Message Church

"Believers Church" redirects here. For Believers' Church In India, see Assembly of Believers' Church In India.

Message Church or Believers Church is a conglomerative term that is used to describe the churches that are associated with the teachings and doctrines of William M. Branham (1909–1965), a minister who some associate with the Latter Rain Movement, a Pentecostal movement that began after World War II. Branham's teachings are sometimes called Branhamism or The Message of the Hour.

Origins

Message Churches are spread globally with an estimated 300,000–2,000,000 followers. These churches include the Branham Tabernacle, Tucson Tabernacle, Phoenix Tabernacle, and Faith Assembly Church among many others. The churches are created by the works of missionary type organizations like the Voice of Restoration but many of the original churches were founded by the revival meetings held by Branham during the 1950s.

Believers Church is held by many theologians as a particular model of Protestant church ecclesiology. Following the Reformation those in the Radical Reformation distanced themselves from the prevailing church models which tended to seek political sponsorship. One guiding principle within this model of ecclesiology is that each believer is a priest and therefore the onus is on all believers to fulfill the priest’s role.

Message churches have no central governance and are largely independent of one another. Because of this there are various sects and divisions among the groups and their interpretation of Brother Branham's teachings.

Brother Branham's work and legacy is called "The Message." "Believers" have also been referred to as "Message Believers". Brother Branham taught a doctrine of anti-denominationalism which discouraged his followers from creating organizations or denominations.

The believers' church can be characterized by several convictions: the Church belongs not to the members, but to Christ, there is a voluntary commitment that each person makes toward the church, often there is an emphasis on the separation between church and the world (often drawing accusations of Platonic dualism), as well as an emphasis on mission and proclamation of the good news.

References

• The Seventh Messenger and Seventh Message
• BibleWay.Org
• Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen An Introduction to Ecclesiology: Ecumenical, Historical & Global Perspectives (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002)
• Avery Dulles, S.J., Models of the Church: A Critical Assessment of the Church in All Its Aspects 2nd ed. (Dublin: Gill and Macmillan Ltd., 1987)

See also

• William Branham
• Branhamism
• Latter Rain Movement
• The Message of the Hour

External links

• BelieveTheSign.com An introduction to the Ministry of William Branham
• Believers.org
• Bibleway.org
• End Times Message
• Spoken Word Bible Fellowship
• Spoken Word Church Spoken Word Church, Sermons & Videos of William Branham
• The Eagle's View
• William Branham: Man of God?
• WMB1.com :: William Branham Legacy Complete Resource of Information covering 1909 to present day William Branham eLibrary
• Directory of Message Churches Worldwide Directory of Message Churches Worldwide
• Spoken Word Church Spoken Word Church, Sermons & Videos of William Branham
• Young Foundations
• Voice Of God Recordings