Editing Two by Twos (section)

{{Short description|International Christian movement}}
{{Use Hiberno-English|date=February 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2021}}
{{Use shortened footnotes|date=November 2022}}
{{Infobox Christian denomination
| name = The Truth, Two by Twos 
| image = Gill Irvine Walker.jpg
| imagewidth = 240px
| alt = Old photograph depicting three bearded men seated outdoors on a bench with the man in the center holding a small dog
| caption = {{longitem|Prominent early Two by Twos preachers.{{pb}}Left to right: William Gill, [[William Irvine (Scottish evangelist)|William Irvine]], George Walker.}}
| main_classification = {{hlist |[[New Religious Movement]] |[[Nontrinitarian]]}}
| polity = Episcopal
| area = Worldwide
| founder = [[William Irvine (Scottish evangelist)|William Irvine]]<ref name="founder" />
| founded_date = {{Start date and age|df=yes|p=y|1897|10|}}<ref name="founded date" />
| founded_place = [[Ireland]]
| separations = {{hlist |[[William Irvine (Scottish evangelist)#The Message|The Message]] |[[Cooneyites]]}}
| members = {{ubl|300–370+ thousand (1990–1998)|1–4{{nbsp}}million (1964–1984){{efn-ua|The church does not publish any membership statistics; outside researchers give a wide range of estimates. In part, this depends on who is included as a member (children of members, unbaptized participants, lapsed members, etc) and whether the [[:wikt:metric|metric]] estimates are based upon known numbers of annual conventions, numbers of ministers, etc. One researcher has said that people on the fringes of church membership can be up to twenty times the number of regular members.{{harv|Hosfeld|17 August 1983|pp=1–2}} During the 1980s, ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' gave an estimate of between 1 and 4 million members worldwide,{{harv|Gill|30 June 1984|p=37}} while a 2001 estimate put Australian membership at 70,000.{{harv|Giles|25 July 2001|p=014}} A sociology masters thesis from 1964 estimated U.S. membership at 300,000 to 500,000 and world membership as between 1 and 2 million.{{harv|Crow|1964|pp=2, 16}} [[Benton Johnson]] updated the metrics to arrive at a figure of 48,000 to 190,000 for the United States alone.{{harv|Johnson|1995|pp=43–44}} [[George Chryssides]] states that membership numbers are uncertain, giving an estimate for the United States during 1998 as ranging from 10,000 to 100,000 and a worldwide membership probably three times that figure.{{harv|Chryssides|2001b|pp=330–331}} The ''World Christian Encyclopedia'' shows the group in the United States growing from 100,000 in 1970 to 270,000 in 1990, while during the same period, Australian membership declined from 150,000 to 100,000.{{harv|Barrett|Kurian|Johnson|2001|pp=85, 785}} A 2022 source cited a worldwide decline of 38% in the number of ministers and up to a 40% decline in members since 1980.{{harv|Kropp-Ehrig|2022|p=497}} Figures from other sources fall within this same wide range.}}}}
| tax_status = unknown
| other_names = {{ubl|The Truth|The Way|Workers and Friends|Christian Conventions|Cooneyites|Assemblies of Christians|The Meetings|The Friends|The Brethren|2x2|and additional}}
| website = none
}}

'''Two by Twos''' (also known as '''2x2''', '''The Truth''' and '''The Way''') is an international, [[House church|home-based]] [[Christian]] [[List of new religious movements|new religious movement]] that was founded in 1897 in Ireland by [[William Irvine (Scottish evangelist)|William Irvine]]. Irvine, an [[evangelism|evangelist]] with the interdenominational [[The Faith Mission|Faith Mission]], began independently preaching that the [[itinerant preacher|itinerant ministry]] outlined in [[Matthew 10]] remains the only valid method of evangelism. Church growth was rapid, spreading outside Ireland. Irvine eventually began preaching a new order in which the hierarchy developed within the church would have no placement. This teaching became controversial within the church, leading to his expulsion by church overseers around 1914. One of the church's most prominent evangelists, [[Edward Cooney]], was expelled a decade after Irvine. The church then became much less visible to outsiders for the next half-century. The publication of several articles and books, increased news coverage, and the appearance of the Internet have since opened the church to wider scrutiny. Increased scrutiny by news organizations has focused on various wrongdoings, and the United States [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] launched an on-going investigation into allegations of childhood sexual abuse and other potential irregularities.

Some in the church assert it is a direct continuation of the 1st-century Christian church. Others in the church believe that a [[Restorationism|restoration]] occurred in the late 19th century. [[Minister (Christianity)|Ministers]] are itinerant and work in pairs, hence the name "Two by Twos". Members hold regular twice-weekly worship gatherings in local homes on Sunday and midweek. The church also holds annual regional conventions for members and public [[Gospel]] meetings. [[Baptism by immersion]], as performed by one of the church's workers, is required to partake in the emblems of bread and wine at the fellowship gathering. The orthodox Christian [[Trinitarianism|Trinitarian]] doctrine is rejected. [[Doctrine]] of the church teaches that salvation is reached by attending the group's home meetings, accepting the preaching of its itinerant, unsalaried ministry workers, and "professing". The church teaches that salvation is not achieved through [[Sola fide|faith alone]] but only through a combination of faith and "works." Works are considered acts of [[self-denial]] such as wearing modest skirts and long hair in a bun or attending all meetings regardless of how far away they are. The church does not do any outreach programs or encourage its members to participate in charities.

The church does not have official headquarters or publications. It does not explicitly publish any doctrinal statements, insisting that such tenets may only be directly imparted orally by its ministers, referred to as "workers."  Its hymnbook and various other materials for internal use are produced by outside publishers and printing firms. Printed invitations and advertisements for its open gospel services are the only written materials that those outside the church are likely to encounter.

Among members, the church is usually referred to as "The Truth", "Meetings", or "the workers and friends", but members deny an official church name. Those outside the church refer to it as "Two by Twos", "The Black Stockings", "No-name Church", "[[Cooneyites]]", "Workers and Friends", or "Christians Anonymous", and journalists sometimes call it "2x2" for short. The church's various registered names include "Christian Conventions" in the United States, "Assemblies of Christians" and "The Alberta Society of Christian Assemblies" in Canada (dissolved only after it was exposed), "The Testimony of Jesus" in the United Kingdom, "Kristna i Sverige" in Sweden, and "United Christian Conventions" in Australia. These registered names are used only for specific purposes (for instance, to register [[conscientious objection]] during war) and are not routinely used by members.