus

The Christadelphians are located in many countries throughout the world with large groups of Christadelphians in the United Kingdom and Europe, Australia and New Zealand, North America, Asia and Africa. Some of them may have committed themselves to bigger groups or certain organizations like the Christadelphian Bible Mission (CBM), the Williamsburg Christadelphian Foundation (WCF) or Carelinks, just to call the most important ones.

Each congregation is called an ‘ecclesia’. (the New Testament word for church). We are therefore known among Christadelphians as – “The Belgian Christadelphian Ecclesia”.

Being not chained to one or the other organisation, but only to each other out of brotherly love, the Belgian ecclesia or church, meets in homes, like the early Christians, rented rooms, public places and meet in some cases at other ventures like some Christadelphians own buildings, as in Newbury, Den Haag, Eden.  We also sometimes use fraternity homes like the one of the Quakers in Paris.

Marcus Ampe at the ecclesia in Paris, September 2012

In this world, we can find many sorts of Christians who are living in a spiritual wilderness. They feel alone, spiritually isolated, and they don’t have too many Christian friends that they are experiencing a rich and full fellowship in Christ with. Some of them attend a church on Sunday morning, yet still, they are living in the desert or in the darkness, and they know it.

Some have given up on the traditional form of church altogether. And they are in serious pursuit of an expression of church that provides authentic community centred on Jesus Christ and taking the Word of God seriously as the guide for their way of life. But they cannot find such an expression in their city.

Met de Bijbel, het Woord van God in de Hand- With the Bible, the Word of God, in the Hand

We would like to come up to those people and show to them how they themselves also can start a group of people willing to follow the Word of God. We also would love to unite all those people who love that Word of God and who want to become a part of the Body of Christ, but they feel quite alone. We would love to bring them into an environment where they can experience spirituality and should not be feeling dry and empty again.

We would like those people to come and see how a strong common belief in God as our Father, the God of gods, and in Jesus as our Saviour, the Messiah, binds our community together. Together, how different we may be, from which country we may originate, which mother tongue we may have, we feel like brothers and sisters as part of one great family, united in the Body of Christ.

Accepting the Bible as our guide, and believing it to be the infallible and inspired Word of God, we want to spend a lot of time reading and studying that word, and helping each other to understand the many passages of the different books of what we call Holy Scriptures.

We welcome all who want to study the Word of God with us and who want to keep fellowship with us, gathering or meeting at regular times. Membership is extended to those, who like us, believe what we understand to be the Bible’s teaching, and as a result, have been baptised by full immersion in water.

We believe that the return of our Lord Jesus Christ to the earth is certain and that he will rule the earth from Jerusalem.

As a lay community organised on the pattern adopted by the first century Christians we do not have paid clergy or a church hierarchy. Everybody helps to build up the community with the possibilities he or she has. Members of each congregation are addressed as ‘brother’ or ‘sister’, and all may be involved in organising our activities, contributing their time and energy voluntarily in service to God.

As Christadelphians our aim is, quite simply, to follow as closely as possible the teachings and example of Jesus as recorded in the Bible.

In a world full of uncertainties we enjoy a simple, direct and logical faith, offering peace of mind and contentment now; and the promise of everlasting joy to come.

 

We should like to share this hope with you.

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Want to know more, read:

• United people under Christ
• Christadelphian people – who or what
• What Christadelphians teach
• What we as Christadelphians believe
• Gathering or meeting of believers
• The Ecclesia in the churchsystem
• The ecclesia
• What and why Ecclesia
• Christadelphia’s Faith
• Our Aim
• Life in Christadelphia
• Ecclesia in Christadelphia
• Manifesting God’s Glory
• God’s Truth
• God’s coming reign
• True Gospel
• Hope with a Foundation
• Out of church Christians

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Find additional reading:

1. Our relationship with God, Jesus and eachother
2. Power in the life of certain
3. Some one or something to fear #3 Cases, folks and outing
4. How long to wait before bringing religiousness and spirituality in practice
5. Missional hermeneutics 3/5
6. Digging in words, theories and artefacts
7. Bible in the first place #1/3
8. A Voice to be heard
9. Greatest single cause of atheism
10. Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience
11. Religions and Mainliners
12. Many churches
13. Getting out of the dark corners of this world
14. People Seeking for God 2 Human interpretations
15. People Seeking for God 6 Strategy
16. Looking for True Spirituality 1 Intro
17. Religion and spirituality
18. Being Religious and Spiritual 2 Religiosity and spiritual life
19. Being Religious and Spiritual 7 Transcendence to become one
20. Being Religious and Spiritual 8 Spiritual, Mystic and not or well religious
21. Science, belief, denial and visibility 2
22. Challenging claim 3 Inspired by God 2 Inerrant Word of God
23. Atonement And Fellowship 1/8
24. Plan of salvation – Reddingsplan
25. Atonement – Verzoening
26. Ransom for All – Losgeld voor iedereen
27. Abiding in God’s Love – In Gods liefde blijven
28. Drawing close to God – Dicht bij God komen
30. Attitude of a Christian – Houding van een Christen
31. Faith
32. Living in faith
33. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #5 Prayer #2 Witnessing
34. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #5 Prayer #3 Callers upon God
35. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #6 Prayer #4 Attitude
36. Belonging to or being judged by
37. Breathing to teach
38. Body of Christ
39. Church sent into the world
40. A Society pleading poverty
41. Gospel or Good News – Evangelie of Goede Nieuws
42. Good News Breakers – Goede Nieuwsbrengers
43. Preaching of the Kingdom – Prediking van het Koninkrijk
44. Jehovah’s Witnesses not only group that preach the good news
45. Preaching to an unbelieving world
46. Learn how to go out into the world and proclaim the Good News of the coming Kingdom
47. Proclaiming shalom, bringing good news of good things, announcing salvation
48. Bringing Good News into the world
49. Testify of the things heard
50. How should we preach?
51. Obstacles to effective evangelism
52. Determine the drive
53. Reasons to come together
54. Missionary action paradigm for all endeavours of the church
55. First Century of Christianity
56. Christianity without the Trinity
57. Manifests for believers #5 Christian Union
58. Brotherly love
59. Not all Christians are followers of a Greco-Roman culture
60. Not many coming out with their community name
61. Church enemy of faith
62. Christian fundamentalism as dangerous as Muslim fundamentalism
63. Casual Christians
64. Catholicism, Anabaptism and Crisis of Christianity
65. Funeral service only belongs in church building according to Catholic Church
66. Priority to form a loving brotherhood
67. Compromise and accomodation
68. Being religious has benefits even in this life
69. 2013 Lifestyle, religiously and spiritualy
70. American Founding Fathers Sayings
71. Parish, local church community – Parochie, plaatselijke kerkgemeenschap
72. Antwerp Ecclesia
73. Faith related boycotts
74. No reconciliation possible between CBM and Duncan Heaster from Carelinks
75. A man from the North wanting to have control in Belgium
76. Quibbling siblings united or allied children of an organisation or a church
77. Members of the ecclesia uniting and seeking God’s help in tribulation
78. A small company of Jesus’ footstep follower
79. Follower of Jesus part of a cult or a Christian
80. Small churches of the few Christadelphians
81. Are Christadelphians so Old Fashioned?
82. Those who call the Christadelphians a cult
83. Christadelphians or Messianic Christians or Messianic Jews
84. 19° Century London Christadelphians
85. The Ecclesia in the churchsystem
86. Breaking up with a cult
87. Uncovering the Foundations of Faith
88. Feeling-good, search for happiness and the church
89. God loving people justified
90. God receives us on the basis of our faith

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Also of interest:

1. A Bad Reason for Thinking that Atheism is not a Religion
2. Who is religious?
3. Church/Denominations
4. Is There Still a Place for Religion?
5. Sunday Worship- Understanding and Teaching
6. Picking fights over religion and the separation of church and state
7. Christianity vs. Catholicism
8. Something Most False Christians Have In Common
9. The Church at the Intersection of Anabaptism and Evangelicalism
10. Nineteenth Century Protestant Doctrines of the Trinity
11. Ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:26

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