His teachings highlighted the central importance of the Bible and the value of living a full Christian life.
Following dissatisfaction with the Anglican Church, the first meetings had been formed by 1829 with the name Plymouth Brethren adopted as founding teachers hailed from Plymouth in southern England.
One of the church’s areas of difference was moving away from a formal hierarchical structure with greater emphasis placed on personal responsibility.
The Plymouth Brethren Christian Church has grown to more than 55,000 members across the globe in places including Australia, New Zealand, United States, Europe, the United Kingdom, the Caribbean and Argentina.
As a thriving, close-knit Christian community, we do not actively seek new members. Instead, most of our community are born into the Church, and a vast majority of those who are stay in the fellowship their whole lives.
Despite our long history as a faith-based, Christian community with strong family values, there can be misconceptions about our Church and its members, including many about our practices and beliefs. Many people may also know us by the name “Exclusive Brethren” – but we do not use that name and the correct title is the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church.
There is no question too big or small, and we want to provide clear answers to common questions we receive, such as:
Our Church is like a large, closely-knit extended family. We support and help each other, just like many extended families.
We believe it is important to live harmoniously alongside people, no matter their faith, and one of our key religious tenets is to treat everyone with respect. Our members similarly respect and comply with local laws and regulations in the countries where they live.
While we hold true to the principle of separation, this does not mean we think we are superior to others. Every day, our members work with, live besides, and engage with people from both outside and within our church community, providing a positive contribution to the local communities where they live and work.
With a strong work ethic, many of our members take pride in creating economic value for their local communities, including by creating jobs for local people or generating taxes to help fund public services.
In line with their Christian values, our members also actively volunteer and participate in charitable work, including through our charity the Rapid Relief Team.
For more information about our way of life, visit our global website.
We believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, and all members of our church are expected to act in accordance with its teachings. A close, personal link with Christ is a priority for our members.In this respect we are no different to many other Christian churches.
Moral integrity is an important Brethren value and young members have the Bible read to them from an early age to encourage them, inspire them, and guide them along their correct path in life. One of the key ways we practice our faith is that we gather together many times a week to read the Scriptures and pray. We are a close-knit community and enjoy coming together for our church meetings.
Like other Christian denominations, we gather ever Sunday at our Gospel halls where we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, which is a highlight of the week.
But one of the most misunderstood parts of our faith – and perhaps one of the most significant – is our belief in the principle of separation. We believe sharing a meal is an act of religious fellowship and as such we do not share meals with those we are not in fellowship with. This belief is based in Scripture with Acts 2:42 stating: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” While it may seem unique, we note that there are many other faiths and religions that have beliefs based around food.
Along with our love of Jesus Christ, the family unit is the most important part of being part of the Plymouth Brethren fellowship.
Brethren families are very close knit and enjoy spending time together, whether that is spending time outdoors, playing music and singing, hosting guests or cooking together. This closeness and togetherness are shared with our extended families and others in our Church community.
Brethren men and women live at home with their families until they marry.
As per the teachings in the Bible “about being clothed with humility”, church members choose to dress modestly and neatly.
Plymouth Brethren men prefer to wear long pants and collared shirts. Plymouth Brethren women will usually wear skirts or dresses. But of course, this may not always be practical – for example, when exercising or playing sport.
Plymouth Brethren men prefer short, neat hairstyles, while Plymouth Brethren women usually will wear their hair longer and choose modest makeup. Women wear head scarves at church, and it is common for them to wear a ribbon or headband outside of church.
One of the Plymouth Brethren rules is that we only dine with those whom we would celebrate the Lord’s Supper with every Sunday, our fellow church members.
Mealtimes are therefore often very special occasions for the Plymouth Brethren. We are a mainstream Christian religion and like other denominations, we have our own culture and traditions which are unique to us.
