Kansas City Statement of Faith

Faith

We believe in God the Father,
      infinite in wisdom, goodness, and love,
      and in Jesus Christ, his Son, our Lord and Savior,
      who for us and for our salvation lived and died and rose again
      and liveth evermore,
      and in the Holy Spirit,
      who taketh of the things of Christ
      and revealeth them to us,
      renewing, comforting, and inspiring the souls of men.

We are united in striving to know the will of God
      as taught in the Holy Scriptures,
      and in our purpose to walk in the ways of the Lord,
      made known or to be made known to us.

We hold it to be the mission of the Church of Christ
      to proclaim the Gospel to all mankind,
      exalting the worship of the one true God,
      and laboring for the progress of knowledge,
      the promotion of justice, the reign of peace,
      and the realization of human brotherhood.

Depending, as did our fathers, upon the continued guidance
      of the Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth,
      we work and pray for the transformation of the world
      into the Kingdom of God,
      and we look with faith for the triumph of righteousness,
      and the life everlasting.

Polity

We believe in the freedom and responsibility
      of the individual soul, and the right of private judgment.

We hold to the autonomy of the local church
      and its independence of all ecclesiastical control.

We cherish the fellowship of the churches,
      united in district, state, and national bodies,
      for counsel and cooperation in matters of common concern.

The Wider Fellowship

While affirming the liberty of our churches,
      and the validity of our ministry,
      we hold to the unity and catholicity of the Church of Christ,
      and will unite with all its branches in hearty cooperation;
      and will earnestly seek, so far as in us lies,
      that the prayer of our Lord for his disciples may be answered,
      that they all may be one.

The section on “Faith” is from the Book of Worship of the United Church of Christ. The Book of Worship is available from United Church Resources at 800-325-7061. 

About this testimony

The Kansas City Statement was the most important affirmation of faith adopted by the Congregational Churches in the 20th century. In 1913, the churches’ National Council met in Kansas City to affirm traditional congregationalist principles in a form that would meet the needs of the new century. The preamble of the new Constitution adopted then said the churches sought to reaffirm “the faith which our fathers confessed, which from age to age has found its expression in the historic creeds of the Church universal and of this communion.” The Statement’s form reflects both classical creeds received by Congregationalists from the catholic (universal) church and the confidence—inherited from the church’s Puritan forebears—that God was in control of history and would lead humanity to a reign of justice, community and peace. Written on the eve of World War I, its belief in “the reign of peace,” “the realization of human brotherhood” and “the transformation of the world into the Kingdom of God” are particularly poignant. But these are beliefs that echo down to the 21st century, and which the United Church of Christ still holds today—although not in the exclusively masculine terms of 1913.