How the Disciples Grew in Ontario

An Account of the Early Growth of the Restoration Movement in Ontario

An often overlooked part of the religious landscape in 19th century Ontario is that of churches like the Bible Christians, various Baptists from Scotland and the United States, the Christian Connection, and Disciples of Christ, who sought to return to first century Christianity. How the Disciples Grew in Ontario explores one of these, the Disciples of Christ, and takes up where the author’s previous book, How the Disciples Came Together in Early Ontario, left off. That volume told how churches, some of Scottish background and others influenced by radical Christian movements from the United States, came together in 1843.

This new volume covers Disciples from 1841–1867 with details about local churches and their leaders and a description of how they saw themselves and worked together. It also assesses their growth and the onset of the controversy that later brought division in their ranks. Primary sources, including contemporary religious journals, memoirs, and other documents of people alive then, are used to tell the story as it has not been told before. New light is shed on a people often forgotten or ignored and enables their spiritual heirs to better understand and appreciate their roots.

This is a digital book (PDF)