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The roots of the Disciples of Christ lie in the Restoration Movement of the early 1800s, with a focus on Christian unity and lack of strict denominationalism. This focus came from a study of the New Testament by the movement's founders. Tolerance of other viewpoints that differed on non-essentials was key, as was inclusion based on the Lord's Table ( Communion). It has been estimated that the indigenous movement that gave rise to the modern Disciples of Christ (and its associated offshoots) has only been surpassed in size by only one other body of North American origin, that of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons).

The unity of this group was shaken by the formation of a missionary society in the late 1840s, a development looked upon with disfavor by many, especially among the smaller, more ruralRural areas are sparsely settled places away from the influence of large cities and towns. Such areas are distinct from more intensively settled urban and suburban areas, and also from unsettled lands such as outback or wilderness. People live in villages, and Southern congregations, and by the adoption shortly after this by some congregations of instrumental music, predominantly (at first) pianoPiano is a common abbreviation for pianoforte a large musical instrument with a keyboard (see keyboard instrument). Its sound is produced by strings stretched on a rigid frame. These vibrate when struck by felt-covered hammers, which are activated by thes and organThe organ is a type of keyboard musical instrument, distinctive because the sound is not produced by a percussion action, as on a piano or celesta, or by means of vibrating strings, as on the harpsichord. Instead, pipe organs produce sound by means of flos. After the American Civil WarThe American Civil War was fought in the United States from 1861 until 1865 between the northern states, popularly referred to as "the U. the Union," " the North," or "the Yankees"; and the seceding southern states, commonly referred to as "the Confederat the dispute became more strident, as many leftover regional animosities became a subtext. By the 1870sEvents and Trends Franco-Prussian War ( 1870- 1871) results in the collapse of the Second French Empire and in the formation of both the French Third Republic and the German Empire. Invention of the telephone ( 1876) and phonograph ( 1877). See also the H and 1880sEvents and Trends About 300 000 Swedes emigrate to the United States. First Boer War First commercial production and sales of phonographs and phonograph recordings. First steel frame construction "sky-scrapers" The New Imperialism Science and technology J there were essentially two groups within the Restoration Movement, although the break was not truly formalized until the Religious Census of 1906Events January 8 Landslide in Haverstraw, New York kills 20 January 31 Earthquake in Ecuador (8. 6 in Richter scale) February 11 Pope Pius X publishes the encyclical Vehementer nos''. February 15 Representatives of the Labour Representation Committee in t in which the congregations that disagreed with instrumental music and the missionary society asked to be listed separately as the Church of Christ.

Another group, perhaps nearly as conservative as the Church of Christ except on the issue of instrumental music, was disturbed by the liberalism that it perceived to be predominant at a church conference in Memphis, Tennessee in 1926, forming the North American Christian Convention the next year. Slowly over the next forty-five years, the split between these "Independents" and the Disciples became more or less complete; this group is now known as Christian Churches and Churches of Christ.

At the time of the 1906 division, the Disciples were by far the larger of the two bodies; now it would seem possible that they might be the smallest of the three current major divisions of the Restoration Movement. To this point, despite serious concerns over the direction of the denomination being expressed by some of the more conservative members, further open division has not occurred. Like most mainline denominations, the Disciples have a relatively-conservative group, Disciples Renewal, working to call the church back to what they feel to be its historic Restoration and Christ-centered heritage. This groups is similar to the Confessing Movement present in other mainline groups.

The Disciples are part of Churches Uniting in Christ, an ecumenical movement that many hope will result in one large mainline Protestant body in the U.S. similar to the role of the United Church in Canada and the Uniting Church in Australia; more conservative members tend to oppose this due to the liberalism of some of the other churches involved in the project. The Disciples have already developed a close relationship with one of the other denominations, the United Church of Christ.

Prominent members of the Disciples of Christ include U.S. Presidents James Garfield, Lyndon Baines Johnson, and Ronald Reagan, U.S. Senator from Arkansas J. William Fulbright, and author and Civil War general Lew Wallace[1].