Questions for Assemblies of God people

[mystery4]

Hi all,

I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this, if its not then moderaters can you please move it to where it should be. I'm doing a tutorial on Assemblies of God in my Australian and New Zealand religion class. So I was wondering if those of who you are AoG (especially Aussies and kiwis although anyone else can answer) would mind answering some questions or directing me to places where I can find the answers.


How has God influenced AoG? Looking back, what movements can be seen of his leading?

How exactly is the structure of AoG run? I've seen on a couple of websites that each state is separate from the others as well as Australia being distinct from other countries.

If that is the case, how do you decide upon beliefs. Does everyone around the world have the same guidelines of beliefs or does it differ from region to region?

What heirarchy is involved within the church structure?

How is communication between countries done?

Who gets paid and who does volunteer work within the church?

Are men and women equal? What is your stance on women in leadership/ministry roles?

How do you become a pastor? Do you have to do any training at an educational institute or other requirements to become one? If you do, where is it and whats it called?

What importance does theology have (or supposed to have) in the life of a person who is AoG?

Are there any splinter groups or sister churches of AoG?

Are there any prominant or highly influencial people upon the growth and development of AoG either now or in the past? Who were/are they and what part did/are they playing?

Are there any official church guidelines for beliefs on theological and/or moral issues? How much is left up to the individual for their own choice?

Is there any special theology that separates AoG from other denominations?

Do you have creeds?

What is the church's view on ecumenuism? Does it have an official stance or is it up to the individual?

What programs does AoG have and what impact is that making upon people, both within and outside of the church?

Are there positions or things that only baptised members are able to do/partake in or is it open to everyone? If someone is baptised from another denomination do they need to be rebaptised or can they just make a restatement of faith? Is membership in a particular church and then changed to another when you move or do you just "rock up" to church and join that one?

Wheres the best resources upon which to read up upon how the AoG formed and started? Where it came from and how it became a worldwide religion? Also how it developed within Australia.

Do you have worldwide events where representatives from each country may go to meet and do things or organise things as a whole body or is it more individualised?

What do you think is the best thing about your church?

How has God impacted you since you've been attending an AoG church?

Why would you recommend people come to an AoG church?

Is there anything else you can see that I've missed that is important? Or is there anything interesting you think I should add?

Sorry theres so many questions. Once I started it kept coming. Anything you can do to help me would be greatly appreciated. I have looked at the Australian website and have a list of the 16 beliefs. I was just wondering if there were the same all over the world or if they differ from place to place. Thanks for taking the time to read through this and I look forward to hearing some responses. God Bless you all, Misty.

 

[tturt]

I'm not AOG -

here's a couple of urls -

http://ag.org/top/

http://www.paga.org/

there may be more

 

[Wigglesworth]

Hi Misty!

I am a member of an AG church in the USA.

Answers to some of your questions can be found here:

General Council of the Assemblies of God: Frequently Asked Questions

The Assemblies of God fellowship of churches is not quite like other denominations, because it includes autonomous churches who make their own administrative rules. The basis for fellowship among AG churches is adherence to 16 Fundamental Truths which you mentioned above.

The General Council produces doctrinal papers, but you will notice that these sometimes present simply the majority opinion within the AG, and are not binding as dogma on the entire AG.

AG ordained ministers are ordained by districts in the US, and the ordained ministers are accountable to the district in order to maintain their credentials. This makes the individual ministers accountable to the district, but does not inhibit the autonomy of the congregation of the local assembly.

Feel free to ask more after you study the links.

 

[NacDan]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assemblies_of_God

 

[mystery4]

Thank you for your responses.

Wigglesworth, I was wondering how does a church gain an autonomous standing? What requirements are there they need to have fulfilled to show they are competent to be self governing and self-supporting?

Once a minister has been ordained in one district, if they move to another, does their ordination still stand or do they have to be re-ordained? You mentioned that a minister has to maintain their credentials. How would one lose their credentials? Does an ordained pastor remain known as ordained even after they have retired?

Also what is the minimum number of people required before the fellowship becomes an official church? Can it be done through someone's home before a building is available?

 

[kidsminister]

Thank you for your responses.

Wigglesworth, I was wondering how does a church gain an autonomous standing? What requirements are there they need to have fulfilled to show they are competent to be self governing and self-supporting?

Once a minister has been ordained in one district, if they move to another, does their ordination still stand or do they have to be re-ordained? You mentioned that a minister has to maintain their credentials. How would one lose their credentials? Does an ordained pastor remain known as ordained even after they have retired?

Also what is the minimum number of people required before the fellowship becomes an official church? Can it be done through someone's home before a building is available?

As an A/G pastor, I can answer some of your questions. If you are licensed or ordained in one district and are called to a new one, you just need to call your district office and have them transfer your credentials. You maintain your credentials by preaching a certain number of times per year (for License to Preach, it's at least 12 times in a given year!), paying your tithe faithfully - we tithe to our district in the A/G - and filling out a "credential renewal form" each year, in which you sign that you still agree with the basic tenets of our faith (i.e. the 16 Fundamental Truths). And yes...once a pastor, always a pastor, even when retired. Hope that helps!!

 

[nibin]

The post helped me to clear some of my queries.
I belong to AOG


Thank You
Tim Thomas
ChristianYouthOnline.org

 

[Labayu]

Just a heads up. If you want a realistic picture of the Aus AoG then don't ask/take explanations from people with experiance from other countries or general AoG websites, especially from the states.

The Aus AoG is very different from other countries. The president of the Aus AoG is Hillsong senior pastor Brian Houston (who has a satallite church in the UK which isn't an AoG church even though he's the senior pastor there too- this should tell you something about the differences of belief; that and the fact that the Aus AoG won't be going by the name AoG for very much longer).

Check out these websites and look for links or google the names/churches you find in them to get a realistic view of Aus AoG:

www.aog.org.au

www.ministryblue.com/aog.html

www.nswaog.org.au

 

[mick24458]

You are right. Anything not from an official website may be true but shouldn't be taken as such wothout official confirmation. I could give you my opinion but that's all it would be.