Covenant process for church plants

You will receive the spiritual care, leadership, and resources that a worldwide movement can provide when you plant a Foursquare Covenant church.

What is a Covenant church?

In June of 2016, the Foursquare convention body adopted a bylaw revision to provide for a
Covenant church to be a local Foursquare church, but with its own corporate existence. The
unique feature is the existence of a written covenant agreement, voluntarily entered into by
International Church of the Foursquare Gospel and the local Covenant church. In the Covenant
agreement, the local Covenant church pledges itself to adhere to the bylaws of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel (ICFG) and to operate fully as a local Foursquare church. In turn, ICFG pledges itself to provide the same covering and care to a local Covenant church that would be given to a Foursquare Charter church.

The Foursquare Church has many resources available through the Foursquare administrative toolkit. This toolkit is a compilation of videos, templates, diagrams, and other helpful resources that may assist the church with administrative questions and provide practical tools on topics such as the legal and financial responsibilities of pastoral leaders, clergy taxation, church compensation practices, and the roles and responsibilities of a church council.  

The Covenant Arrangement Illustrated

Watch this helpful video, which illustrates how a covenant arrangement works.

Interested in the Covenant church process for your church plant? Here’s how.

0

Prerequisites

Complete before beginning the process of becoming a Covenant church.

1

Orientation

Church plant reviews
orientation video and
materials explaning what
it means to be a
Foursquare Covenant
church.

2

Form the Church Corporation

Church begins
incorporation process.

3

Documen-tation

Church plant completes
Form AR-1C and gathers required documents.

4

Submit AR-1c to the District Office

Church plant submits to
the district office AR-1C
application form with
supporting documents
and signed Covenant
agreement with church
board signatures.

5

Application Review

District teams and others
will review application and
copies of important
documents.

6

Board Approval

ICFG Board of Directors
issues resolution to
approve application and
receive new Covenant
church.

7

Covenant Agreement

ICFG signs Covenant
agreement with local
church corporation.

8

Foursquare Database

Church staff receives
log-in to access The
Foursquare Hub database.

9

Welcome

District team welcomes
Covenant church and
invites participation in
camps, conferences, and
other regional and
national events.

10

Local Church Board Respons-ibilities

The local church operates
as a Foursquare Church
per the convenant
agreement.

11

Ongoing Support

Foursquare ONE TEAM
provides ongoing support,
resources, consultation
and care.

Is becoming a Covenant Church the path for your church plant? Let’s get going!

Get all the details!

Have Questions?

Ready to Apply?

Are you an established church?

This page outlines the process for new church plants. If you are an established church trying to determine if becoming a Covenant church is the right fit for you, visit our pages for becoming a Foursquare church or transitioning from charter to covenant.

Ready to get started? Have questions?