In the first century A.D., the church in the city of Antioch, located about 50 miles north of Jerusalem, consisted of both Jewish and Gentile disciples of Jesus.  When some Jews came to Antioch and taught that Gentiles had to keep the Old Testament law in order to be saved, it threatened to split that church in two: Jewish believers and Gentile believers.  That issue was resolved peacefully, however, and a potential church split was avoided.