Monday, June 13, 2016

What To Know About Foursquare Churches In Las Vegas

By Mary Ward


The name Foursquare Church is the common name used to refer to International Church of Foursquare Gospel. The longer version of the name is usually shortened to ICFG. ICFG is a protestant evangelical Pentecostal Christian denomination that was founded by Aimee Semple McPherson in 1923. As such, the church has a long history in the United States although its membership remains comparatively lower than other denominations of the same age. Foursquare churches in Las Vegas are some of the churches of the denomination with the largest congregations.

The name Foursquare derives from the four-fold ministry that Jesus Christ represented while on earth. The four ministries are Savior, baptizer, healer, and soon-returning King. Followers of the church believe that the main goals of Jesus coming to earth was to save people from their sins and to baptize them with the Holy Ghost. Jesus also came to heal people from their suffering and He will return following his ascension into heaven.

The Declaration of Faith is a compilation that was done by the founder McPherson and it contains all the beliefs held in the church. Members believe in deity of Jesus, the doctrine of Holy Trinity, and the verbal inspiration of biblical scriptures. Human beings took on the likeness of God, but they became sinful in nature after the fall.

Members of ICFG also believe that by the death of Jesus Christ, all the sins of the world were washed away. Thus, human beings received salvation by grace as opposed to the common belief of salvation by good works. Justification comes through faith while repentance leads to an individual being born again. Born again believers therefore accept Jesus to be their Lord and King.

The church also believes that human beings possess the free will to do what they please. That puts them at risk of backsliding from salvation, but through prayer and repentance, they are redeemed. Sanctification is viewed as a continuous process in the book of beliefs and should not be stopped so as to attain spiritual growth. Total surrender and consecration to God lead to attainment of Christian perfection.

The body responsible for making all decisions win the ICFG denomination is the Foursquare Convention, which convenes biannually. Membership of the convention is composed of licensed ministers as well as international officers. Fifty US-based churches come together to produce one delegate to the convention. Congregations in other countries only produce one delegate per country.

Local churches are part of the subordinate divisions within the International church. The government in these churches follows bylaws within the constitution of the international church. There are two categories of ICFG churches, that is, covenant and charter churches. A charter member church does not have separate legal existence from the international church. Also, all the assets in its possession are owned by the international church.

On the other hand, a covenant church is a separate entity from the international church and owns property on its own. Pioneer churches and those that were previously non-member churches fall within this category. A pioneer church can be upgraded to become a charter church.




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