Why are there so many different types of churches?

Christianity has more than 45,000 denominations globally and more than 200 in the United States according to the Center of Study of Global Christianity. After Jesus ascension into heaven and his launch of the Church, the early church was divided primarily based on geography. Some had different worship styles or interpretations of Jesus’s teachings, but the first significant split happened in 1517 when Martin Luther nailed the Ninety-five thesis to a German Catholic Church. And so it began…. From different beliefs on Jesus’s relationship with God, disputes on the trinity, disputes on styles of worship, etc. The Church fractured and splintered hundreds of times over. However, in the early 1800’s a movement began, with the goal to establish a church that looked like the church in the book of Acts. This movement was known as the Restoration Movement. A movement to bring denominations together. A movement to end the splintering of denominations and get back to the focus of Jesus.  Christ’s Church has the honor and privilege to be a part of this movement today. That’s a big generality, of a complex topic in one paragraph, but let’s talk about some practical ways you can talk about this with your child.

Talking about denominations with your elementary kid

Start by being transparent – as mentioned above this is a confusing topic that maybe you don’t have all the answers for. Tell your child that maybe this is something you’ve been trying to better understand yourself too. It helps kids to feel affirmed when they know that they aren’t the only ones confused. Take a moment to hear their questions and explore answers together while still pointing to Jesus. It’s okay to recognize that even the leaders, establishers, and theologians of all these denominations don’t even have all the answers. The key point for our kids is that Jesus wanted his followers to be “one”, but that oneness comes from a heartbeat and mission, not necessarily preferences or styles. We can still be “one” church of Jesus even if we have different views on some things. The Restoration Movement is all about championing what we have in common, Jesus, instead of focusing on our minor differences with each denomination.

Talking about denominations with your teenager

At this age, it’s time to get a little more real. Jesus prayed that we would be “one”, but unfortunately in an imperfect world it seems that is not the case. Differences are good, division is not. Unfortunately, we see more of the latter in our world. We’ve chosen to draw lines, split churches, and our pride has taken over. That is what makes the Restoration Movement so important. We don’t want to pit ourselves against other denominations, but rather want to come alongside them. Do you believe Jesus is who He says He is? Us too! Do you have a passion to share the Gospel everywhere? So do we! Let’s work together! That’s the heartbeat of CC. To draw followers of Jesus together instead of continuing to divide and separate over issues that, at the end of the day, don’t matter. Your teenager needs to understand that differences are okay, and even good when it comes to churches. However, the fracturing of the Church of Jesus around the world is more often sinful and at the very least a distraction to the Gospel. We must do better to be “one” and unified around the mission of Jesus.

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