Our Historical Directory of the Christian Denomination and Afro-Christian Churches, presents a history intertwined with the Restorationist Movement, and including many of the earliest congregations of the resulting fellowships.

The Restorationist Movement is most closely related to the ministries and publications of Thomas and Alexander Campbell, Scotch-Irish Presbyterians who came to America in the early nineteenth century. It began with Thomas who formed an inclusive association that grew into a church including people of many backgrounds. He was soon censured and removed from his original denomination for giving communion to non-church members. When his son Alexander arrived in the country, leadership moved to him. Considering the baptism of his own child, he moved towards baptism by immersion. That led the early church and others into Baptist denominations. However, Campbell's focus on the New Testament, and his view that baptism forgives sins, which seemed a form of works' righteousness rather than grace, alienated them from most Baptist circles. The new congregations were named “Churches of Christ,” and their members “Disciples of Christ.”

The Christian movement, explored in depth in our book, grew from three revivalist movements arising during the Second Great Awakening in three different parts of the country, and eventually melding into one group. It's founders were either born in America in the eighteenth century or came from Europe at that time. The three groups came out of Methodist, Presbyterian and Baptist backgrounds. Their congregations and members were called “Christian.” The western Christian leader, Barton W. Stone, led revivals in Kentucky at the start of the century. As the two groups became aware of each other, Stone initially challenged some of the positions of Campbell. However, when some Campbellites in Kentucky, John T. Johnson, and “Raccoon” John Smith sought unity with western Christians a union was agreed upon with Stone and others in Kentucky at the end of 1831. Campbell was not directly involved in the union. However, most of the western Christians in the west south of the Ohio River, many north of the River, and scattered ones in other parts of the country moved into the united group.

From this union three major American religious groups emerged: the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ); the Christian Churches and Churches of Christ; and the (non-instrumental) Churches of Christ. While the latter group has retained the Campbellite name, many of it's leaders point to Stone's movement, as the birthplace of its identity.

The continuing Christian movement included the majority of the Stoneite churches north of the Ohio River, a few to the south, and most of northeastern and southern founding groups.

The Restorationist movement can not be understood without exploring this intertwining. Many of the earliest Disciples churches in the south began as Christian churches...