Why Are There So Many Denominations?

Does it bother you that there are so many different denominations? If Christianity is true, shouldn’t there be just one kind of church? How can we know if we are in the one “true” denomination?

I was once pastoring in a small town of about 5000 people. In that town, we had about a dozen churches. Three of them were Baptist, but from three different Baptist groups!

The history of the Christian church is complex. There was a split at one point into the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches. Later, the Protestants split from the Roman Catholics and the Protestants in turn split into numerous denominations.

Why do they exist? Sometimes it was as simple as people who couldn’t get along and arguments about minor issues. Other times it was because people of faith had strong convictions and could no longer remain with those that had different convictions. For example, the early Baptists felt like they had to separate from those who were baptizing babies.

The existence of denominations is not a problem for the church. There are different styles that appeal to different personalities. Some people can better connect with God is a charismatic/Pentecostal context, while others prefer a high church setting.

More than that, just because we may disagree about certain things, that does not mean we think every other denomination is a false church. Those who call upon Jesus as Lord are Christians. Baptists happily work together with Anglicans, Presbyterians and Pentecostals. We all serve the same Jesus.

Are the Baptists the “true” denomination? I believe the Baptists have their strengths (otherwise I wouldn’t be a Baptist) but we are no better than other Christians. Baptists are just a group of Christians whose convictions cluster around certain areas about baptism and the nature of the church.

The Christian church can still be united, even with all of our denominations. We just need to focus on Jesus.