Atlanta, USA - Leaders of 34 church groups have set aside years of differences over theology and other issues to create the broadest Christian unity organization in U.S. history.
Christian Churches Together in the USA brings together Roman Catholics, evangelicals, Pentecostals, mainline Protestants, historically black churches and Orthodox Christians.
The group announced its formation March 31 at the end of an Atlanta meeting and said its mission is to "strengthen our Christian witness in the world." Leaders of the new organization will focus in the coming year on fighting poverty in the United States.
Among the current members are the historically black National Baptist Convention, U.S.A.; the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops; the Salvation Army; the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; the International Pentecostal Holiness Church and the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.
Organizers of Christian Churches Together say at least eight other groups are seriously considering membership and they have invited any other interested denominations to join.
The 16.3 million-member Southern Baptist Convention, the nation's largest Protestant group, has not affiliated with the group.
Existing U.S. ecumenical groups include the National Council of Churches, whose members are mainline Protestants and Orthodox Christian, but not Roman Catholic. The National Association of Evangelicals represents conservative Protestants.