# Kansas City Statement of Faith > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Kansas_City_Statement_of_Faith > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Kansas_City_Statement_of_Faith.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas_City_Statement_of_Faith > Source revision: 1149930337 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) The **Kansas City Statement of Faith** is a 1913 [confession of faith](/source/Creed) adopted by the [National Council of the Congregational Churches of the United States](/source/National_Council_of_the_Congregational_Churches_of_the_United_States) at Kansas City, Missouri. This concise statement of Congregational beliefs restates traditional [congregational polity](/source/Congregational_polity) and endorses [ecumenism](/source/Ecumenism), while also displaying the drift away from [Reformed theology](/source/Reformed_theology) that had occurred in [American Congregationalism](/source/Congregationalism_in_the_United_States). ## Contents [American Congregationalists](/source/Congregationalism_in_the_United_States) had adopted [earlier confessional statements](/source/Reformed_confessions_of_faith). The [Savoy Declaration](/source/Savoy_Declaration), a modified version of the [Westminster Confession of Faith](/source/Westminster_Confession_of_Faith), had been in use in America since the 18th century and reflected an earlier commitment to [Calvinist](/source/Calvinist) theology.[1] The Kansas City Statement of Faith was crafted in 1913 to "affirm traditional congregationalist principles in a form that would meet the needs" of the 20th century.[2] The statement is organized into three sections on "Faith", "Polity", and "Wider Fellowship". The section on faith affirms belief in [God the Father](/source/God_the_Father), [Jesus Christ](/source/Jesus_Christ) as lord and savior, and the [Holy Spirit](/source/Holy_Spirit_in_Christianity). The will of God is described as being found in the [Bible](/source/Bible). The mission of the [church](/source/Christian_Church) is described as proclaiming [the gospel](/source/The_gospel) to all, worshiping God, and "laboring for the progress of knowledge, the promotion of justice, the reign of peace, and the realization of human brotherhood." It commits Congregationalists to "work and pray for the transformation of the world into the [kingdom of God](/source/Kingdom_of_God_(Christianity))" and looks forward to the ultimate triumph of [righteousness](/source/Righteousness) and [everlasting life](/source/Eternal_life_(Christianity)).[3] According to historian William Youngs, the section on faith "suggests the degree to which dogmatic Calvinism had disappeared from Congregationalism". Youngs notes that the statement lacks any mention of the [means of grace](/source/Means_of_grace), [original sin](/source/Original_sin) or [predestination](/source/Predestination).[4] Though the statement officially recognized the movement away from [Puritan](/source/Puritan) theology, its section on polity is largely consistent with early Puritan beliefs in the autonomy of the local church. In this section, [congregational polity](/source/Congregational_polity) is affirmed. The statement also affirms the cooperation of churches together in district, state and national bodies (such as the [National Council of Congregational Churches](/source/National_Council_of_Congregational_Churches)).[4] The section on "Wider Fellowship" endorses [ecumenism](/source/Ecumenism) and the efforts to achieve unity with other Christian denominations. This section reflects future initiatives of the Congregationalists to unite with other Christian denominations, ultimately culminating in the formation of the [United Church of Christ](/source/United_Church_of_Christ) in 1957.[4] ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Youngs, J. William T. (1998). [*The Congregationalists*](https://books.google.com/books?id=kOuBhis1-7QC). Denominations in America. Vol. 4 (Student ed.). Westport, Connecticut: Praeger. p. 52. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780275964412](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780275964412). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Kansas City Statement of Faith"](http://www.ucc.org/beliefs_kansas-city-statement-of). *www.ucc.org*. [United Church of Christ](/source/United_Church_of_Christ). 1913. Retrieved June 22, 2017. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEKansas_City_Statement_of_Faith1913_3-0)** [Kansas City Statement of Faith 1913](#CITEREFKansas_City_Statement_of_Faith1913). 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEYoungs1998184_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEYoungs1998184_4-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEYoungs1998184_4-2) [Youngs 1998](#CITEREFYoungs1998), p. 184. ## External links - [Statement of Faith](https://www.ucc.org/kansas-city-statement-of-faith/) v t e Reformed confessions of faith Continental Reformed Tetrapolitan Confession Helvetic Confessions Consensus Tigurinus French Confession of Faith Three Forms of Unity Heidelberg Catechism Belgic Confession Canons of Dort Harmony of the Confessions of Faith Helvetic Consensus Conclusions of Utrecht Barmen Declaration Belhar Confession British and American Presbyterian Scots Confession Negative Confession Westminster Standards Westminster Confession of Faith Westminster Shorter Catechism Westminster Larger Catechism Directory for Public Worship Directory for Family Worship The Form of Presbyterial Church Government Confession of 1967 Book of Confessions Anglican Thirty-nine Articles Lambeth Articles Irish Articles Chicago–Lambeth Quadrilateral Baptist Helwys Declaration of Faith First London Confession of Faith Standard Confession of Faith St Paul's Catechism Second London Confession of Faith Keach's Catechism Philadelphia Confession of Faith New Hampshire Confession of Faith Strict Baptist Affirmation of Faith Congregationalist Cambridge Platform Savoy Declaration Saybrook Platform Kansas City Statement of Faith Subordinate standard --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Kansas City Statement of Faith](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas_City_Statement_of_Faith) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas_City_Statement_of_Faith?action=history)). 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