Chapter 16: every tradition · Christianity
Assemblies of God
A Pentecostal congregation of the Assemblies of God: long, band-led praise and worship, preaching, and an altar call with prayer at the front, where believers seek the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Believers are baptized by immersion and the Lord's Supper kept as an ordinance. A sovereign assembly calls its pastor by a two-thirds vote and owns its building, in cooperation with its district council; a struggling church can ask to be, or be taken into, the district's supervision.
All 80 traditions · its profile in Faiths and traditions, with how to play it; How people feel, what every factor is.
At a glance
| Faith | Christianity |
|---|---|
| Its words | church, church, sanctuary; the pastor leads the service; the sermon; Sunday; the Bible |
| Worship | word focus, charismatic, minimal formality (0.00 of 1); seated on chairs |
| Music | band expected; chant discouraged |
| The room's sound | likes a dry room (the band) |
| Its year | western; pentecostal observance; fasts none |
| Leans | conservative on moral questions, conservative on economic ones |
| Polity | congregational; leaders come by call; property local |
| Leaders | one leader, full time, trained by course of study; marriage any |
| Belonging | moderate commitment, pastoral discipline, admitted by board |
| Giving | tithing expected; collected by plate, online |
| Way of life | alcohol abstinence, dress casual, sabbath relaxed |
The week's services
| Day | Time | Service | Led by | People look for it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday | 10:30 am | Praise and worship | the pastor | expected |
| Wednesday | 7:00 pm | Praise and worship | the pastor | optional |
- Leader: a pastor. With none (a vacancy, or no one hired), the services are still held, but each costs everyone at it 0.10; on sabbatical a supply pastor stands in ($800 a month) for a little less.
- Communion (monthly), passed among the people: nothing needs to be placed to serve it. People receive from age 7; anyone younger who comes forward is blessed instead.
- Baptism: needs a baptistry or an immersion font, built and installed; until there is one, those wanting baptism wait.
Rites
- Child Dedication (per birth, +0.02 to those there): Parents bring their baby to the front, promise to raise the child in the faith, and the pastor prays a blessing over the family while the congregation promises to support them.
- Anointing of the Sick (on request, +0.02 to those there, asked for 0.03 times a year by a household, 20 minutes): A priest or the elders pray over someone who is seriously ill, lay hands on them, and anoint them with oil, following James 5. It is usually done at home or in the hospital, sometimes at a communal service.
- Healing Service (monthly, +0.02 to those there): A service of prayer for healing and wholeness: those who wish come forward for the laying on of hands and anointing with oil, and the congregation prays for the sick.
- Tarrying Service (weekly, +0.02 to those there): Seekers wait at the altar praying aloud, often repeating "Jesus" or "Thank you, Jesus," while the saints gather round to pray with them until they receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost.
- Revival (yearly, +0.03 to those there): A week of nightly meetings with a guest evangelist, rousing music and an invitation every night, held to renew the church and win new converts.
- Camp Meeting (yearly, +0.03 to those there): Families from churches across the district gather for days of preaching, singing and prayer at a campground, with altar services each night.
Baptism, confirmation, and joining
- Baptized elsewhere: it recognizes a believer's baptism in the name of the Trinity (not one given as a baby). Someone so baptized is received at a service after about 12 weeks (a week from another of its churches).
- Not baptized (or baptized where it doesn't recognize it): a candidate who prepares for 1 months (only months its class can meet count), then is baptized and received at the same service.
- Joining age: 16.
- The church's children are baptized as believers at about 10, most within a year or two of it.
- Kinds of belonging: members (votes, may hold office); adherents; received by its board.
- What it means: being baptized, confirmed, or received is worth +0.1 to the person, +0.05 to family there, and +0.03 to everyone else at the service. It roots them: a rooted household drifts away only 0.6 times as often, and if it does fall away, it has a 25% chance of coming home each Christmas Eve and Easter for ten years.
Giving, and what goes up
How its people give and what else comes in, as Money explains it for every faith.
- How it's given: the tithes and offerings, by a plate passed at each main service, and giving online. A visiting household puts $5 to $25 in the plate. Those who give online give whether or not they come (8% more a month).
- Tithing is expected: people give 15% more.
- Fundraisers: only the modest ones (below).
- Owed above: District support, 3% of what it takes in, to the District Council (voluntary).
- Owed above: Ministers' dues, $600 a year, paid by its clergy, to the District Council; not kept, it costs the wider body's regard.
The pastor, the staff, and who decides
- How the pastor comes: advertised and called: the members vote (two thirds needed).
- Paid: full time.
- Candidates: three apply; trained by a course of study (less skilled; they ask 90%); women among them (about a third); most married; about one married candidate in seven comes as a couple, caring for 75 more; the spouse has a recognized part (+0.01 to everyone after each service).
- Tenure: settled for about 8 years, then may be called elsewhere; the associate succeeds at once.
- Ranks: Certified minister, Licensed minister, Ordained minister; a candidate holds one by skill, and rises with the years.
- Staff it can hire or name (see Staff and volunteers):
- Bivocational pastor ($22,000–$38,000; cares for 75)
- Pastor ($55,000–$85,000 + $18,000 benefits, full time; cares for 150)
- Associate pastor ($42,000–$62,000 + $15,000 benefits, full time; cares for 100 more)
- Choir director / organist / pianist ($15,000–$35,000; leads the music (up to +0.06))
- Caretaker ($18,000–$30,000; slows the building's wear)
- Church secretary ($20,000–$35,000; runs the office (+50 to the leader's reach, once))
- Youth director ($20,000–$40,000; up to +0.08 for households with young people)
- Its boards: the church board (deciding, over everything).
- Renovations: The members vote, consulting the pastor.
- New construction: The members vote (60% needed), consulting the pastor.
- Calling a leader: The members vote (two thirds needed).
- Who votes: members, 16 and over.
Life together
What its Community screen offers it, with the dilemmas only its own faith or family meets; see The congregation in its community.
- Ministries of its own: Choir.
- Ministries every tradition can run that it's offered: Blood drive, Food pantry, Health clinic, Preschool, Youth group.
- Fundraisers of its own: Soup supper.
- Shared fundraisers it may hold (only the modest ones): Bake sale, Car wash, Rummage sale.
- Tenants it can take: A Masonic lodge, A scout troop, A twelve-step group, Another congregation, Dance classes, Parties and receptions, Polling place and forums.
- Auxiliaries: Women's Ministries.
- Outreach: invitation Sunday, a revival, planting a new church (Community → Evangelism).
- Dilemmas of its own faith (besides those every congregation meets): A petition for cushions, The bells, again.
- Dilemmas its code of life brings: A candidates' forum, A Masonic funeral, A raffle for the roof, A recruiter asks for the hall, Champagne at the reception.
What the building needs
- required BaptistryBeliever's baptism by immersion needs a baptistry: a tank large enough for an adult, with plumbing to fill and drain it.
- required Communion tableThe Lord's Supper is served from a communion table, recalling the table of the Last Supper.
- required PulpitPreaching is the center of worship, so the pulpit stands at the center of the platform.
- expected Communion traysThe bread and cup are carried to the pews in trays and passed along the rows.
- expected Drum kitWorship is led by a band.
- expected Sound systemA band needs a sound system to be heard.
- discouraged CrucifixThis tradition uses an empty cross, proclaiming the risen Christ, rather than a crucifix.
- discouraged Flaming chaliceThe flaming chalice is another tradition's symbol.
- discouraged IconIcons are not part of this tradition's worship.
- discouraged StatueStatues are not part of this tradition's worship space.
What people here feel
- Architectural style: Colonial brick +0.012; Modern synagogue -0.006; Gurdwara -0.012; Japanese temple -0.024; Islamic -0.03; Shinto shrine -0.03; Chinese temple -0.036; Dravidian temple -0.042; Nagara temple -0.042; Thai temple -0.042; Jain marble -0.048; Gothic -0.054.
- Building fit: up to ±0.15 for everyone, the average fit of the characterful items in its worship rooms (the table below).
- Acoustics: it wants a dry room, about 0.9 seconds of reverberation: carpet, padded seats, a low ceiling. Up to ±0.05.
- Seasonal decor: it keeps the church year: paraments and the season's decor are worth up to ±0.000.
- The sermon lands by its topic and the tradition's leaning (below); the pastor's preaching adds or costs up to 0.08 more.
- Communion: each communion service runs longer; a slow one costs 0.05 for every 10 minutes the service runs over (0.2 at most).
How each sermon lands
The topics its leader can choose from (some are only for one faith or family), and what each is worth.
- Fire & Brimstone+0.08
- Marriage as God Designed+0.06
- Sanctity of Life+0.06
- The Last Days+0.06
- Faith & Family+0.04
- Faith of Our Fathers+0.04
- Obedience & Discipline+0.04
- Personal Holiness+0.04
- Resisting Temptation+0.04
- Spiritual Warfare+0.04
- The Authority of Scripture+0.04
- The Great Commission+0.04
- Biblical Stories+0.015
- Blessed Are the Peacemakers+0.015
- Called by Name+0.015
- Doubt & Faith+0.015
- Eternal Life & Resurrection+0.015
- Grace & Forgiveness+0.015
- Gratitude+0.015
- Hope & Comfort+0.015
- Joy in All Things+0.015
- Love One Another+0.015
- Sabbath Rest+0.015
- Saints & Witnesses+0.015
- Servant Leadership+0.015
- Songs of the Psalms+0.015
- Stewardship & Generosity+0.015
- The Church Year+0.015
- The Life of Prayer+0.015
- The Parables of Jesus+0.015
- Care for Creation-0.05
- Healing for All-0.05
- Interfaith Understanding-0.05
- Reading Scripture in Context-0.05
- Swords into Ploughshares-0.05
- The Prophets' Call-0.05
- Wealth & Poverty-0.05
- Welcome the Stranger-0.05
- Women Who Led-0.05
- Racial Justice & Reconciliation-0.075
- Radical Inclusion-0.075
- Social Justice Call-0.075
Every item, for this tradition
Fit runs from −1 (jars) to +1 (just right); the building fit is the average over the characterful items in the worship rooms. An item with no character (a table, a toilet) has no fit. A rule applies wherever the item is.
Sources
- Constitution and Bylaws of the General Council of the Assemblies of God (2021) (link)
- Recommended Bylaws for Local General Council Affiliated Churches (2022) (link)
- Assemblies of God position paper: The Role of Women in Ministry (2010) (link)
- Assemblies of God position paper: Homosexuality, Marriage, and Sexual Identity (2014) (link)
- Assemblies of God position paper: Abstinence from Alcohol (2016) (link)
- Assemblies of God position paper: A Biblical Perspective on Gambling (2015) (link)