The leaders of this movement sought to reform the church along non-sectarian, non-creedal lines with the preaching of the gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven. The Evangelical Christian Church (Christian Disciples) as a separate group within the Restoration tradition was reorganized in 2001. The leaders believed in the essential unity of the body of Christ, they could not accept the sectarianism that was all around them. Several church bodies identifying with the Stone-Campbell movement today are very creedal and range from ultra-conservative to ultra-liberal as can be seen in the United Church of Christ which is an attempt to unite all Christian denominations into one national Church body as well as the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches which merged English Christians with American-Canadian Christians in 1931. Organization and structure The Evangelical Christian Church (Christian Disciples) in Canada is non-denominational and its member churches are self-governing in the tradition of congregational polity. Ministers who are the Elders of the church are held accountable only to the scriptures, and guaranteed freedom of thought and conscience to practice their faith without doctrinal restrictions. The ECC maintains a high commitment to religious freedom, Christian unity, and the priesthood of all believers who make up the body of Christ. The ECC permits only those practices that it believes are found in the guidelines of New Testament living and worship as taught by the early church. The ECC divides the country into 10 districts assigned to district superintendents for liaison with the congregations and ministers in the appointed province. A hierarchical leadership is in place nationally, including the provincial superintendents, the general minister, the board of directors or general council, and regional field representatives. The general superintendent or constitute the executive staff. Ordinations are approved by the Credentials Standing Committee and ministerial credentials come from Central Office. Ordained or licensed ministers, both male and female, provide leadership for the church and preside over the ordinances. Ministries The early participants in the Evangelical Christian Church (Christian Disciples) consisted of those who came away from a variety of fundamental, evangelical denominations, not in an attempt to reform any particular denomination, but rather in an effort to "restore" the "original" church according to the New Testament pattern, while basing its Biblical mission on the Great Commission found in the gospel of Matthew. They believed that history was moving toward a spiritual climax where God's power will be poured