Church of Daniel's Band
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| Church of Daniel's Band | |
| Classification | Pietist-Methodist |
|---|---|
| Origin | 1893 |
| Leader | Rev. Wesley James Haggard |
| Statistics | |
| Congregations | 4 |
| Members | ca. 200 |
| Ministers | 8 |
The Church of Daniel's Band is a nondenominational holiness church originally organized in imitation of the early Methodist class meeting at Marine City, Michigan. It was founded in 1893 by former members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.[1]
In the year of its foundation it had 4 to 5 churches with 120 to 217 members and eight ministers.[1][2]
The name of the church was chosen, based on the title of a sermon delivered by Charles Spurgeon, at the Metropolitan Tabernacle in Newington, London, on August 3rd, 1890, entitled Daniel's Band, in which in which he related the story of Daniel in the Old Testament.[2] In that sermon, he exhorted his listeners, "The Lord preserved Daniel, and he will preserve you, dear friend, if you belong to 'Daniel's Band.'[3]
Its doctrines and polity are based on the Methodist model. It stresses evangelism, perfectionism, fellowship, religious freedom, and ascetism. [4]
It has historically been a rather small body, although it did experience a period of rapid growth in the late 1910's and early 1920's. During that time, it grew from 4 churches with 129 members to 6 churches with 393 members.[5] Between 1950 and 1951, it again experienced a period of rapid growth, going from 121 members to 200 members. [6] In 2007, it reported having only one to four employees. [7]
Currently, all four of the church's congregations are in the state of Michigan. It is registered in Midland, Michigan[3], with additional congregations in Beaverton, Linwood, and Gladwin in Michigan.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ Ferm, Vergilius (ed). An Encyclopedia of Religion; Westport, CT: Greenwood Press (1976; 1st ed. pub. 1945 by Philosophical Library); pg. 172.
- ^ Melton, J. Gordon (ed.) The Encyclopedia of American Religions: Vol. 1. Tarrytown, NY: Triumph Books (1991); Section: Pietist-Methodist Family: Non-Episcopal Methodism; pg. 188.
- ^ Spurgeon Sermon Daniel's Band Daniel 10:11. Retrieved on 2008-06-10.
- ^ Non-Episcopal Methodism. Retrieved on 2008-06-10.
- ^ Holt, Arthur E. (May 1929). "Religion". The American Journal of Sociology 34 (6): 1116-1128.
- ^ The Association of Religion Data Archives. Retrieved on 2008-06-10.
- ^ NAICS Business Report. Retrieved on 2008-06-10.
