Basics Of Foursquare Churches In Las Vegas

By Helen Roberts


The name Foursquare church is the short form of International Church of the Foursquare Gospel. The full name is often abbreviated as ICFG. ICFG is a Protestant evangelical Pentecostal Christian denomination that was founded by A preacher named Aimee Semple McPherson in the year 1923. Its global membership in 2000 totaled some 8 million people. It has a presence in more than 144 countries and the number of churches is over 60, 000.

In the United States alone, the estimated number of members of this denomination exceeded 353, 995 people. Members are fairly distributed in entire country even though more churches have been observed to be concentrated on the West Coast. California, Washington, Montana, Oregon, and Hawaii are among the states with highest numbers of members. Therefore, when looking for Foursquare churches in Las Vegas, one should not have a very hard time finding most of them.

Los Angeles, California houses the headquarters of this church. For a very long time, the headquarters has been located in this city. The name Foursquare stems from the 4-fold ministry that Jesus had on earth. The four-fold ministry refers to Jesus as the Healer, Soon-coming King, Savior, and Baptizer with the Holy Spirit. These four stand for the goals that Jesus had when he came to the world and when he returns.

The Declaration of Faith expresses the beliefs in ICFG church. The Declaration of Faith is a document that was compiled by McPherson, the founder of this church. There is also a creedal statement that was authored by McPherson that is meant for use by the leadership and congregation of this denomination. The belief system of the church is founded on the deity of Jesus, doctrine of Holy Trinity, and verbal inspiration of Bible.

In this denomination, it is believed that God created man in His likeness, but because of the Fall, man became sinful. However, the death of Jesus atoned for all sins man committed. People who repent sins, accept Jesus and become reborn again have their faith confirmed. Backsliding and commitment of sin after salvation is believed to be totally possible.

The Foursquare Convention is the highest body responsible for making decisions in this church. Leaders are voted into office biannually by members of the convention. Membership of this convention comprises of foreign officers and licensed ministers. The convention also receives one voting delegate from a group of fifty churches in the US. Internationally, only one delegate is accepted into the convention from each nation in which the denomination is based.

Management of ICFG churches is in the hands of a board of directors which is composed of between 12 to 20 people. This board is in charge of appointing officers and ordaining and licensing ministers. Board members comprise of a president, vice president, and a minimum of 9 ministers who represent geographic regions. Members of this church in good standing may also serve on the board when appointed.

The main subdivisions in the US church are individual churches, districts, and divisions. There are leaders who oversee the various divisions. The management structure of the church is very comprehensive to enhance decision making processes.




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