In a surprising and bold move, James River Church announced last month that they would be parting from the Assemblies of God denomination. Now, more details surrounding the situation have come to light.
While John Lindell told the congregation that the split was a unanimous decision, according to Protestia, this was not the case. The outlet reported that members of the board of trustees resigned to protest this decision about departing the denomination. Reportedly, the voting rights of those in the church were taken away in 2019 during a business meeting, without congregants’ knowledge.
This latest update comes as the Assemblies of God said last month that this decision from John Lindell to take the church outside of the denomination left them “blindsided.”
In their statement about the split, James River said that they were “…thankful for the Assemblies of God, and we intend to continue partnering with the Assemblies of God in a variety of ways…” which included “continued support of missionaries and missions efforts to take the Gospel around the world.”
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This is not the first time that James River Church has been caught up in controversy. Last year, James River and John Lindell faced backlash across social media and from pastor Mark Driscoll for hiring a sword swallower to perform at their Stronger Men’s Conference. They also previously received criticism for having monster truck performances at a previous men’s conference as well.
Abby Trivett is content development editor for Charisma Media.
