The Restoration Movement wanted to be Christians only, with no creed but the Bible; the Churches of Christ come from it.
Restorationist & other movements1801-1832arose within Evangelical revivals
Out of the Cane Ridge revival of 1801, the great camp meeting of the Second Great Awakening, Barton Stone and, separately, Thomas and Alexander Campbell, all of them Presbyterians, set out to be Christians only, with no creed but the Bible; their movements united in 1832. From it come the Churches of Christ, the independent Christian Churches and the Disciples of Christ.
The Restoration Movement began with two groups of Presbyterians who wanted to stop being Presbyterians, or anything else with a label. They set out to be Christians only, holding no creed but the Bible, in the belief that if everyone did the same the divisions between churches would simply dissolve. The Churches of Christ, the independent Christian Churches and the Disciples of Christ all come from it.
Barton Stone was a Kentucky Presbyterian who objected to creeds being used as tests of fellowship, especially at the Lord's table, and who was a leading figure at the Cane Ridge revival of 1801 near Paris, Kentucky, the great camp meeting of the Second Great Awakening 2,18. He and five other ministers withdrew from the Kentucky Synod in 1803, and on 28 June 1804 dissolved the presbytery they had formed, publishing a document that willed that this body die, be dissolved, and sink into union with the Body of Christ at large 7. They agreed to take no other name than Christians, on the ground that it was the name first given by divine authority 7.
In western Pennsylvania, and quite separately, Thomas Campbell and his son Alexander, Scotch-Irish Presbyterian immigrants, were reaching the same conclusion from the other direction 2. Thomas Campbell's Declaration and Address of 1809 opens by asserting that the Church of Christ upon earth is essentially, intentionally, and constitutionally one, consisting of all those in every place who profess faith in Christ and obedience to him according to the Scriptures 8. Walter Scott made the movement grow as its evangelist, and the Campbells' churches separated from the Baptists, with whom they had briefly associated 2.
The two movements found each other. Their aims and practices were close enough that in 1832, at Lexington in Kentucky, after about a quarter of a century of separate development, they united, in a meeting sealed by a handshake between Barton Stone and the preacher known as Raccoon John Smith 2,6. Stone's people had called themselves Christians; Campbell preferred Disciples of Christ, thinking it the less presumptuous of the two, and both names survive in the movement today 2.
The founding principle is that the New Testament is enough: that a church which does what the first Christians did, and refrains from what they did not do, needs no creed, no synod and no denominational name. The slogans are the movement's own shorthand. Where the Scriptures speak, we speak; where the Scriptures are silent, we are silent. No creed but Christ, no book but the Bible.
In practice that means baptism by immersion, of those old enough to believe, understood as the point at which sins are forgiven rather than only as a sign; the Lord's Supper every Sunday, because that is what Acts describes; congregations governed by their own elders with no body above them; and ministers who are not a separate priestly order. Most congregations use no title for their preachers beyond brother.
The disagreement that divided the movement is about the silences. If the New Testament does not mention something, is it forbidden or is it free? The Churches of Christ hold that practices not found in the New Testament accounts of worship are not permitted, which is why they sing without instruments; the Christian Churches hold that what is not forbidden may be considered 6. That single hermeneutical question, rather than any dispute about God, produced most of what follows.
Worship and practice
A service is deliberately plain and follows the same shape everywhere: singing, prayer, a reading, a sermon, and the Lord's Supper, which is weekly and central rather than occasional. Members serve it to one another, and in many congregations any baptised man may preside. There is no lectionary and no church year in the traditional sense, and Christmas and Easter are kept, when they are kept, without special liturgical weight.
In the Churches of Christ the singing is a cappella, in four parts, with a member setting the pitch and no instrument at all, which is the most recognisable thing about them from outside 10. The independent Christian Churches and the Disciples use instruments freely. Baptisms happen in a pool at the front and often on the day a person asks. Congregations are autonomous everywhere in the movement, though the Disciples adopted a denominational structure in 1968 and have regions and a General Assembly 11.
Scripture and Bible translations
This movement reads the New Testament as a blueprint. The question asked of any practice is where it is authorised, and the answer is expected in the form of a command, an apostolic example or a necessary inference, which is the movement's own way of putting how Scripture teaches. That method produced weekly communion and immersion, and it is also what the three streams eventually fell out over.
The American Standard Version of 1901 was the movement's Bible for most of a century, prized because it translated the divine name and stayed close to the Greek word for word; congregations now use the New American Standard Bible, the English Standard Version and the New King James Version, among others. The verses below are given in the American Standard Version.
In church
These churches have no single central authority or movement-wide translation. The American Standard Version of 1901 has an important historical association with Churches of Christ; contemporary congregations use a range of translations.
These passages illustrate themes discussed in this profile; they are not a survey of members' favorite verses. Each is quoted from the American Standard Version (1901) and links to its chapter. You can explore the text for study or personal reflection; memorization is optional.
And upon the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul discoursed with them, intending to depart on the morrow; and prolonged his speech until midnight.
Upon the first day of the week, gathered together to break bread. This is why the Lord's Supper is weekly here and not quarterly.
Hold the pattern of sound words which thou hast heard from me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
Hold the pattern of sound words. The word pattern carries a great deal of weight in this movement, and the argument is about how closely it must be copied.
Or are ye ignorant that all we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him through baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life.
Buried with him through baptism into death. Immersion is read here as burial, which is why nothing else will do.
Thus saith Jehovah, Stand ye in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way; and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls: but they said, We will not walk therein.
Ask for the old paths, where is the good way. Restoration in one line: the road already exists and the task is to find it again.
People
Barton W. Stone1772 to 1844 Kentucky Presbyterian who objected to creeds as tests of fellowship, led at Cane Ridge in 1801, and helped dissolve his own presbytery in 1804 so that it might sink into union with the Body of Christ at large.12
Thomas Campbell1763 to 1854 Scotch-Irish immigrant minister whose Declaration and Address of 1809 argued that the Church of Christ on earth is already one, and that human creeds are what keep it from looking like it.13
Alexander Campbell1788 to 1866 His father's successor and the movement's ablest debater and editor, whose journals carried the argument across the country and whose name is still attached to it.14
Walter Scott1796 to 1861 The evangelist who made the movement grow, reducing its message to five points a hearer could count on one hand and preaching it across the Western Reserve.15
John Smith1784 to 1868 Known as Raccoon John Smith, the Kentucky preacher whose handshake with Barton Stone at Lexington in 1832 sealed the union of the two movements.16
Silena Moore Holman1850 to 1915 Tennessee writer in the Churches of Christ who argued in print, against the leading editor of her own fellowship, for a fuller place for women in the church, and who led the state temperance union.17
Today
A movement founded to end division became three, and the divisions were counted rather than declared. The Churches of Christ were listed separately in the United States religious census of 1906, after decades of disagreement over instrumental music and over whether a missionary society outside the congregation was permitted at all 6,10. The Disciples of Christ reorganised themselves as a denomination in 1968, with regions, a General Assembly and a general minister; the congregations that would not follow that restructuring were recognised as a separate group, the independent Christian Churches and Churches of Christ, in 1971 6,11,9.
The three streams differ in size and direction. The Churches of Christ and the independent Christian Churches are conservative, congregational and roughly comparable in size, with the Churches of Christ strongest across the American South and both running colleges and mission work worldwide 10,9, and their own press reporting the fellowship to itself 4. The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is much smaller, is a member of the World Council of Churches, and has kept the movement's original emphasis on Christian unity, which it describes as a movement for wholeness 2,1,5. Beyond them the movement has produced churches in Britain, Australia, Africa and Asia, and the Disciples of Christ Historical Society at Bethany and elsewhere keeps the records of all of it 3.
Words to know
creed
A short statement of belief said together in worship. The Nicene Creed is shared by nearly every Christian tradition.
ordinance
In Baptist and many other free churches, the word used for baptism and the Lord’ Supper: acts Christ commanded his people to keep, understood as obedience and remembrance. Churches that call them sacraments understand them as means through which God gives grace.
congregational government
Church government in which the members of each local congregation decide their own affairs, including choosing their own minister, with no bishop or presbytery above them. Congregations may join associations for fellowship and shared work, but those bodies advise rather than rule.
confession
In the Reformation churches, a written statement of what a church believes, such as the Augsburg Confession. In Catholic and Orthodox use, also the sacrament of telling one's sins to a priest.
canon
The list of books a community counts as Scripture. Jewish, Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox canons overlap almost entirely and differ at the edges.
sacrament
A sacred act Christians believe carries God's grace, such as baptism and communion. Traditions count and understand them differently.
schism
A formal parting between churches. The Great Schism of 1054 divided Catholic West from Orthodox East.
camp meeting
An outdoor gathering, usually lasting several days, where people camp on the ground and attend preaching and prayer several times a day. Camp meetings shaped American revivalism from about 1800, and the Holiness movement organised its own from 1867.
Easter
The Christian feast of the resurrection of Jesus, the first Sunday after the first full moon of spring, the centre of the church year; the Orthodox usually keep it on a later Sunday because they reckon it by the Julian calendar.
The Christian feast of the birth of Jesus on 25 December, kept since the fourth century; churches on the Julian calendar keep the same date on 7 January.
Why do Churches of Christ sing without instruments?
Because of how they read silence. They hold that the New Testament authorises what the church may do in worship, and that since it describes singing but never instrumental music in the assembly, instruments are not authorised. The Christian Churches read the same silence the other way, holding that what Scripture does not forbid may be considered 6,10. The disagreement is about method rather than about music.
What is the difference between the three groups?
The Churches of Christ sing a cappella and are strictly congregational. The Christian Churches and Churches of Christ, usually called the independent Christian Churches, use instruments and are also congregational, and separated from the Disciples when those reorganised. The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) accepted a denominational structure in 1968, is ecumenically engaged and is the smallest of the three 6,10,9,11.
Is the Restoration Movement a denomination?
It was founded precisely so that it would not be one, and two of its three streams still decline the word. Congregations govern themselves, own their buildings and answer to no assembly. The Disciples of Christ are the exception, having deliberately organised as a denomination in 1968 11. That decision is a large part of why the movement now has three streams rather than one.
What do these churches teach about baptism?
That it is by immersion, for those old enough to believe and repent, and that it is the point at which sins are forgiven rather than a sign of something already complete. Baptisms are usually done as soon as a person asks. The Churches of Christ in particular are known for holding the connection between baptism and forgiveness closely, which other evangelical churches often find surprising.
Why is it called the Stone-Campbell Movement?
Because the two founding streams began with Barton Stone in Kentucky and with Thomas and Alexander Campbell in Pennsylvania, and united in 1832. Historians use the double name because Restoration Movement is also used by other groups with no connection to it, and because neither founder would have wanted his own name attached to a church 2,6.
Sources
Numbered references link the account above to its sources. These include the tradition's own documents and outside reference works. The review status below distinguishes source checking from completed member and scholarly review.
BibleVerse. “Restoration Movement (Stone-Campbell): where they came from, what they hold, and the Bible they read.” bibleverse.site, version 2026-09-07, https://bibleverse.site/denominations/restoration/
Awaiting review by a member of the tradition. First published 2026-09-07; last changed 2026-09-07. Years before the common era are written BC, and later years plainly, as the site's Christian pages do.
Found something wrong? Send it through the contact page. A correction checked against two sources is made within a week and logged in this page's change history.
Thus saith Jehovah, Stand ye in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way; and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls: but they said, We will not walk therein.
