The Conservative Congregational Christian Conference, known as the CCCC or 4C's, is an evangelical Christian denomination organized in 1948 by churches of the old Congregational Christian Conference who wanted to preserve the historic Christian faith. The CCCC is the oldest of the three denominations with a Congregational heritage. The CCCC welcomes any church that has a congregational polity and subscribes to the 4C's basic Statement of Faith (see below). Evangelicalism, in a strictly lexical, but rarely used sense, refers to all things that are implied in belief that Jesus is the savior. ... List of Christian denominations ordered by historical and doctrinal relationships. ...

Though solidly committed to the basic teachings of the Christian faith, the CCCCallows for diversity in areas where Christians have tended to disagree. Though members hold strong biblical convictions, they do not believe that Christians should divide over secondary issues.

Over the years, churches and pastors from various backgrounds have found a home in the CCCC. The Conference has over 280 churches and 40,000 members in the USA. It is a member of the World Evangelical Congregational Fellowship.

History

Much of the 4C's history can be found in "Modern Day Pilgrims: The First Fifty Years of the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference." In that volume, information can be found concerning the Conference's diverse origins, ethnic mosaic, founding, annual meetings (now called Family Conferences), the CCCC today, and "Looking toward the Future." Copies of the book may be purchased by contacting the Conference office (see below).

Theology

The theology of member pastors, missionaries, churchs, and other Conference members is summed up in the Statement of Faith. It is identical to the Statement of Faith of the Nattional Association of Evangelicals, except that the CCCC added the word "inerrant" with regard to the Bible.

THE BIBLE--We believe the Bible, consisting of the Old and New Testaments, to be the only inspired, inerrant, infallible, authoritative Word of God written.

THE TRINITY--We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

THE LORD JESUS CHRIST--We believe in the deity of Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return in power and glory.

REDEMPTION--We believe that for salvation of lost and sinful man regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential.

THE HOLY SPIRIT--We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling power and fullness the Christian is enabled to live a godly life in this present evil world.

THE RESURRECTION--We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost; they that are saved unto the resurrection of life, and they that are lost unto the resurrection of damnation.

SPIRITUAL UNITY--We believe in the spiritual unity of all believers in Christ.

Structure

The local church is the basic unit of the CCCC. Churches and pastors nevertheless believe in the vital need to voluntary associate with other churches of like mind. To that end, regional fellowships are established across the United States. Moderators of each area fellowship are chosen by the local fellowship (comprised of representatives from area CCCC churches and nearby CCCC member ministers). Area Representatives are appointed by the Conference Minister (who functions as the Executive Director or National Pastor for the CCCC). Area Representatives serve as local CCCC contacts, to represent the Conference Minister, and to serve as a liaison between the national organization and the area fellowships.

There are four departments within the CCCC, each of which is served by a Director: Department of Conference Administration, Department of Conference Services, Department of Conference Outreach, and Department of Conference Regional Activities. The President serves as Director of the Department of Conference Administration. Directors of the other three departments are appointed by the Conference Minister and approved by the Board of Directors.

Elected Officers of the CCCC include a President, Vice President, Treasurer, Conference Minister, Secretary, and Comptroller. These officers serve on the Board of Directors, along with 12 elected members of the Board. Within the four departments, various national committees also serve the Conference. All of these volunteers work with the paid national staff.

National Staff

At the Conference headquarters in Minnesota (see below for contact information), there are three ordained staff members: the Conference Minister, the Director of Conference Care and Redevelopment, and the Director of Church Multiplicaiton. There is also a full time Regional Minister for the Northeastern part of the United States.

Vision

The CCCC has developed a vision for the future. Here are its key points-- We are Biblical Christians "HONORING JESUS CHRIST TOGETHER" We aim to do this in these primary ways:

 1. Commitment to Christ 2. Connection with Each Other 3. Cooperation with One Another 4. Completion of Works God has prepared for us to do 

Statement on the Nature of the CCCC Fellowship

"From the CCCC Yearbook" To include as brothers and sisters those with greatly diverse convictions in certain theological areas is not a weakness but a strength and in harmony with Biblical truths. The architects of the Congregational Way labored for the freedom to be ruled by God. This means that Jesus Christ alone is head of the Church and Lord of the conscience. He directs His Church through Scripture, speaking in this manner to officers and individual members.

This freedom requires an environment of unity and liberty, cultivated in the context of honestly differing theological viewpoints. Thus we must seek continually to maintain a true balance. To this end, we recognize that as Congregational Christians we do not have to agree on everything to achieve Biblical respect and spiritual health. In the spirit of Acts 15, we seek to promote maximum freedom for the rule of God in our churches. This is the merit of the Congregational conscience.

We do not claim that the theological breadth of our Conference today is a precise extension of all the doctrines of the Savoy Declaration of 1658. But we do consider it significant that Browne's "Statement of Congregational Principles" antedates Savoy by 76 years and that the latter was itself a modification of the Westminster Confession including a more flexible view of the role of creeds. According to these historic Congregational principles, each church is complete in itself and independent from every other. Thus, there is no appeal from the decisions of the local church. The Savoy Declaration is a modification of the Westminster Confession. ... The Westminster Confession of Faith is the chief doctrinal product of the Protestant Westminster Assembly. ...

Consequently, we believe that the Biblical fellowship offered by us today meets a need for fellowship among congregationally governed churches and is the outgrowth of the Congregational principles of 300 years ago. If those principles are seen as Biblical, then our current relationships deserve the name Congregational, for they appeal to the same ecclesiology. And, how relevant this is: we offer real freedom at a time when it is being lost almost everywhere else.

There is freedom in the CCCC today to believe and practice the strictest Reformed theology of our early fathers, as as other essentially Christian theology which differs in certain ways from the Reformation perspective. Should either be denied in a forced unity, contrary to the ecclesiology of the original founders, we would no longer be fully Congregational.

Today we are faced with lawlessness and legalism not only in our society but in many Christian churches. To maintain both freedom and unity is difficult, but worthwhile. The task of being a true Congregationalist was never easy but always a source of blessing.

Contact Information

Conservative Congregational Christian Conference 8941 Highway 5 Lake Elmo, MN 55042 (651) 739-1474/ FAX (651) 739-0750

Resources

Yearbook, Conservative Congregational Christian Conference "Handbook of Denominations," 12th edition (Abingdon Press) "Modern Day Pilgrims" (2000: Foresee Publications, St. Paul, MN) "Foresee" (official newsletter of the Conference)

External links

• CCCC Website
• Some Statistics on the CCCC
• Article about UCC Churches joining the 4C church