Our Story

Generations Church

Generations Church began in 2001, when a group of 40 people, sent out from Lake Memorial Church, committed themselves to starting a church on the southeast side of the city. We held services in a movie theater for 18 months, and moved to our present location in 2003.

Our Denomination

We are part of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, a denomination with 200 churches in the United States and another 200 churches in 14 other countries. The United Brethren church began during the 18th Century revival movement known as the Great Awakening. In 1767, a Mennonite preacher named Martin Boehm preached at meeting held in a large barn in Lancaster, Pa. A German Reformed minister named William Otterbein, recognizing a kindred spirit, approached Boehm at the end of his message, embraced him, and told him, "We are brethren!" They were different in many ways, but in the important matters of the Christian faith, they were the same.

This attitude has characterized the United Brethren church over the years. We avoid taking stands on issues where the Bible is unclear or allows for varying interpretations (such as method of baptism, Christ's return, and other issues). Our historic stand has been to stand firm on biblical absolutes, allow freedom where the Bible allows freedom, and maintain unity when disagreements arise.

The United Brethren denomination officially organized in 1800 and elected Boehm and Otterbein as bishops. The church spread west from Pennsylvania, and by 1855 had spread to Oregon. In 1821, we took a strong stand against slavery, one of the first denominations to do so. That position prevented us from extending into the South.

The Wright Brothers were United Brethren members (their father was one of our bishops). Francis Scott Key, who wrote the "Star Spangled Banner," was a United Brethren Sunday school teacher.

We have one college, Huntington University, located in Huntington, Ind.