The life of the Evangelical United Brethren Church (EUB) was short—less than 22 years—yet this relatively small German-American denomination had a significant impact on Protestant Christianity. It developed a leading role in ecumenical movements in the United States, it succeeded in presenting programs that have been presented to the highest level of United Methodism—the General Conference—and it has made important contributions to scholarship in church history by preserving and making available to researchers an outstanding collection of materials.

The essays gathered together in this book were taken from papers presented at a conference commemorating the 50th anniversary of the joining of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ and the Evangelical Church to create the EUB denomination. The papers emphasize the development of the merged church, its theology, its concept of ministry, the history of the denomination in Europe, and the mission programs of the denomination. The Making of an American Church: Essays Commemorating the Jubilee Year of the Evangelical United Brethren Church is a unique collection of papers by EUB scholars and general church officers that combines scholarly rigor with an involvement in the events they discuss.