Assemblies of God USA

===Core beliefs===
The AG considers salvation, baptism in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues, divine healing and the Second Coming of Christ to be its four core beliefs.<ref name="iValue">[http://ag.org/top/Beliefs/Our_Core_Doctrines/index.cfm Our Core Doctrines] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120819012156/http://ag.org/top/Beliefs/Our_Core_Doctrines/index.cfm |date=2012-08-19 }}. Assemblies of God official website. Accessed August 1, 2010.</ref>

====Salvation====
{{Main|Christian soteriology}}

The Statement of Fundamental Truths states, "Man's only hope of redemption is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ the Son of God". The Assemblies of God holds the [[Arminian]] position on salvation. While it agrees with the [[Calvinist]] position that God is sovereign, at the same time, it believes that mankind has [[free will]]—free to accept or reject God's gift of salvation and eternal life.<ref>[http://ag.org/top/Beliefs/topics/gendoct_09_security.cfm "Security of the Believer (Backsliding)"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100619013115/http://ag.org/top/Beliefs/topics/gendoct_09_security.cfm |date=2010-06-19 }}, a paper endorsed by the Assemblies of God's Commission on Doctrinal Purity and the Executive Presbytery. Accessed August 1, 2010</ref> Therefore, the Assemblies of God disapproves of the doctrines of [[double predestination]] and the [[unconditional election|unconditional security]] of the believer, which holds that once saved it is impossible for a person to be lost. Instead, the Assemblies of God believes that salvation is received and kept by faith, if faith in Christ is lost, then salvation is lost.<ref>[http://ag.org/top/Beliefs/Position_Papers/pp_downloads/pp_4178_security.pdf "The Security of the Believer"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060627042657/http://ag.org/top/Beliefs/Position_Papers/pp_downloads/pp_4178_security.pdf |date=2006-06-27 }}, statement adopted by the Assemblies of God General Presbytery, August 21, 1978. Accessed August 1, 2010.</ref>

====Baptism in the Holy Spirit====
{{Main|Baptism with the Holy Spirit}}

[[File:Randolph TN 06 Randolph Assembly of God.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Randolph Assembly of God, [[Randolph, Tennessee]]]]

According to the Statement of Fundamental Truths, "All believers are entitled to and should ardently expect and earnestly seek" the baptism in the Spirit. It also states, "This was the normal experience of all in the early Christian Church". It is a separate experience from and occurs after salvation. This baptism gives to the receiver an "enduement of power for life and service, the bestowment of the gifts and their uses in the work of the ministry". There are four experiences listed in the Fundamental Truths that result from Spirit baptism: "overflowing fullness of the Spirit", "a deepened reverence for God", intensified consecration and dedication to God and his work, and "a more active love for Christ, for His Word and for the lost". In addition, this experience initiates the believer in the use of [[spiritual gifts]]. The "initial physical sign" of having received this baptism is "speaking with other tongues as the Spirit of God gives them utterance".<ref name="agfundtruths" />

Baptism in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues is a requirement for ministerial licensing and ordination. However, Spirit baptism and speaking in tongues is ''not'' a requirement for membership or participation in an Assembly of God church.<ref name="Crossroads12">{{harvnb|Poloma|1989|p=12}}</ref> An increasing minority of pastors has expressed concern that there is a lack of biblical support for the claim that Spirit baptism must always be accompanied with speaking in tongues.<ref name="churchidchangep73">{{harvnb|Roozen|Nieman|2005|p=73}}</ref> This concern corresponds with a decrease in the number of Assembly of God adherents reporting baptism in the Holy Spirit; according to the AG's Office of Statistics as of 2003 less than 50 percent of adherents had this experience.<ref name="emergingmagisteriumpg213">{{harvnb|Robeck|2003|p=213}}</ref> These challenges to the AG's traditional position were noted in a 2007 report by the AG's Spiritual Life Committee:

{{blockquote|Yet, the distinctive doctrine that once united us has, in some circles, become a point of contention. We lament the increasing rarity of the gifts of the Spirit in our worship setting. We wonder where, in our busy church schedules, will people have an opportunity to tarry at the altars for a transforming Pentecostal experience?<ref name=07GCminutesp.9>"Spiritual Life Committee Report", General Council Minutes 2007, p. 9.</ref>}}

Despite these challenges, in 2009, the 53rd General Council passed a resolution reaffirming the doctrine of initial physical evidence.<ref>[http://ag.org/top/Events/General_Council_2009/Business/Resolutions/Resolution_21_Reaffirmation_of_Initial_Physical_Evidence.pdf Resolution 21 ''Reaffirmation of Pentecostal Distinctive''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101210212635/http://ag.org/top/Events/General_Council_2009/Business/Resolutions/Resolution_21_Reaffirmation_of_Initial_Physical_Evidence.pdf |date=2010-12-10 }}. 53rd General Council of the Assemblies of God. 2009. Accessed October 12, 2010.</ref>

====Divine healing====
{{Main|Divine healing}}

The Assemblies of God understands divine healing to have been provided for in the atonement. Looking to scripture, such as {{bibleverse||James|5}} and {{bibleverse||Isaiah|53:5}}, the AG believes that Christians can pray for healing. Indeed, it believes scripture gives elders of the church the responsibility to pray "the prayer of faith" over the sick. It believes God can and does heal, but believes that God is sovereign and that, whether one is healed or not, a person's trust must be in God.<ref name="divinehealing">Trask, Thomas. [http://agchurches.org/Sitefiles/Default/RSS/IValue/Resources/Divine%20Healing/Articles/Defining_DivineHealing.pdf "Defining Truths of the AG: Divine Healing"]. ''Enrichment'', 2007. Accessed August 1, 2010.</ref> It sees no conflict in trusting God for healing while receiving medical care.<ref name="Crossroads60">{{harvnb|Poloma|1989|p=60}}</ref> Healing testimonies regularly appear in the official publication, the ''Pentecostal Evangel'', and prayer for healing and testimony commonly occur in church services.<ref name="Crossroads54">{{harvnb|Poloma|1989|p=54}}</ref>

While adamant that divine healing is a reality, the AG is not dogmatic on the subject of how one is healed. [[Margaret Poloma]] summarized this view stating, "Physical healing is not certain, automatic, or subject to formula. At the same time, it remains a tenet and practice of the Assemblies of God". Officially, the AG rejects the view that healing is caused or influenced by "positive confession", a belief found in [[prosperity theology]] and [[Word of Faith]] teachings. Nevertheless, these teachings have influenced some congregations.<ref name="Crossroads52-53">{{harvnb|Poloma|1989|pp=52–53}}</ref>

====Christ's Second Coming====
{{Main|Second Coming of Christ}}

The Statement of Fundamental Truths articles 13 and 14 articulate the Assemblies of God's official teaching on the [[return of Christ]] to Earth. It is a [[dispensationalist]] and [[premillennialist]] [[Christian eschatology|eschatology]] that includes the pre-[[Tribulation]] [[rapture]] of the Church—the "imminent and blessed hope". The rapture of the Church will be followed by Christ's visible return to earth and his reign of 1,000 years. This millennial reign will usher in the salvation of the nation of [[Israel]] and universal peace. The Assemblies of God is specifically opposed to the theologies and practices of [[universal salvation]], setting dates for Christ's return, [[Post Tribulation Rapture|post-Tribulation rapture]], and [[amillennialism]].<ref name="GC09BylawsIX.B.3p127">General Council Minutes 2009, Bylaws, Article IX, Part B, section 3, p. 127.</ref>