Assemblies of God USA

=== Congregations ===

==== Self-governing churches ====
The Assemblies of God uses several classifications of congregations based on their level of local autonomy and their relationship to the General Council. Mature, fully functioning congregations are classified as "General Council affiliated churches". These churches are "sovereign" and self-governing, but in matters of doctrine local assemblies are subordinate to districts and the General Council.<ref name="GC09ConstitutionXI.1.c-d.p992">General Council Minutes 2009, Constitution, Article XI section 1 paragraphs c-d, p. 98.</ref> A church is qualified for General Council affiliated status if it: accepts AG doctrines; adopts a standard of membership; has an active voting membership of at least 20 persons; adopts a governance model that prevents a pastor or governing body from "exert[ing] dictatorial control over a church"; has an adequate number of spiritually qualified members to fill the offices of the church; and has made provision for a [[pastor]] who is a credentialed [[Minister (Christianity)|minister]] in good standing with the General Council.<ref name="GC09ConstitutionXI.1.a.p982">General Council Minutes 2009, Constitution, Article XI section 1 paragraph a, p. 98.</ref>

Each local church operates according to its own bylaws and calls its own pastor. The office of pastor is equivalent to that of [[Elder (Christianity)|elder]] or overseer and is tasked with preaching and teaching the Word of God, in addition to conducting the day-to-day operations of the church.<ref name="agstructure2">{{cite web |year=2006 |title=Assemblies of God Structure |url=http://ag.org/top/About/structure.cfm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051001010947/http://ag.org/top/about/structure.cfm |archive-date=October 1, 2005 |access-date=October 12, 2010 |publisher=Assemblies of God}}</ref><ref name="Pentecostalministry2">[http://ag.org/top/Beliefs/Position_Papers/pp_downloads/pp_102909_Pentecostal_ministry_and_ordination.pdf "Pentecostal Ministry and Ordination"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100619005420/http://ag.org/top/Beliefs/Position_Papers/pp_downloads/pp_102909_Pentecostal_ministry_and_ordination.pdf|date=2010-06-19}}, official statement of the General Presbytery of the Assemblies of God USA, August 2009. Accessed September 4, 2010.</ref> [[Laity|Laypersons]] are elected as a board of [[Deacon|deacons]] to assist the pastor. A General Council affiliated church may withdraw from the Assemblies of God by a two-thirds vote of the church membership.<ref name="GC09BylawsVI.4.d.p1162">General Council Minutes 2009, Bylaws, Article VI section 4 paragraph d, p. 116.</ref>

At the request of the pastor, deacon board, or 20 percent of voting members, district officials may intervene in the internal affairs of a General Council affiliated church. If district leaders conclude that district supervision is warranted, the church will lose its status as a self-governing church and revert to the status of "district affiliated assembly" until its problems are resolved.<ref name="GC09BylawsVI.4.c.p1152">General Council Minutes 2009, Bylaws, Article VI section 4 paragraph c, p. 115.</ref> A church may also revert to district affiliated status if it no longer meets the minimum requirements for General Council membership, such as having less than 20 voting members.<ref name="GC09BylawsVI.5.p1162">General Council Minutes 2009, Bylaws, Article VI section 5, p. 116.</ref>

==== District affiliated and cooperative churches ====
Local churches, sections, and district councils are able to establish new churches.<ref name="GC09BylawsVI.6.p1162">General Council Minutes 2009, Bylaws, Article VI section 6, p. 116.</ref> A [[church plant]] may initially be classified as "district affiliated" until it meets requirements for General Council affiliation. District affiliated congregations are under the direct supervision of district officials but are encouraged to develop into fully self-governing churches. In 2009, the General Council created a new category called "parent affiliated churches". These are either church plants or campuses of a [[multi-site church]] under the supervision of a General Council affiliated "parent" church.<ref name="GC09ConstitutionXI.3.p992">General Council Minutes 2009, Constitution, Article XI section 3, p. 99.</ref>

Existing Pentecostal churches considering affiliation with the General Council may request temporary status as a "cooperating assembly" for a term of four years before officially joining the denomination.<ref name="GC09ConstitutionXI.4.p992">General Council Minutes 2009, Constitution, Article XI section 4, p. 99.</ref>