What Is Our History?

Most of the churches of the Illinois South Conference began as German Evangelical congregations, dating from about 1835. In those early days, the congregations had many things in common: their pastors were often sent from Germany as missionaries instead of coming from the local population; they struggled with the question of which denomination to join; and they often were attacked by anticlerical groups who accused the German Evangelical Church Society of the West of attempting to recreate the tight controls which had existed in the old country. The fluid nature of frontier society made establishing stable congregations frustrating, difficult and dangerous. Dedicated clergy had to learn how to cope with the rigors and isolation of frontier conditions.

Before 1820, there were a few German-Americans from the East Coast in residence, both in Missouri and in Illinois. The arrival of people directly from Germany occurred after that date. This influx was initially slow, increasing as the Thirty Years' War spread misery and suffering through the German provinces. These early immigrant communities were without schools, churches or pastors, and appeals were sent to centers such as the Basel Mission House and the Barmen Mission House for pastors. Three such pastors were Johann Jakob Riess who arrived in 1835, Joseph Rieger in 1836 and Adolf Herman Baltzer in 1845. The Evangelical Church Society of the West was begun at a meeting at Gravois, Missouri, on the 14th of October, 1840, by six pastors who had come to realize that they must join together to help each other and their congregations to face the challenges of the time. This same group authorized the founding of the German Evangelical Preacher's Seminary, later incorporated as the German Evangelical Missouri College in 1855 near Marthasville, Missouri. (That institution grew and changed over the years, and we know it today as Eden Theological seminary in Webster Groves, Missouri.) By 1866, Southern Illinois Boasted 23 churches, clustered mostly around the Kaskaskia and the Mississippi Rivers. From those early struggles have come today's 83 churches of the Illinois South Conference, United Church of Christ.

The Present Conference
The eighty-three local congregations belonging to the Illinois South Conference of the United Church of Christ are located in twenty-three counties. A cohesive spirit exists among the congregations of the Conference, continuing into the present the historic character of the Evangelical Synod of North American, begun in 1840. In 1934 the Synod united with the Reformed Church in the United States to become the Evangelical and Reformed Church, which in 1957 joined with the Congregational Christian Churches to become the United Church of Christ.

Theologically this Evangelical character is rooted in a strong sense of Biblical authority. Any change in denomination, conference or local congregation priorities and directions not rooted in a clear Biblical rationale is resisted. Practice of the Christian Faith is important, continuing the strong Evangelical sense of responsibility for social justice and support of institutions which provide care for people. Evangelical character is nurtured by the one hundred and fifty-four year history (for which the Evangelical Catechism of 1847 was foundational), yet there is also awareness and acceptance of the reality that today's congregations are hardly homogeneous and include members who represent a wide spectrum of denominational and ideological backgrounds.

The congregations of the Illinois South Conference take quite seriously the work of the conference and the national setting. Financial support is strong: 30% of OCWM giving goes to National.