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Believers Church Conferences 

What is the
Believers Church Tradition?

The term Believers Church (BC) as such dates back to Max Weber, who in 1904 (in the first edition of his Der protestantische Ethik und der Geist des Kapitalismus) introduced this English term, defining it “solely as a community of personal believers of the reborn, and only these”. He linked it to the (Ana)Baptists and it is mainly within Mennonite and Baptist circles that this tradition is studied and reflected on since the fifties of the 20th century.  A classic work is The Believers’ Church. The History and Character of Radical Protestantism (1968), written by the Church of the Brethren historian Donald Durnbaugh, defining it as “the covenanted and disciplined community of those walking in the way of Jesus Christ.” As such it is a distinctive ecclesiological type, seen as a third type of church, next to ‘catholic’ and ‘protestant’, also known under other names as Free Church and Gathering Church, or as ‘pentecostal’ (Newbigin, The Household of God, 1953) or ‘baptist with a small “b”’ (McClendon, Ethics, 2002). According to Durnbaugh these names are not so much to classify as to clarify (The Believers’ Church, 24).

The Story of Believers Church Conference

Beginning in 1967 in Louisville (Kentucky), U.S.A., Believers Church Conferences (BCC) have been held every three to four years at different places in the U.S.A. and Canada ...

List of conferences

Discover our list of conferences, showcasing where they have been held and the topics they have explored over the years.

Conference Highlight

Conference 2025 – Now Live!

From June 1st to June 4th, the 20th Believers Church Conference was held in Amsterdam

9
Plenary Speakers
26
Presenters
150+
Participants
4
Days
Explore Conference 2025
Believers Church Conference

Amsterdam 2025

From June 1st to June 4th, the 20th Believers Church Conference was held in Amsterdam, bringing together around 150 participants from over 15 countries worldwide. This aftermovie offers a glimpse into our shared experience as we celebrated 500 years since the beginnings of the Anabaptist movement. We enjoyed and engaged in meaningful conversations, experienced rich fellowship in both unity and diversity, and came together in worship, singing, praying, and studying under the conference theme: Radical Renewal, Witnessing to a New Heaven and a New Earth.

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