{"id":586,"date":"2016-02-18T21:38:13","date_gmt":"2016-02-18T21:38:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/icoccooptest.org\/?page_id=586"},"modified":"2026-08-04T17:15:32","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T15:15:32","slug":"about-the-icoc","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/about-the-icoc\/","title":{"rendered":"About the ICOC"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The ICOC, or International Churches of Christ, is a family of congregations spread across 147 nations of the world. We are made up of over 700 churches with a diversity of people from various age groups and economic and social backgrounds. We believe Jesus came to break down the dividing wall of hostility between the races and people groups of this world and unite mankind under the Lordship of Christ (Ephesians 2:11-22<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We believe anyone, anywhere, who follows God’s plan of salvation in the Bible and lives under the Lordship of Jesus will be saved. Christians are saved\u00a0by\u00a0the grace of God,\u00a0through\u00a0their faith in Jesus Christ,\u00a0at\u00a0baptism. (Ephesians 2:10<\/a>,\u00a0Colossians 2:11-12<\/a>, Romans 3:22<\/a>,\u00a0Acts 2:38<\/a>,\u00a0Matthew 28:18-20<\/a>) While holding to sound doctrine is important, the ICOC teaches that Jesus is “full of grace and truth” (John 1:17<\/a>) and that ultimately God decides who will be saved.\u00a0Our churches are committed to teaching disciples to continually follow Jesus, allowing him to heal them and make them whole, and seeking to bring his good news to others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our theological roots are in the Restoration (Stone-Campbell) Movement of the early 1800s and in the Campus Evangelism movement of the Churches of Christ as lived out in the Crossroads Church of Christ in Florida in the 1970s. The Boston Church of Christ began in 1979 with about 30 members and grew into the International Churches of Christ with more than 37,000 members within its first 12 years. Most recently we have grown from 88,000 members in 590 congregations to currently 107,000 members in 767 congregations in 148 countries.\u00a0We are inspired to build churches in every country, city, town, and village.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our fellowship is organized into 36 regional families of churches that span the globe and collaborate and cooperate to honor God in respectful unity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

About the Leadership<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We believe our leadership is best structured in order to avoid two extremes: disconnected autonomy and overly-centralized authority. While congregational leadership roles are well documented in scripture, global and regional roles appear far more flexible and dynamic in the New Testament. Through much prayer and discussion, we cooperate and collaborate through servant leaders from the various areas of the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2017, we formed a Catalyst Team to spearhead our global leadership and Regional Family Chairs (RFCs) to communicate, serve, and lead the 36 Regional Families of churches around the globe. Delegates serve alongside the RFCs to bring in further diversity of age, gender, and perspective. It is a relational plan to facilitate cooperation and collaboration in carrying out Jesus\u2019 mission and vision for the church. While we are committed to cooperation and relationships, there is no overall legal entity.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\u00a0Catalyst Team<\/strong>\u00a0is made up of\u00a0two elders, two teachers, two women\u2019s ministry leaders, a representative from the Global Missions Service Team, a representative from the Evangelist Service Team, as well as seven representatives from the Regional Family Chairmen. The purpose of the Catalyst Team is to provide vision, focus, and direction for the Regional Family Chairmen and the Delegates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regional Family Chairmen and Regional Women\u2019s Chairs <\/strong>are chosen by their respective regions. Click here to see our churches<\/a> organized by geographic regions around the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Delegates:<\/strong> Each region appoints at least three Delegates. Larger regions appoint one Delegate per 1,000 disciples, rounding up. At the annual leadership meeting each Delegate has one vote. The first three delegates of any Regional Family of Churches are one man, one woman, and one next-generation leader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Service Teams<\/strong>\u00a0are charged with providing specialized training and best practices according to their specific responsibility while helping to build and maintain unity among churches globally.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click here to see our current list of leaders<\/a> serving in these capacities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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