Foundation Preparatory Academy
Foundation University
A Comparative Analysis Between the United Church of Christ and The
United Methodist Church
Cris Anne Dilema
Bethany Jane Mascardo
Ryan Legaspi
2018
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS BETWEEN THE UNITED CHURCH OF
CHRIST IN THE PHILIPPINES AND THE UNITED METHODIST
CHURCH.
INTRODUCTION
The Philippines proudly boasts to be the only Christian nation in Asia. More
than 86 percent of the population is Roman Catholic, 6 percent belong to various
nationalized Christian cults, and another 2 percent belong to well over 100 Protestant
denominations. The Christianity is also called as the largest world religion at the
moment.
For the first thousand years of Christianity there were no denominations
within Christianity as there are today. Various offshoot groups certainly existed, but
most were small and quickly snuffed out as “heresies. This results splitting and
merging different groups who believes in Christ.
Every denominations may have the same visions, missions, and goals but they
have different doctrines and beliefs. Because of this, there are churches who decided
to unite as one for the fast spreading of the gospel of the Kingdom of God.
The United Church of Christ of the Philippines is one of the christian
denominations. It was formed when two Protestant churches, the Evangelical and
Reformed Church and the General Council of the Congregational Christian
Churches united in 1957. This union adopted an earlier general statement of unity
between the two denominations, the 1943 "Basis of Union". At this time, the UCC
claimed about two million members. The Church is a mainline Protestant group in
the Philippines with around 1,500,000 members and 1,593 pastors in 2,564
congregations as of 2008. This church is also the result of merging distinct groups
but have one mind and goal. It is also called as The Evangelical And Reformed
Church and the General Council of the Congregation Christian Churches were united
in 1957. (http://www.thearda.com/Denoms/D_1463.asp8
The United Church of Christ in the Philippines, the largest and most
widespread Protestant church in the country, came into being in 1948. It unites in
one church the United Evangelical Church in the Philippines (a 1929 union of
Presbyterian, Congregational and United Brethren churches with the small United
Church of Manila), the Philippine Methodist Church and the Evangelical Church in
the Philippines (a 1944 union of various Evangelical churches). The UCCP considers
itself as an integral part of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church of our Lord
Jesus Christ, called to be a witness to the gospel of the kingdom of God as
proclaimed in the life and ministry of our Lord as revealed in the scriptures, and
empowered to participate in the ushering in of God's shalom throughout the whole
creation.
The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a mainline Protestant denomination
and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the
Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelicalism. The present
denomination was founded in 1968 in Dallas, Texas, by union of The Methodist
Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church. The UMC traces its roots back
to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley in England as well as the Great
Awakening in the United States.
On April 23, 1968, the United Methodist Church was created when the
Evangelical United Brethren Church (represented by Bishop Reuben H. Mueller)
and The Methodist Church (represented by Bishop Lloyd Christ Wicke) joined
hands at the constituting General Conference in Dallas, Texas. With the words,
"Lord of the Church, we are united in Thee, in Thy Church and now in The United
Methodist Church" the new denomination was given birth by the two churches that
had distinguished histories and influential ministries in various parts of the world.
The movement which would become the United Methodist Church began in the mid-
18th century within the Church of England. A small group of students, including
John Wesley, Charles Wesley and George Whitefield, met on the Oxford University
campus. They focused on Bible study, methodical study of scripture and living a
holy life. Other students mocked them, saying they were the "Holy Club" and "the
Methodists", being methodical and exceptionally detailed in their Bible study,
opinions and disciplined lifestyle. Eventually, the so-called Methodists started
individual societies or classes for members of the Church of England who wanted to
live a more religious life
The United Methodists, have an obligation to bear a faithful Christian witness to
Jesus Christ, the living reality at the center of the Church’s life and witness. To fulfill
this obligation, they reflect critically on their biblical and theological inheritance,
striving to express faithfully the witness they make in thier own time.
