https://www.nationalconvocation.org/
The earliest congregations of the Stone-Campbell Movement in Kentucky and Pennsylvania included both European American and African American members. The Colored Christian Church was organized in Midway, Ky. in 1834. Thus, African Americans have been part of this movement from the very beginning.
Preston Taylor
In 1917, the National Christian Missionary Convention was formed as the result of the determination of Preston Taylor, a former slave, who was minister of the Gay Street Christian Church in Nashville, Tenn. The purpose was to empower the witness of Black Disciples as members of the whole church through a partnership with white Disciples that recognized Black leadership in an era of blatant white supremacy and paternalism. For over a half-century, this convention conducted annual gatherings in which participants received in-service training in Christian education and leadership, program information, and inspiration for fulfilling their mission as Disciples of Christ.
In the late 1960s, around the time the Church adopted The Design, the program and staff of the National Christian Missionary Convention merged with other general Disciples organizations. The Administrative Secretary of the Convention became a staff associate of the General Minister and President and program staff members were integrated with the staff of Homeland Ministries (now known as Disciples Home Missions). At the same time, a new organization, the National Convocation of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), was lodged in the Office of the General Minister and President as part of a merger agreement. The Convocation conducts biennial assemblies emphasizing education and inspiration.
