GENERAL COUNCIL

STATUS!?!

AUGUST 9, 2025

OPEN FORUM

ENGLISH!!!

•General Council (GC) = A/G

members, grassroots

people.

•GC = Business meeting –

recently in Orlando –every

two years for credential

holders and delegates

•GC Church = level of

church, PAC/Strategic Min,

District Council, & GC status

ASSEMBLIES OF GOD STRUCTURE

•Network and District mean the same thing… there are 66

Districts/Networks in the A/G in the USA

•Some elected to be called “District” and some elected to be

called “Network”

•We are a part of the Northwest Ministry Network (NWMN)

LEVELS OF CHURCH

PAC = Parent Affiliated

Church:

*Under a “mother church”

structure.

*No Board/may/not have a

Pastor –Mother Church

approve/pick leadership

*Finances completely under

“mother church”

*Under District/Network

supervision

BCA Strategic Min = similar

to PAC, but gives more self-

governance (we have

Leadership Team)

District Council/Network

Church:

*Has an elected (by the

congregation) Pastor &

ratified by District

*Finances –self but

supervised by District

*No longer under Mother

Church

*Has a Board /leadership

Team –elected by

congregation

*501-C3 is under the

District/Network not self and

not under Mother Church

GC Church Status:

*Has an elected Pastor

*Has a formal Charter

Membership list

*Has an elected Board

*Functions

“autonomously”, self-

governed

*Has 501-C3 status under

the state (WA) and

sheltered by the National

Headquarters’ Tax

recognition

*Finances –self governed

*Level same as BCA

•BDA was District Council Church, but around 2019, NWMNetwork

voted to no longer have Dist Affiliate churches.

•Why?: If a Dist Council church closed –for whatever reason –all the

church’s debt had to be paid by the District Office…hurt the District

finances too much so the entire District body voted to remove that

category from it’s Constitution and Bylaws

•To the District: BDA became a PAC church under BCA

•BCA created the Strategic Ministries category to give the PAC churches

more freedom. These are Betania (Spanish Church), Marshallese, and

BDA.

•BDA is in the process of becoming a GC Church…

So… Where are we and what’s next?

•Stage 1 –General Council Application & Drafting of Bylaw

•Determine the point of contact at the church: Pastor JoAnn

•The PAC Church sends a formal request via email to the NWMN to

transition from PAC status to General Council Affiliation (GCA). DONE

•The Parent Church sends formal letter via email to the NWMN

releasing the PAC to make the transition to GCA. DONE

•The church receives presbytery approval to transition to GCA. DONE

•STAGE 1 - Paperwork To be Completed by Pastor & Leadership Team:

•Application for Recognition as General Council Affiliated Church NOT YET

•Recommended Bylaws for Sovereign Church –Work in progress

•Recommended Articles of Incorporation - COMPLETED

•Church Leadership Team determines the list of who will be on the

Charter Membership List. Must be 20 or more listed members.

Current Proposed Bylaws state:

ARTICLE VII. MEMBERSHIP

Membership in this church shall be open to all those who give

evidence of their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, are water

baptized, and who voluntarily subscribe to its tenets of faith

and agree to be governed by its Bylaws as herein set forth.

•Church starts to fill out District paperwork to become a sovereign church YES

•The NWMN review’s the church’s articles of incorporation (AOI) to be sure

the articles are congruent with the NWMN recommended bylaws and

current with State Non-Profit corporate provisions. NOT YET

•Church prepares their Bylaws for NWMN approval. They are to use the

NWMN Recommended Bylaws for a Sovereign Church. IN PROGRESS

•Church submits a copy of the proposed Bylaws to NWMN for feedback and

approval. NOT YET

•NWMN communicates approval of Bylaws to the church, and church

provides a hard copy/printed copy of approved Bylaws to be signed by board

at organizational meeting. NOT YET

•Stage 2 –Preparing for the Organizational Meeting with the

Board

•STAGE 2 - Paperwork To be Completed by Board of Directors at

Organizational Meeting

•The NWMN informs the pastor to schedule and conduct an

Organizational Meeting with the new board of directors.

•After the Organizational meeting with the board of directors, the

Pastor sends Stage 2 paperwork back to the NWMN for processing.

Stage 3 –Preparing for the Set-in-Order Meeting with the Church

Membership

•NWMN prepares and sends Stage 3 paperwork to the church

•The NWMN gives approval to pastor to schedules a Set-in-Order Meeting

with the church membership.

•NWMN Officer Conducts a Set-in-Order Meeting with the Church

Membership. The officiating Network officer will follow the Agenda for

Conducting a Set-in-Order Meeting as a guide.

•After the Set-in-Order meeting, the pastor or NWMN officer

is to return the following forms to the NWMN:

•Signed Waiver of Notice of Set-in-Order Meeting

•Printed Membership Roster with Signatures

•Stage 4 - NWMN Files Paperwork with General Council.

DONE!

We become a Deaf A/G General Council Church!!!