TheGospel Halls are a group of independent Christian assemblies throughout the world that fellowship with each other through a set of shared Biblical doctrines and practices. Theologically, they areevangelical anddispensational. They are a conservative strand[1] of theOpen Brethren movement and tend to only collaborate with other assemblies when there is doctrinal agreement.[1]
Christians who meet in Gospel Halls generally hold that a scriptural Christian assembly should avoid the use of a "sectarian" name (the name "Gospel Hall Assemblies" is a Wikipedia designation, and they are often called “Plymouth Brethren”, though members of this tradition are not in communion with other Plymouth Brethren who organized thePlymouth Brethren Christian Church). They typically describe themselves simply as "Christians" gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus rather than adopting a denominational title, which has been a long-standing practice.[2]
According to Acts 2:42 of theBible, the first assembly of Christians commenced in Jerusalem around AD32. Gospel Hall assemblies consider this to be their true roots in a spiritual sense. As Christianity spread throughout the Near Eastern world, other churches were planted in new locations (see Revelation chapters 2–3). Two popular books among Gospel Halls –The Pilgrim Church by E.H. Broadbent[3] andChurch History by Andrew Miller[4] make the claim that throughout the centuries of church history, there has always been a remnant independent evangelical testimony, and that the modern Gospel Hall movement, which began in the 1800s, with hundreds of new independent assemblies appearing almost simultaneously in various places around the world (particularly inIreland,Scotland,England, and continental Europe) was a recovery of numerous New Testament beliefs and practices which had been largely lost in Christendom over the centuries. One book discussing this phenomenon is an anonymous work calledAssembly Life Experiences by "an old disciple", recording the story of a group of Christians who were converted in the 1859 revival in Scotland. Through reading only their Bibles they concluded thatclericalism anddenominationalism were unscriptural and subsequently met together to break bread and depend on God for gifting and leadership.[5]
During theRevival of 1859 which affected much ofNorthern Ireland andScotland, "exercised" (stirred in spirit) evangelists, such asAlexander Marshall,Donald Ross andDonald Munro,[6] crossed the Atlantic to preach the gospel, leading to numerous assemblies being planted in United States andCanada.Norman Crawford has documented this story in a chapter of his bookAssembly Truth published by Gospel Tract Publications (Glasgow, 1994).[7] (See alsoJ.J. Rouse for information on an early Canadian Gospel Hall pioneer). Currently, there are hundreds of Gospel Halls worldwide.
Gospel Halls claim to follow the pattern of New Testament church doctrine and practice found in theActs of the Apostles and expounded by theApostle Paul in his epistles, notably 1 Corinthians and 1 Timothy. Assemblies meeting in Gospel Halls do not usually print an official statement of faith, but rather, prefer to reference the Bible alone as their authority. The following basic doctrines would be held very widely among them:[citation needed]
In most Gospel Halls the following weekly meetings are convened at varying times, and may be combined:
Gospel Halls around the world are involved in spreading the gospel of Christ through various means including public preaching, literature work, Bible exhibitions, Sunday schools, radio programmes, prison and school visitation, hospital work and gospel tent meetings during the summer months. Distribution of gospel tracts, gospel calendars and other evangelistic material is commonplace as well asopen-air preaching. With thousands of assemblies and with many hundreds of full-time itinerant evangelists, missionaries and Bible teachers, the enterprise of spreading the message of Jesus Christ and upholding the fundamental truths of the Bible continues as the vision of Christians gathering in Gospel Halls worldwide. During the last half of the 20th century and into the 21st century, while shrinkage was a feature in Europe, expansion was seen in numerous places, notably Canada, South and Central America and Mexico.
Conferences are a significant feature of life among Gospel Halls. Many Gospel Halls will host an annual conference to which visitors will be invited to come and hear Bible teaching. Typically in the UK these will be one-day events, whereas in North America they will span a whole weekend. In Scotland, the New Year period is a popular time for conferences. The Easter weekend is also popular for conferences, with notable ones in Belfast, Toronto and Vancouver, as well as some Latin American countries such as Venezuela and Guatemala. Residential Bible study weeks are also carried out among Gospel Halls throughout the world.
Recordings of Bible teaching from conferences in Gospel Halls are available on numerous localised Gospel Hall websites and on some central audio collection sites.[9]
Holding that the biblical word ἐκκλησία (ekklēsia, Greek for "church") refers to people, not a building, they avoid calling their buildings "churches," preferring to use the title "Gospel Hall" to indicate that thegospel is preached and upheld within. They place little emphasis on their actual church buildings, not considering them to be sacred, and many of the buildings take other names, for example Bethesda Hall, Main Street Hall, Hebron Hall, Gospel Centre, or Believer's Meeting Room. In England and Wales, several buildings named "Gospel Hall" are registered for worship under some Brethren designation,[10] however, the name "Gospel Hall" has also been used byPresbyterian[11][12] and conservativePentecostals.[13][14][15]
Literature has always been emphasized among Gospel Halls. The Scottish publisher John Ritchie Ltd. publishes material from authors connected with Gospel Halls, as well as publishingThe Believer's Magazine,[16] a monthly periodical that has a wide circulation among these assemblies. Other well-known magazines read by Christians in these assemblies areAssembly Testimony,[17]Present Truth andPrecious Seed.,[18] as well as the mission magazine published by the mission support agencyEchoes International, which began in 1872. In the US and Canada, the magazine most widely circulated among Gospel Halls isTruth and Tidings.[19] Missionary magazines such asLook on the Fields andHorizons are also much used.