James River Church Leaves Assemblies of God Denomination
"They just announced it and that was it," says AG spokesperson
James River Church in Ozark, Mo., the largest church in the state, announced it is disaffiliating with the Assemblies of God.
“Recently, the James River Church board of trustees reached the decision to discontinue our formal denominational affiliation with the Assemblies of God,” it announced to media outlets. “We are thankful for the Assemblies of God, and we intend 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.”
During the church’s weekly Wednesday evening service, Lead Pastor John Lindell announced the change to the congregation. He said the vote of the board of trustees to leave was unanimous and went on to describe the severing of the formal denominational ties as an “administrative change.” The church will continue a partnership with Evangel University for its James River College, located on the church campus.
James River Church, founded in 1991 as part of the Assemblies of God, is led by John and Debbie Lindell. Two years ago, the Lindells announced plans to gradually step back as lead pastors and let their sons and daughters-in-law, David and Becky Lindell and Brandon and Beth Lindell, take over officially in 2027, according to the “Springfield News-Leader.” James River Church has campuses in south and west Springfield as well as in Joplin.
The Assemblies of God responded to the announcement.
“There is no kind of dispute,” a spokesperson said. “There was no kind of ongoing situation. They just announced it, and that was it. James River Church has a rich legacy of ministry and service within the Assemblies of God, and our prayers are now with them for God’s blessing and continued effective ministry.”
The church attracted national headlines in the spring of 2024 when John Lindell, accused Mark Driscoll of attempting to overthrow him as the leader of his church and dividing his family and congregation by unfairly attacking as demonic a performance by a professional sword swallower, whom he accused of being a male stripper, at its Stronger Men’s Conference. The controversy and its aftermath continued to make headlines in the weeks that followed.
–Alan Goforth
