Pastor John Lindell of James River Church, a multisite megachurch headquartered in Springfield, Missouri, has released a statement addressing “falsehoods” that have circulated regarding the church’s recent departure from the Assemblies of God denomination.
In April, James River Church announced that it was disaffiliating from the denomination that planted it over three decades ago but that the church intended to “continue partnering with the Assemblies of God in a variety of ways—including our continued support of missionaries and missions efforts to take the Gospel around the world.”
“James River Church is not changing its doctrine, and the church remains committed to preaching the Bible and impacting the local community and the world for the cause of Christ,” the church said at the time.
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In a new statement published to James River Church’s website, Lindell informed congregants that the Assemblies of God has dismissed his ministerial credentials.
“Prior to their decision, I had already resigned my ministerial credentials due to the Board of Trustees vote to disaffiliate from the Assemblies of God,” said Lindell. “However, dismissal of a pastor’s ministerial credentials is most often the Assemblies of God’s protocol when a church chooses to disaffiliate.”
Lindell went on to express that he wanted to help congregants “understand the circumstances surrounding our departure from the Assemblies of God and to address some of the things that have been said in the community.”
“One of the falsehoods being circulated is that James River Church left the Assemblies of God because we did not want to be accountable,” Lindell continued. “That is completely false and was not the reason for our disaffiliation. In a meeting with the Assemblies of God General Superintendent Rev. Doug Clay, he asked me not to publicly state the specific reasons for our departure which I will continue to honor.”
Lindell said that James River Church’s disaffiliation came after Lindell expressed concerns to the Southern Missouri Ministry Network of Assemblies of God that certain actions that were taking place within the denomination were “detrimental” to James River.
Lindell further said that “there was no attempt” on the part of the denomination to address these concerns.
Lindell recounted that after the James Church board of trustees notified the denomination that it would disaffiliate, a “contentious” meeting with denomination officials followed that left the trustees feeling “disappointed.”
