(German) Reformed Church in the United States (1725 - 1934) - Religious Group
Religious Family: Congregationalists (United Church of Christ)Religious Tradition: Unclassified
Description: The Reformed Church in the United States (RCUS) is a communion of Christian churches in the Reformed tradition. It was established in the U.S. in 1725, with John Philip Boehm as the first minister. Approximately 20 years later, in 1747, the first Coetus of the church was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This effort to organize was led by Rev. Michael Schlatter. About 100 years later, in 1863, the various Synods and Classes of the church united to form the General Synod. The church was then reorganized in the 1930s; in 1934, this denomination merged with the Evangelical Synod of North America to form the Evangelical and Reformed Church. The part of the church that did not merge continued on with the same name. In 1957, the Evangelical and Reformed Church merged with the Congregational Christian Churches to form the United Church of Christ.
Official Site: http://www.rcus.org/
Connections: (German) Reformed Church in the United States
| Group (Active) | Group (Defunct) | Other |
(German) Reformed Church in the United States, Trends (1925 - 1935)1
| YEAR | MEMBERS | MINISTERS | CHURCHES |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925 | 348,002 | 1,324 | 1,731 |
| 1929 | 355,093 | 1,337 | 1,731 |
| 1931 | 346,712 | ||
| 1933 | 474,497 | 1,691 | |
| 1935 | 471,919 | 1,325 | 1,662 |
Sources
1 All data on clergy, members, and churches are taken from the National Council of Churches’ Historic Archive CD and recent print editions of the Council’s Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches. The CD archives all 68 editions of the Yearbook (formerly called Yearbook of the Churches and Yearbook of American Churches) from 1916 to 2000. Read more information on the Historic Archive CD and the Yearbook.
Membership figures are "inclusive." According to the Yearbook, this includes "those who are full communicant or confirmed members plus other members baptized, non-confirmed or non-communicant." Each denomination has its own criteria for membership.
When a denomination listed on the Historic Archive CD was difficult to identify, particularly in early editions of the Yearbook, the ARDA staff consulted numerous sources, including Melton’s Encyclopedia of American Religions and the Handbook of Denominations in the United States. In some cases, ARDA staff consulted the denomination’s website or contacted its offices by phone. When a denomination could not be positively identified, its data were omitted.
