In the winter of 1971 some lovers and seekers of the Lord Jesus living in the metropolitan Washington, D.C. area began to have the desire to meet in the oneness of the Body of Christ. There were about thirty young people who had read some of the writings of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee on the oneness of the church and wanted to practice meeting locally this way.

These young believers heard about some Christians meeting in oneness as the church in Los Angeles, and a number of them traveled there to seek fellowship concerning this matter. As a result of this fellowship, in the spring of 1972, nine families moved to Washington, D.C. from three churches – the church in Atlanta, the church in Akron and the church in Berkeley – to meet with these young believers in oneness. In the winter of 1973, a number of other Christians from surrounding cities moved to Washington, D.C., and in January 1974, forty-five more brothers and sisters and their families moved from the church in Baltimore to strengthen the Lord’s testimony in the church in Washington, D.C.

After meeting as the church in Washington, D.C. for eight to ten years, a number of these believers began to have problems purchasing homes as well as difficulties with the public schools. As a result, many families moved out of the city into the suburbs of Virginia and Maryland. In 1985 the church purchased 2.8 acres of land in Dunn Loring, Virginia and in 1990 built a meeting hall which could accommodate 350. Now there are two additional localities meeting in the Maryland suburbs as the church in the oneness of the Body of Christ.

The church here in Dunn Loring focuses on small group meetings and home meetings during the weekdays so that all the believers can function as the members of the Body of Christ. We also come together on Wednesday night for prayer and on the Lord’s Day morning to participate in the Lord’s table (1 Corinthians 10:21) and to practice speaking the high truth of the Word of God. All of us here have the desire to stand as “the testimony of Jesus” (Revelation 19:10) in this locality, and to testify of “the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24), but especially to spread “the gospel of the kingdom” (Matthew 24:14), so that the Lord Jesus can return to receive His prepared bride and to end this age.