That they may all be one; even as thou, Father, (art) in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us: that the world may believe that thou didst send me. John 17:21

In a world where religious division is common and where thousands of Christian denominations exist, the idea of Non-denominational Christianity, for which Jesus prayed, may seem to some people a fairy tale, pipe dream or other idealistic fantasy. Yet, that hasn't stopped people from trying. Many are desperate to escape the problem of denominationalism and work to break free from it. So when a church claims to be non-denominational, or is working toward that goal, it can be quite appealing in a world of religious confusion.

In America, there is an ever increasing popularity of non-denominational churches. Many churches now claim to be non-denominational. Even some that belong to a denomination have dropped their denominational name and adopted the name community church in an effort to be more appealing to church seekers. Why this trend? No doubt there are people sincerely attempting to be Christians only. Unfortunately, however, many seeking to be non-denominational do not understand what the term truly means.

One mistake is to believe that anything different and apparently new is non-denominational (1 Timothy 6:20-21). Many wrongly suppose that in order to be non-denominational all of the old traditions must be cast away. They may ignorantly include the traditions established by Jesus' apostles (2 Thessalonians 2:15). Remember not all traditions are wrong, just the ones established by mankind over the years.

Another mistake is to attempt to escape the need for Bible authority, established doctrine, divinely ordained leadership and organization. The Bible clearly establishes the necessity of all of these (Colossians 1:18; 3:17; Acts 2:42; 1 Peter 5:1-4; Philippians 1:1; Titus 1:5).

The claim of being non-denominational does not necessarily make it so. One must seek the church that Jesus established and that which we read was spread throughout the ancient world during the New Testament era. Early Christians were encouraged to hold on to the doctrine that they had been taught (1 Timothy 1:3-4; 4:6-7; 6:3-5; Titus 2:1, 7). That corruptions of doctrine would occur was foretold (1 Timothy 4:2-4). However, starting something new is not the answer. The answer lies with going back to what Jesus and His apostles taught. If we want to correctly wear the name Christian, a follower of Christ, then we need to go back and see what He said, and follow that. If everyone did that, then denominationalism would naturally collapse. We invite you to learn more about true non-denominational Christianity by studying your Bible. Articles on our site also serve to help explain how to get back to the Bible for all that we do.