Conservative holiness movement

The father of Methodism, John Wesley, taught that "Nothing is sin, strictly speaking, but a voluntary transgression of a known law of God. Therefore, every voluntary breach of the law of love is sin; and nothing else, if we speak properly. To strain the matter farther is only to make way for Calvinism."{{Cite book |last=Wesley |first=John |title=The Works of John Wesley, Third Edition |year=1872 |volume=12 |location=London: Wesleyan Methodist Book Room |pages=394}} With this narrower understanding of sin, John Wesley believed that it was not only possible but necessary to live without committing sin. Wesley explains this in his comments on {{Bibleverse|1 John|3:8|KJV}}: "Whosoever abideth in communion with Him—By loving faith, sinneth not—While he so abideth. Whosoever sinneth certainly seeth Him not—The loving eye of his soul is not then fixed upon God; neither doth he then experimentally know Him—Whatever he did in time past."John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament, Fourth American Edition. (New York: J. Soule and T. Mason, 1818), 661. Holiness adherents therefore believe in the possibility and necessity of living a life without committing sin. Leading Holiness Scholar Leslie D. Wilcox concluded that "holiness writers, following the Wesleyan theology, define sin as a willful transgression of a known law of God."Leslie D. Wilcox, Be Ye Holy Leslie (Cincinnati Ohio: Revivalist Press., 1977), p. 40. The Inter-Church Holiness Convention following John Wesley defines sin as "a willful transgression against a known law of God. This means that there must be knowledge of wrongdoing, or of refusing to obey God, before sin is committed. Mistakes are not sin."{{Cite web|title=Salvation |publisher=InterChurch Holiness Convention|url=https://ihconvention.com/build-your-faith/questions-answers/salvation/|access-date=2021-01-12|language=en-US}} H. E. Schmul, the founder of the Inter-Church Holiness Convention actually explains how some of our "theological wunderkind" including S. D. Herron, and Leslie Wilcox came up with this definition:

An act of sin is any uncoerced word or thought or deed that violates the will of God, performed by an intelligent responsible person within the age of accountability done in defiance of God or not prompted by love to God or desire to please him. Sin, then, is a responsible act.{{Cite book |last=Black |first=Brian |title=Properly Defining Sin: Defending the Biblical Definition |publisher=Heritage Publications |year=2023 |isbn=979-8860817951}}

The word Holiness refers specifically to the belief in entire sanctification as a definite, second work of grace, in which original sin is cleansed, the heart is made perfect in love, and the believer is empowered to serve God. The Conservative Holiness movement is known for its emphasis on the possibility, necessity, and instantaneous nature of Entire Sanctification, also known as 'Christian perfection' in Methodism and 'Perfectionism' in Quakerism, as well as the second work of grace. This doctrine is shown in the founding documents of the Holiness Movement, the 1885 Declaration of Principles which explained:

"Entire Sanctification... is that great work wrought subsequent to regeneration, by the Holy Ghost, upon the sole condition of faith...such faith being preceded by an act of solemn and complete consecration. This work has these distinct elements:

1. The entire extinction of the carnal mind, the total eradication of the birth principle of sin;
2. the communication of perfect love to the soul...
3. the abiding indwelling of the Holy Ghost."Maddox, Randy (1998). "Reconnecting the Means to the End: A Wesleyan Prescription for the Holiness Movement". Wesleyan Theological Journal.33 (2): 29–66

The Book of Discipline of the Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection explicates the doctrine of sanctification:

Entire sanctification is that work of the Holy Spirit by which the child of God is cleansed from all inbred sin through faith in Jesus Christ. It is subsequent to regeneration, and is wrought when the believer presents himself a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, and is thus enabled through grace to love God with all the heart and to walk in His holy commandments blameless.

Gen. 17:1; Deut. 30:6; Ps. 130:8; Ezek. 36:25–29; Matt. 5:48; Luke 1:74, 75; John 17:2–23; Rom. 8:3, 4; 11:26; 1 Cor. 6:11; 14:20; Eph. 4:13, 24; 5:25–27; Phil. 2:5, 7; Col. 4:12; 1 Thes. 3:10; 5:23; 2 Thes. 2:13; 2 Tim. 3:17; Tit. 2:12, 14; Heb. 9:13, 14; 10:14, 18–22; Jas. 1:27; 4:8; 1 Pet. 1:10; 2 Pet. 1:4; 1 John 1:7, 9; 3:8, 9; 4:17, 18; Jude 24.{{cite book|title=The Discipline of the Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection (Original Allegheny Conference)|year=2014|publisher=Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection|location=Salem|language=en|pages=15–16}}

John Wesley, who articulated the doctrine, taught that those who had been entirely sanctified would be perfect in love, engaging in works of piety and works of mercy—both of which are characteristic of a believer's growing in grace.{{cite book|author=S. T. Kimbrough|title=Orthodox and Wesleyan ecclesiology|year=2007|publisher=St Vladimir's Seminary Press|isbn=9780881412680|quote=Perhaps Wesley's favorite description of his own calling and that of Methodism was to "spread scriptural holiness." He and his helpers preaced "entire sanctification" or "Christian perfection" understood as the single-hearted love of God and neighbor. The twin vehicles and expressions of such love were "works of piety" (prayer, fasting, searching the Scriptures, partaking of the Lord's Supper as "means of grace") and "works of mercy" ("doing good unto all men, to their souls and to their bodies"): "God works [in you]; therefore you can work. God works [in you]; therefore you must work."}}{{cite web|title=Christian Perfection: Works of Piety and Mercy|url=http://gbgm-umc.org/umw/wesley/action.stm|publisher=The United Methodist Church|quote=Christian Perfection is "holiness of heart and life." It is "walking the talk." John Wesley expected Methodists to do not only "works of piety" but "works of mercy"--both of these fused together put a Christian on the path to perfection in love.|access-date=5 July 2011|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060202204507/http://gbgm-umc.org/UMW/Wesley/action.stm|archivedate=2 February 2006}}

Members of the Conservative Holiness movement generally hold that the lifestyle restrictions found in the New Testament are still binding today and must be followed. This generally shows up in areas of entertainment, keeping the Sunday Sabbath, and modest clothing.

This is taught in the doctrine of outward holiness (for Methodist denominations in the conservative holiness movement), the testimony of simplicity (for Quaker yearly meetings in the conservative holiness movement), the doctrine of nonconformity to the world (for River Brethren denominations in the conservative holiness movement), and the principle of separation from the world (for Restorationist denominations in the conservative holiness movement).

Though there is variety in application of these principles, there is general consensus that they must be followed.{{Cite book |last=Gibson |first=Stephen |title=Dr. |publisher=Allegheny Publications |year=2008 |pages=6}}

File:Tabernacle of Flatwoods Reformed Free Methodist Campground.jpg of Flatwoods Reformed Free Methodist Campground, which served as the location of the annual camp meeting of the Reformed Free Methodist Church, one of the earliest denominations of the conservative holiness movement]]

File:Grace Wesleyan Methodist Church.jpg and is located in Akron, Ohio.]]

The Holiness movement was largely contained within mainline Methodism during the 19th century, with some members of the holiness movement continuing to remain in the mainline Methodist Churches to this day (the "stay-inners"). Wesleyan-Holiness doctrine influenced adherents of other denominations as well. By the 1880s a persistent wave of "come-outism" was beginning to gather steam. The come-outers were concerned that mainline Methodism had begun to water-down Holiness teachings and even shun its more outspoken proponents.

The majority of the denominations which now comprise the Conservative holiness movement were once among a number of Holiness movement groups which had a history of coming out or having left mainline Methodism to teach and practice Holiness doctrine uninhibited. The denominations that left mainline Methodism and the mainstream holiness movement to form the conservative holiness movement did so because they saw a relaxation of the prohibitions on certain behaviours that they considered to be "worldly". The list of prohibitions varies from denomination to denomination, but the prohibitions include the wearing of gold (which includes wedding rings), television in the home (an extension to previous bans on theater patronage), women not cutting their hair (in accordance with historic interpretations of I Corinthians 11), the prohibition of men wearing shorts, the prohibition of women wearing short skirts, and the prohibition of patronizing sporting events on the Sunday Sabbath. Members of denominations in the conservative holiness movement align themselves with the temperance movement and practice teetotalism, thus abstaining from alcohol and other drugs.{{cite book|title=The Discipline of the Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection (Original Allegheny Conference)|year=2014|publisher=Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection|location=Salem |page=37}} Each major denomination enforces some of the disciplines listed above, so there is some variation amongst the groups. It is these disciplines that characterize the Churches of the conservative holiness movement.

The Church of God (Holiness) was created as a result of a schism with the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1883 due to differences in interpretation of the Methodist doctrine of Christian perfection, as well as standards of dress.{{cite book | last1=Thornton | first1=Wallace Jr. |title=Behavioral Standards, Embourgeoisement, and the Formation of the Conservative Holiness Movement |date=2008 |publisher=Wesleyan Theological Society |page=181 |language=English}} In the Restorationist tradition, the Church of God (Guthrie, Oklahoma) left the Church of God (Anderson, Indiana) in the 1910s due to issues concerning "worldly conformity in dress".{{cite book | last1=Thornton | first1=Wallace Jr. |title=Behavioral Standards, Embourgeoisement, and the Formation of the Conservative Holiness Movement |date=2008 |publisher=Wesleyan Theological Society |page=177 |language=English |quote=The CHM thus resulted from the desire of mid-century holiness conservatives to perpetuate the radical cause which dominated the movement at the beginning of the century. ... The first significant conservative “comeouter” group was the Church of God (Guthrie, OK), which pulled radical constituents from the Church of God (Anderson) in the early 1910s.}} The body that is now the Bible Holiness Church originated in 1896 as a schism with the Wesleyan Methodist Church and originally had a Holiness Pentecostal orientation; the Bible Holiness Church, however, formally rejected the possibility of a third work of grace in 1948.{{cite book |last1=Kurian |first1=George Thomas |last2=Lamport |first2=Mark A. |title=Encyclopedia of Christianity in the United States |date=10 November 2016 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-4422-4432-0 |page=244 |language=English}} The Central Yearly Meeting of Friends is a Quaker Yearly Meeting emphasizing George Fox's doctrine of perfectionism and was founded in 1924.{{cite book |last1=Kostlevy |first1=William |title=Historical Dictionary of the Holiness Movement |date=3 August 2009 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0-8108-6318-7 |page=48 |language=English}} The Reformed Free Methodist Church left the Free Methodist Church in 1932; the Immanuel Missionary Church and the Emmanuel Association of Churches left the Pilgrim Holiness Church in 1936 and 1941, respectively—these schisms were due to what the departing bodies perceived as a laxity in traditional doctrine and standards.{{cite book |last1=Lewis |first1=James R. |title=The Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religions |date= 2001 |publisher=Prometheus Books |isbn= 978-1-61592738-8}}{{cite book |last1=Jones |first1=Charles Edwin |title=A guide to the study of the holiness movement |date=1974 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0-81080703-7 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/guidetostudyoft00char}} Samuel West spearheaded the formation of the Reformed Free Methodist Church, which held its annual Flatwoods Camp Meeting in Perryopolis, Pennsylvania; the RFMC emphasized the traditional Methodist doctrine of plain dress. The Emmanuel Association, belonging to the subgroup of "Holiness Pacifists" in the conservative holiness movement, is known for its opposition to warfare and its holiness standards are codified in a manual known as "Principles of Holy Living"; the Immanuel Missionary Church, the First Bible Holiness Church and the Church of God likewise teach nonresistance and are conscientious objectors, thus falling under this category too.{{cite book |title=Manual: First Bible Holiness Church |date=1956 |publisher=First Bible Holiness Church |location=Muncie |page=4}}{{cite web |title=Biblical Nonresistance: The Call of Christ to the Law of Love |url=https://www.thegospeltruth.org/wp-content/uploads/EnglishGT/Gospel-Truth-26-Biblical-Nonresistance.pdf|publisher=Church of God |access-date=20 May 2021 |issue=26|work=The Gospel Truth|pages=5–9 |language=English}}{{cite book |last1=Lewis |first1=James R. |title=The Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religions |date=2001 |publisher=Prometheus Books |isbn=978-1-61592-738-8 |page=304 |language=English |quote=The doctrine of the Emmanuel Association is similar to that of the Pilgrim Holiness Church, but it has a very rigid behavior code called Principles of Holy Living. Members are conscientious objectors.}}

The Holiness movement, for the most part, huddled together tightly from its early history to later when Pentecostalism was competing for the hearts and minds of its adherents. During the Fundamentalist–Modernist Controversy of the 1920s and onward, most Holiness groups found themselves at home in the Fundamentalist camp or allied with them.{{Cite web |url= http://nazarene.org/files/docs/Strange%20Bedfellows%20The%20Nazarenes%20and%20Fundamentalism.pdf |title= The Nazarenes & fundamentalism |access-date= 2015-02-16 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160414123106/http://nazarene.org/files/docs/Strange%20Bedfellows%20The%20Nazarenes%20and%20Fundamentalism.pdf |archive-date= 2016-04-14 |url-status=dead}} While many Holiness groups made the jump toward the Evangelical movement in the late 1930s, there were groups that felt their Holiness peers were drifting away from Biblical inerrancy and separation from the world.

By the post-World War II era, a more relaxed societal attitude toward morality and theological differences continued to accompany many mainstream Holiness conferences, districts and local churches reinforcing longstanding prohibitions on behavior in their governing documents. Not at home with other Fundamentalist alliances (which had a more Calvinistic and non-Holiness tone to them), an Interdenominational Holiness Convention (IHC) was called at a Wesleyan Methodist campground in Fairmont, Indiana, in 1951, though it did not include all denominations that are characterized as belonging to the conservative holiness movement, especially those of a more isolationist nature. Entire sanctification (in Methodism) or Perfectionism (in Quakerism), as well as traditional holiness strictures on dress and entertainment, held a prominent place in convention sermons. The swelling divorce rate, the relentless spread of Communism (with its promotion of state atheism), and the effects of television on society were also prominent themes.Leonard Sankey, “Let’s Talk Dayton Convention,” Convention Herald, May–June 1999 Participants resisted a call to form a new denomination, but became an ally toward a series of prior and future institutional secessions.

In 1955 the Bible Missionary Church (BMC) was formed in Idaho and soon grew nationwide as local congregations left the Church of the Nazarene over "worldliness" issues.

In 1963, another schism in the Free Methodist Church led to the formation of the Evangelical Wesleyan Church (EWC).{{cite book |last=Kostlevy|first=William|title= Historical Dictionary of the Holiness Movement|date=3 August 2009|publisher= Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0-81086318-7|page= 30-31}}

In 1963, the Pilgrim Holiness Church of New York seceded from the Pilgrim Holiness Church to become an independent organization (in 1966–68, the Wesleyan Methodist Church and the Pilgrim Holiness Church proposed a merger to form the Wesleyan Church, which today has more in common with the Christian Holiness Partnership-affiliated Holiness churches such as the Nazarene Church).

The Brethren in Christ Church, a River Brethren denomination that emerged out of Radical Pietism, entered into a schism in 1963 resulting in the formation of the Calvary Holiness Church, a conservative holiness denomination which continues to emphasize traditional River Brethren beliefs, such as the wearing of a headcovering by women, plain dress, temperance, footwashing, and pacifism.{{cite book |last1= Lewis |first1=James R. |title=The Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religions |date= 2002 |publisher=Prometheus Books |isbn= 978-1-61592738-8 |page=151}}

In 1966, the Church of the Bible Covenant was created as a result of a schism with the Church of the Nazarene under the leadership of Remiss Rehfeldt and Marvin Powers; in August 1988, the Church of the Bible Covenant largely became the International Fellowship of Bible Churches, though at that time, a minority of Covenanters joined the International Conservative Holiness Association.{{cite book |last1=Kostlevy |first1=William |title=The A to Z of the Holiness Movement |date=2010 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-0-8108-7591-3 |page=60 |language=English}}{{cite book |title=Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches 2012 |date=1 April 2012 |publisher=Abingdon Press |isbn=978-1-4267-5610-8 |language=English}}

In the wake of the Wesleyan Church merger, the Bible Methodist Connection of Churches, the Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection of Churches, the Bible Methodist Connection of Tennessee (Tennessee Bible Methodists), the Bible Methodist Connection of Alabama (Alabama Bible Methodists), Bible Methodist Connection Mid-America (formed in 2018), and Pilgrim Holiness Church (Midwest Conference), were organized.

In 1973, the Fellowship of Independent Methodist Churches was formed in the British Isles after a number of congregations left the Methodist Church in Ireland and the Free Methodist Church due to their opposition to what they perceived was ecumenism with branches of Christianity that espoused Modernism.{{cite book |last1=Matthews |first1=Rex Dale |title=Timetables of History for Students of Methodism |date=2007 |publisher=Abingdon Press |isbn=978-0-687-33387-5 |page=231 |language=en}}{{cite book |last1=Cooney |first1=Dudley Levistone |title=The Methodists in Ireland: A Short History |date=2001 |publisher=Columba Press |isbn=978-1-85607-335-6 |page=120 |language=en}}

God's Missionary Church was formed by individuals affected by tent revival services.

Social change constantly confronts Conservative Holiness Christians. The Church of God (Holiness) in 1999 removed a ban on owning televisions, urging charity over “the ownership or use of television, videos, movies, the internet, and such like.” Other denominations in the conservative holiness movement, such as the Evangelical Wesleyan Church, continue to forbid the watching of television, which they hold to be an occasion of sin.I. C. Holland, “The Motive for the Motion,” Church Herald & Holiness Banner, 25 Feb. 2000, p. 10. Issues over doctrine and standards have resulted in schisms in denominations identifying with the conservative holiness movement too; for example, in 1979, a schism in the body now called the Bible Holiness Church resulted in the formation of the Wesleyan Holiness Alliance. The Wesleyan Holiness Association of Churches, the Wesleyan Bible Holiness Church, the United Missionary Church the Pilgrim Nazarene Church, and Churches of Wesleyan Brethren originated as a result of schisms with the Bible Missionary Church, with the former being established under the leadership of Glen Griffith in 1959 to uphold the discipline of prohibiting remarriage after divorce and the latter departing in 2003 "over personal commercial use of the Internet."{{cite book |last1=Bainbridge |first1=William Sims |title=The Sociology of Religious Movements |date=1997 |publisher=Psychology Press |isbn=978-0-415-91202-0 |page=77 |language=English}}{{cite book |last1=Jones |first1=Charles Edwin |title=A Guide to the Study of the Holiness Movement |date=1974 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0-8108-0703-7 |page=813 |language=English}}{{cite book |last1=Jones |first1=Charles Edwin |title=The Wesleyan Holiness Movement: Parts I-III |date=2005 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0-8108-5433-8 |page=813 |language=en}} However, mergers have occurred as well; for example, in August 2019 the Pilgrim Nazarene Church (PNC) voted to join the Bible Methodist Connection. While not all the churches took part in the merger, it is estimated that approximately two-thirds of the PNC churches joined the Bible Methodist Connection.

File:Camp Meeting at Wesleyan Methodist Campground.jpg of a camp meeting of the Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection, held at Wesleyan Methodist Camp in Stoneboro, Pennsylvania]]

Denominations and associations of churches aligned with the conservative holiness movement include the following though independent churches aligned with the common themes of the conservative holiness movement exist too:

• Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection
• Bible Holiness Church
• Bible Methodist Connection of Churches
• Bible Methodist Connection of Tennessee{{cite web|url=http://salisburybiblemethodist.com |title=Salisbury Bible Methodist Church~Salisbury, NC |access-date=2014-05-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221154530/http://salisburybiblemethodist.com/ |archive-date=2014-02-21 }}
• Bible Missionary Church
• Calvary Holiness Church (Philadelphia){{Cite web|url=https://calvaryholinesschurch.org/|title=CHC | Home|website=calvaryholinesschurch.org}}
• Central Yearly Meeting of Friends{{Cite web|url=https://www.centralyearlymeetingoffriends.org/|title=Central Yearly Meeting of Friends|website=www.centralyearlymeetingoffriends.org|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514131659/https://www.centralyearlymeetingoffriends.org/ |archive-date=14 May 2011 |url-status=usurped}}
• Church of God (Holiness){{Cite web|url=https://cogh.net/|title=Church of God (Holiness) - Welcome, We're Glad You're Here}}
• Church of God (Guthrie, Oklahoma)
• Church of the Bible Covenant
• Churches of Wesleyan Brethren{{cite book |last1=Kostlevy |first1=William |last2=Patzwald |first2=Gari-Anne |last3=Thornton |first3=Wallace |title=Historical Dictionary of the Holiness Movement |date=21 October 2024 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=979-8-8818-0343-8 |page=20 |language=en}}
• Crusaders Churches of America{{Cite web|url=http://www.fccstlouis.org/|title=Faith Community Church – Bringing Joy to Life}}
• Emmanuel Association{{cite book |last1=Kostlevy |first1=William |title=Holy Jumpers: Evangelicals and Radicals in Progressive Era America |date=2010 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780199703364 |page=304 |language=en}}
• Evangelical Methodist Church Conference
• Evangelical Wesleyan Church
• Faith Missionary Association
• Fellowship of Independent Methodist Churches
• First Bible Holiness Church{{cite book |last1=Jones |first1=Charles Edwin |title=The Wesleyan Holiness Movement: A Comprehensive Guide |date=2005 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0-8108-5433-8 |page=800 |language=en}}
• God's Missionary Church{{Cite web|url=https://godsmissionarychurch.org/|title=About|website=God's Missionary Church, Inc.}}
• Grace Tabernacle Church{{cite book |last1=Jones |first1=Charles Edwin |title=The Wesleyan Holiness Movement |date=2005 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |page=541}}
• House of Prayer
• Immanuel Missionary Church{{cite book |last1=Echols |first1=Marian |title=Emmanuel Association of Churches: 1936-2015 |date=2015 |publisher=Emmanuel Association of Churches |pages=14–15 |language=English }}
• International Fellowship of Bible Churches
• International Conservative Holiness Association{{Cite web|url=https://www.ichaministries.com/|title=HOME|website=ICHA Ministries}}
• Pilgrim Holiness Church (Midwest Conference)
• Pilgrim Holiness Church of New York{{Cite web|url=http://www.pilgrimholinesschurch.com|title=Pilgrim Holiness Church of New York Website}}
• Reformed Free Methodist Church
• United Holiness Church (Southeast Indiana)
• United Holiness Church of Korea
• United Missionary Church
• Wesleyan Bible Holiness Church
• Wesleyan Holiness Association of Churches{{cite book |title=Portrait of a Town: Portage, Pennsylvania, 1890-1990 |date=1990 |publisher=The Committee |page=59 |language=English |quote=On March 18, 1956, the first service of what is now the Wesleyan Holiness Church was held in the Miner's Hall under the leadership of Rev. Alvin Cottle.}}
• Wesleyan Holiness Alliance{{rp|781}}
• Wesleyan Nazarene Church
• Wesleyan Missionary Church
• Wesleyan Tabernacle Association

Christian denominations aligned with the conservative holiness movement all share a belief in the doctrine of Christian perfection (entire sanctification); apart from this, denominations identified with the conservative holiness movement differ on several issues, given that there are Methodist, Quaker, Anabaptist and Restorationist churches that comprise the conservative holiness movement and these denominations have unique doctrines. Methodist denominations that are a part of the conservative holiness movement, such as the Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection or Evangelical Wesleyan Church, affirm the celebration of the sacraments, chiefly Holy Baptism and Holy Communion; on the other hand, denominations of the Quaker tradition, such as the Central Yearly Meeting of Friends, are entirely non-sacramental. Anabaptist denominations aligned with the conservative holiness movement, such as the Calvary Holiness Church—a River Brethren group—teach the observance of ordinances, such as baptism by trine immersion, communion, headcovering and footwashing. While the Methodist denominations of the conservative holiness movement hold to church membership (such as the Evangelical Methodist Church Conference), the concept of membership rolls is rejected in conservative holiness denominations of a Restorationist background, such as the Church of God (Guthrie, Oklahoma).{{cite book |title=Evangelical Methodist Church Discipline |date=15 July 2017 |publisher=Evangelical Methodist Church Conference |language=English|pages=22–21|quote=The marriage contract is so sacred that we advise against seeking divorce on any grounds whatseover. Should any member seek divorce on any unscriptural grounds (Matt. 5:32 "But I say unto you, that whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery; and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced comitteth adultery."), and that well proven, he shall be summoned to appear at a meeting in the local church, with the general board working in co-operation with the local church board. If proven guilty of such offense, he shall be dismissed at once, and no longer considered a member of Evangelical Methodist Church. We advise against the remarriage of all divorced persons, as the scriptures declare in Romans 7:3a "...So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress." If any person becoming converted, and having such marital complications as mentioned above in the days of their sin and ignorance, it is our belief that God will and does forgive them; however, we shall not receive such persons into church membership, but with to extend to them the right hand of fellowship, promising the prayers of God's people. Should any pastor, knowingly or unknowingly, receive such persons that have been divorced and remarried into membership, such membership shall not be valid. Ministers are advised to have nothing to do with the re-marriage of persons divorced on any grounds. In the event any person is divorced by an unbelieving companion and shall remain in an unmarried state, retaining his or her Christian integrity, he or she shall not be dismissed or barred from church membership.}}{{cite book |last1=Burgess |first1=Stanley M. |last2=Maas |first2=Eduard M. van der |title=The New International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements: Revised and Expanded Edition |date=3 August 2010 |publisher=Zondervan |isbn=978-0-310-87335-8 |language=en |quote=In each place, the Church of God consisted of the wholly sanctified living out the divine command under the Scripture-mandated name. No membership roll had to be kept, for true saints recognized one another.}}

File:EWBI Entrance.jpg (EWBI) in Cooperstown]]

There are a number of elementary, middle and high schools affiliated with various denominations of the conservative holiness movement. Colleges affiliated with the conservative holiness movement include:

• Allegheny Wesleyan College{{Cite web|url=https://awc.edu/|title=Home|website=Allegheny Wesleyan College}} (Salem, OH)
• Bible Missionary Institute (Rock Island, IL)
• Covenant Foundation College (Knightstown, IN) [closed]
• Evangelical Wesleyan Bible Institute (Cooperstown, PA)
• Faith Bible School (Mitchell, SD)
• God's Bible School (Cincinnati, OH){{Cite web|url=https://www.gbs.edu/|title=God's Bible School & College - Ministry training for the 21st century|website=God's Bible School & College}}
• Hobe Sound Bible College{{Cite web|url=https://hsbc.edu/|title=Hobe Sound Bible College - (772) 546-5534|website=Hobe Sound Bible College}} (Hobe Sound, FL)
• Immanuel Missionary College (Shoals, IN) [closed]
• John Fletcher Christian College (Axtell, NE) [closed]
• Kansas Christian College{{cite web |title=Kansas Christian College: 2017-18 Academic Catalog |url=https://kansaschristian.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/2017-2018-Catalog-.pdf |publisher=Kansas Christian College |access-date=24 July 2019 |language=en |date=2018 |quote=We must keep in mind that prudence involves concern for our influence on the college itself, the conservative holiness constituency we serve, the educational community, and the larger society of which we are a part.}} (Overland Park, Kansas)
• Northwest Indian Bible Institute{{Cite web |title=northwestindianbibleschool.org |url=https://northwestindianbibleschool.org/ |access-date=2024-06-18}} (Alberton, MT)
• Penn View Bible Institute (Penns Creek, PA){{Cite web|url=https://pvbi.edu/|title=Penn View Bible Institute | Where the mission still matters.}}
• Peoples Bible College (Colorado Springs, CO) [closed]
• Thompson Bible Institute (Bellevue, OH) [closed]
• Union Bible College and Academy (Westfield, IN){{Cite web|url=https://www.ubca.org/|title=Home|website=Union Bible College}}
• Wesleyan Holiness Bible College/West Virginia Training School (Point Pleasant, WV)

A number of mission endeavors exist within the conservative holiness movement with active mission fields in the Philippines, South Africa, Ukraine, Haiti, Peru, Mexico, Asia, Eastern Europe, India, Myanmar, and South Korea. Listed below are a few of the mission organizations affiliated with the conservative holiness movement. Most of the denominations listed above also maintain their own missions boards and departments for both Home and Foreign Missions.

• Bible Methodist Missions{{Cite web|url=http://biblemethodist.org/missions/index.htm|title=Bible Methodist Missions}}
• Evangelical Bible Mission
• Evangelistic Faith Missions{{Cite web|url=https://efmmissions.org/|title=Evangelistic Faith Missions | Extending the Gospel|website=Evangelistic Faith Missions}}
• Hope International Missions
• Worldwide Faith Missions
• Pilgrim Missions
• Society of Indian Missions
• ICHA Ministries

Publications, publishing companies, periodicals and discipleship tools affiliated with the conservative holiness movement include:

• [https://ihconvention.com/news-articles/convention-herald/ Convention Herald] – publication of the Interchurch Holiness Convention
• [https://www.gbs.edu/alumni/revivalist/ God's Revivalist] (Cincinnati, OH) – affiliated with God's Bible School and College since the late 1800s.
• [http://godsmissionarystandard.com/ God's Missionary Standard] – the publication of God's Missionary Church
• Pilgrim News – the publication of the Pilgrim Holiness Church
• [http://wesleyanbooks.com/ Schmul Publishing Co.] (Nicholasville, KY) – specializing in Wesleyan-Holiness reprints
• [https://www.fimc.info/the-alert.html The Alert] – the publication of the Fellowship of Independent Methodist Churches
• The Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist – the publication of the Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection
• The Convention Pulpit – the podcast of the Interchurch Holiness Convention
• The Earnest Christian – the publication of the Evangelical Wesleyan Church
• The Eleventh Hour Messenger – the publication of the Wesleyan Holiness Association of Churches
• [https://www.churchofgodeveninglight.com/the-gospel-truth/ The Gospel Truth] – the publication of the Church of God (Guthrie, Oklahoma)
• The Holiness Evangelist – the publication of the [https://www.ichaministries.com/ International Conservative Holiness Association]
• The Immanuel Missionary – the publication of the Immanuel Missionary Church

• Apostolic Christian Church (Nazarene), a conservative Anabaptist denomination teaching entire sanctification
• Apostolic Faith Church, a Holiness Pentecostal denomination teaching conservative standards
• Conservative Anabaptism, a conservative strain of Christianity emphasizing obedience to Scriptural commands

{{Reflist}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20050710083533/http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=1862 The Holiness Churches: A Significant Ethical Tradition], Donald W. Dayton
• The Holiness Heritage, by Dr. Brian Black
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20091022202530/http://geocities.com/Athens/Olympus/1802/submissions/jjohnson.htm A Social Science Perspective On The Conservative Holiness Movement], John Johnson
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20050616082837/http://pages.prodigy.net/apbrown2/BibleMethodism/HistoryofBibleMethodism.htm The History and Development of Bible Methodism], A. Philip Brown II
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20050619022929/http://www.gtii.com/bayview/wesleyan.html The History And Organization Of The Wesleyan Church], Bayview Wesleyan Church
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20050211180103/http://www.awmchurch.org/discipline/default.htm Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection Discipline], Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection of Churches
• [http://biblemethodist.org/home/constitution.htm Constitution of the Bible Methodist Connection of Churches], Bible Methodist Connection of Churches
• [http://phcofny.homestead.com/files/are.htm Pilgrim Holiness Church of New York – Who We Are], Pilgrim Holiness Church of New York
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070929161507/http://pastorpedro.org/HDM0084.htm A Presentation Of Perfection], Dr. Mark Eckart (Mainline Wesleyan)
• Handbook of Denominations, by Frank S. Mead, Samuel S. Hill, & Craig D. Atwood
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20140714214053/http://wallacethornton.com/booklet-the-conservative-holiness-movement-a-historical-appraisal/ The Conservative Holiness Movement: A, Historical Appraisal The Conservative Holiness Movement: A Historical Appraisal], by Wallace Thornton Jr.
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20140714133304/http://wallacethornton.com/holiness-doctrine-and-practice/ From Glory to Glory: A Brief Summary of Holiness Beliefs and Practice], Wallace Thornton Jr.
• [http://wallacethornton.com/radical-righteousness/ Radical Righteousness: Personal Ethics and the Development of the Holiness Movement], Wallace Thornton Jr.

• [https://www.holinessmovement.org/ Conservative Holiness Movement (directory)]
• [http://www.holinessonline.com Holiness Online]
• [http://www.holiness.cc Holiness Web Directory]
• [http://www.ihconvention.com/ InterChurch Holiness Convention]
• [https://freedomgospel.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/How-Do-You-Get-to-Heaven-2-Rev.-1.9-NCI.pdf Salvation Plan - Conservative Holiness Movement]

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Category:Methodism

Category:Christian organizations established in 1952

Category:Methodist denominations established in the 20th century

Category:Christian revivals