Two By Twos
Also known as 2x2s, The Truth, & The Way.
This is an international home-based Christian religious movement that was founded in 1897 by William Irvine in Ireland. Mr. Irvine was an evangelist with the interdominational Faith Mission. He began preaching independently that the intinerant ministry outlined in Matthew, chapter 10 (âThe Little Commissionâ) was the only real way of evangelism.
This church grew quickly. It eventually spread outside Ireland. Eventually Irvine began preaching a new order in which the hierarchy developed within the Church would have no placement. This teaching became controversial within the church. This led to his expulsion by the churchâs most prominent evangelists. Edward Cooney was expelled 10 years later after Irvine. The church then became much less visible to outsiders for the next 50 years.
Some in the church state itâs a direct continuation of the 1st century Christian church. Others in the church believe that a restoration occurred in the late 19th century. Ministers are itinerant & work in pairs. Hence the name of Two by Twos. Members hold regular twice weekly worship gatherings in local homes on Sunday & midweek. (Like on Wednesday or Thursday. There are other Christian denominations that also have twice a week services.)
The Church also holds annual regional conventions for members & public Gospel meetings. Baptism by immersion, as performed by 1 of the churchâs workers, is required to partake in the emblems of bread & wine (or Communion) at the fellowship gathering(s).
The orthodox Christian Trinitarian doctrine is rejected. Doctrine of the church teaches that salvation is reached by attending the groupâs home meetings, accepting the preaching of its itinerant, unsalaried ministry workers, & âprofessing.â
The church teaches that salvation isnât achieved through faith alone but only through a combination of faith & âworks.â Works are considered acts of self-denial such as wearing modest clothes & wearing long hair in a bun (if youâre a woman) or attending all meetings regardless how far away they are. The church doesnât do any outreach programs or encourage its members to participate in charities.
The church doesnât have an official HQ or publications. It doesnât explicitly publish any doctrinal statements, insisting that such tenets may only be directly imparted orally by its ministers, referred to as âworkers.â Its hymnbook & various other material for internal use are produced by outside publishers & printing firms. Printed invitations & advertisements for its open gospel services are the only written materials that those outside the church are likely to encounter.
Among members, the church is usually referred to as âThe Truth,â âMeetings,â or âthe workers & friends.â But members deny an official church/denomination name (like Baptist, United Brethern, etc.).
Those outside the group refer to it as: âTwo by Twos,â âThe Black Stockings,â âNo-Name Church,â âCooneyites,â âWorkers & Friends,â or âChristians Anonymous,â & journalists call it: â2Ă2â for short. The church has a variety of registered names: âChristian Conventionsâ (US); âAssemblies of Christiansâ & âThe Alberta Society of Christian Assembliesâ (Canada); âThe Testimony of Jesusâ (UK); âKristna i Sverigeâ (Sweden); & âUnited Christian Conventionsâ (Australia).
These registered names are used only for specific purposes (like to register for conscientious objection during wartime or taxes) & arenât routinely used by members.
In 1896, William Irvine was sent from Scotland to southern Ireland as a missionary by John George Govanâs Faith Mission. Because his mission was successful, he was promoted to superintendent of Faith Mission in southern Ireland. Within a few months of his arrival in Ireland, Irvine became disillusioned with the Faith Mission.
Irvine was increasingly intolerant of the Faith Missionâs cooperation with other churches & clergy in various communities of southern Ireland. In 1897, he started independently preaching, saying that true/real ministries must have no home & take no salary. He also held that the manner in which the disciples had been sent out in chapter 10 of Matthewâs Gospel was a permanent commandment which must still be observed.
Irvineâs preaching during his latest mission influenced others who began to leave their respective churches & join Irvine to form an initial core of followers. The church founded by Irvine is the only religion known to have had its origin, & early development, in Ireland.
All the churchâs teachings are conveyed orally. The church doesnât publish doctrine or statements of faith. âWorkersâ hold that all church teachings are based solely on the Bible. Church members & âworkersâ will publicly declare that the church doesnât own any buildings. However, members own rural, or semi-rural, properties dedicated to worship, housing workers, & church gatherings. Its ministers donât own homes or take salaries.
The King James Version Bible is the only scripture used in English-language services. The Bible itself is held as insufficient for salvation unless its words are âmade aliveâ through the preaching of church ministers. The offhand preaching of the ministry is considered to be guided by God & must be heard directly. Great weight is given to the thoughts of workers, especially more senior workers.
Salvation is achieved through willingness to uphold the churchâs standards, by faithfully following in âthe way,â & by personal worthiness. Doctrines such as predestination, original sin, justification by faith alone, & redemption as the sole basis of salvation are rejected. The church is exclusivist & salvation is only through the Two by Two ministry & meetings.
Other standards include modest dress, not wearing jewelry, long hair for women & short hair for me, not getting piercing, not dying hair, not getting tattoos, & avoinding activities deemed to be worldly or frivolous (like smoking, drinking alcohol, watching TV & watching movies). The church has actively condemned pre-marital relations & donât care for LGBTQ+ persons/identities.
The church has rejected the doctrine of the Trinity since its inception. Though the members believe in the Father, Son, & Holy Spirit, the have a Unitarian view of Jesus. Jesus is Godâs son, a fully human figure who came to Earth to establish a way of ministry & salvation, but not Godâs Himself.
Baptism by 1 of the churchâs ministers is considered a necessary step for salvation & full participation, including re-baptism of people by other churches. Candidates are approved by the local workers & are baptized by immersion. Baptisms are often scheduled for 1 morning during a Convention & are typically performed in small ponds on the property.
Members state that the church doesnât have a formal organization. Members donât participate in, & many are unaware of, the churchâs governance. Both expenditures & funds collected remain secret from the membership & no accounting is made public. Funds are handled through stewardships, trusts, & cash transactions.
The church is controlled by a small group of senior male overseers with each having oversight of a specific geographic region. These head workers handle the 2-by-2 pairing & field assignments with the workers for that area.
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