Church of God (New Dunkers)

The Church of God (New Dunkers) was a religious group that was formed in 1848 by dissidents of the Schwarzenau Brethren (now known as Church of the Brethren).

The Church appear to be indebted to Peter Eyman (ca. 1805–1852) for their origin. In the fall of 1827, the "Dunker" Church in Montgomery County, Ohio, was organized by Eyman, who was the Church's first preacher. Then Eyman moved from Ohio in 1828 to Carroll County, Indiana, serving in what became the Bachelor's Run and Lower Deer Creek churches.

Bachelor's Run was the first Brethren Church in Carroll County. The congregation was organized by Eyman in 1829. In 1838 trouble began between Eyman and fellow minister Peter Replogle, which resulted in a division of Church territory. Replogle started the Deer Creek congregation. Around 1845 Peter Eyman and another minister, George Patton, advocated "variant practices" for which they were disfellowshipped by the Annual Conference in 1848.

The Eyman/Patton group were popularly known as the "New Dunkers", but they called themselves the Church of God, insisting that "Bible things should be called by Bible names". They took the position that "Church of God" was the only scriptural church name. In doctrine and practice, they were close to the Brethren from whom they evolved, faithfully observing trine forward immersion, feet washing, the holy kiss, anointing with oil, and other Brethren practices. In the 1940s, the Church had eight churches with about 500 members, but in August 1962 the Church disbanded.

References[edit]

Clark, Elmer T. (1999). Small Sects in America. Diane Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0-7881-6404-0.
Mead, Frank Spencer (1956). Handbook of Denominations in the United States. Abingdon Press.

Further reading[edit]

Bowman, C. F.; Bowman, C.D.; Durnbaugh, D.F. (1986). Church of the Brethren: Yesterday and Today. Brethren Press. p. 18. ISBN 978-0-87178-151-2.
Dove, F. D. (1932). Cultural Changes in the Church of the Brethren: A Study in Cultural Sociology. University of Pennsylvania. University of Pennsylvania. p. 72.
Durnbaugh, D.F., ed. (1983). "Church of God (New Dunkers)". The Brethren Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. Brethren Encyclopedia, Incorporated. p. 297. ISBN 978-0-318-00487-7.
Kimmel, J. M. (1951). Chronicles of the Brethren: Comprising a Concise History of the Brethern Or Dunker Church. Author. p. 106.
Kirkham, E. K. (1978). A Survey of American Church Records: Major and Minor Denominations Before 1880-1890 : Religious Migrations of Some of the Major Denominations. Everton Publishers. p. 7.
Mead, Frank Spencer (1961). Handbook of Denominations in the United States. Abingdon Press. p. 56. ISBN 9781297025839.
Murphy, T.F., ed. (1941). Religious Bodies, 1936. Vol. 2, Part 1. Washington, DC: United States Census Bureau / U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 289–290.
Palmer, E. H. (1968). The Encyclopedia of Christianity. Vol. 2. National Foundation for Christian Education. p. 163.
Powell, J. Z.; Lewis Publishing Company (1913). History of Cass County Indiana: From Its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time : with Biographical Sketches and Reference to Biographies Previously Compiled. County and regional histories of the "Old Northwest.": Indiana. Vol. 1. Lewis Publishing Company. p. 433.
United States Census Bureau (1928). Census of Religious Bodies: 1926: German Baptist Brethren (Dunkers): Statistics, Denominational History, Doctrine, and Organization. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 30–31.
Winger, O. (1917). History of the Church of the Brethren in Indiana. Brethren Publishing House. pp. 457–459. ISBN 978-0-7222-0845-8.
Winger, O. (1919). History and Doctrines of the Church of the Brethren. Brethren Publishing House. pp. 96–99.
Watson, E. O., ed. (1922). "Church of God (New Dunkers)". Year book of the churches: 1921-22. Washington, DC: Federal Council of Churches in Christ in America / Hayworth Publishing House. p. 45.
Watson, E. O., ed. (1923). "Church of God (New Dunkards)". Year book of the churches: 1923. Washington, DC: Federal Council of Churches in Christ in America. p. 47.