<P> The Federal Council of Churches, founded in 1908, marked the first major expression of a growing modern ecumenical movement among Christians in the United States . It was active in pressing for reform of public and private policies, particularly as they impacted the lives of those living in poverty, and developed a comprehensive and widely debated Social Creed which served as a humanitarian "bill of rights" for those seeking improvements in American life . </P> <P> In 1950, the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA (usually identified as National Council of Churches, or NCC) represented a dramatic expansion in the development of ecumenical cooperation . It was a merger of the Federal Council of Churches, the International Council of Religious Education, and several other interchurch ministries . Today, the NCC is a joint venture of 35 Christian denominations in the United States with 100,000 local congregations and 45,000,000 adherents . Its member communions include Mainline Protestant, Orthodox, African - American, Evangelical and historic Peace churches . The NCC took a prominent role in the Civil Rights movement, and fostered the publication of the widely used Revised Standard Version of the Bible, followed by an updated New Revised Standard Version, the first translation to benefit from the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls . The organization is headquartered in New York City, with a public policy office in Washington, DC . The NCC is related fraternally to hundreds of local and regional councils of churches, to other national councils across the globe, and to the World Council of Churches . All of these bodies are independently governed . </P> <P> Carl McIntire led in organizing the American Council of Christian Churches (ACCC), now with 7 member bodies, in September 1941 . It was a more militant and fundamentalist organization set up in opposition to what became the National Council of Churches . The organization is headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania . The ACCC is related fraternally to the International Council of Christian Churches . McIntire invited the Evangelicals for United Action to join with them, but those who met in St. Louis declined the offer . </P> <P> First meeting in Chicago, Illinois in 1941, a committee was formed with Wright as chairman. A national conference for United Action Among Evangelicals was called to meet in April 1942 . The National Association of Evangelicals was formed by a group of 147 people who met in St. Louis, Missouri on April 7--9, 1942 . The organization was called the National Association of Evangelicals for United Action, soon shortened to the National Association of Evangelicals (NEA). There are currently 60 denominations with about 45,000 churches in the organization . The organization is headquartered in Washington, D.C. The NEA is related fraternally the World Evangelical Fellowship . </P>

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