Bring your independent church into Foursquare
When your existing church joins the Foursquare community as a Covenant church, you will receive the spiritual care, leadership and resources that a worldwide movement can provide.
The Birth of The Covenant Church
The idea of a Covenant church has been in the heart of Foursquare leadership for many years as one option for churches to be part of the Foursquare family through something called the Foursquare Association. The concept of Covenant church was totally recast in 2016 to fulfill a longtime goal of creating new options for local Foursquare churches to own and manage real property, which is a contrast to our historical model for property ownership where title to real property has been jointly owned by all Foursquare churches via our corporate structure.
The Covenant Agreement Adopted
In June 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 the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel (ICFG) and the local Covenant church. In the covenant agreement, the local Covenant church pledges itself to adhere to the bylaws of ICFG and to operate fully as a local Foursquare church. In turn, ICFG pledges itself to provide covering and care to a local church.
Interested in becoming a Covenant Church? Here’s how.
Consultation
In-person
consultation between
senior pastor and
district supervisor.
Leaders of a prospective Covenant church, should begin by contacting the local district office who serves as the first point of contact for any questions during the application process. The district office is led by a district supervisor who, along with his/her staff, is commissioned to champion and facilitate three missional objectives with the churches they serve:
- Leadership Development–the intentional development of disciples and leaders in a local church
- Church Transformation–community engagement in missional activity as well as intentional efforts toward church and pastoral health
- Church Multiplication and Movement-Making–establishing and supporting new churches as well as “missional congregations,” such as ethnic congregations, satellite locations, multi-site churches and other models that result in movements within the movement
As your church considers entering a covenant relationship with the Foursquare family, we invite you to visit the Foursquare website and learn about the Foursquare story, what we believe, and our mission. If your church would like to move forward in the process, you should request a meeting between the local district supervisor and your leadership team to pray and discern together God’s plan for your church in this process.
Orientation
Church reviews
orientation video
and materials
explaining what
it means to be
a Foursquare
Covenant church.
This orientation video will help orient you and the church to the Foursquare Covenant church process by outlining the important aspects of the covenant relationship, and the steps involved in the application process.
We also recommend you also read the Frequently Asked Questions Document, which may answer some of the questions you and your leadership may have about the process.
Credentials
Senior pastor
engages process to
receive a Foursquare
ministerial credential
(if not yet licensed
through Foursquare).
One important requirement of all Foursquare churches (including Covenant churches) is for the senior pastor to maintain an active Foursquare ministerial credential. During the Covenant church application process, any senior pastor who does not have a Foursquare ministerial credential will be invited to complete Foursquare’s ministerial licensing process. This process will cover the history, doctrine and polity of the Foursquare Church. This process will also help to confirm whether the doctrinal beliefs of the applicant church and the Foursquare movement are compatible.
While the senior pastor progresses through the ministerial licensing process, the district office will assign him/her a coach to assist some of the steps. During this time, the district office can continue to process the Covenant church application and supporting documents. However, the senior pastor will need to receive their ministerial credential before the covenant agreement can be signed and fully executed by the ICFG board of directors.
Documentation
Church completes form
AR-1c & gathers copies
of important documents.
To initiate the application process your district office will provide Foursquare form AR-1c, “Application to Become a Covenant church.” This form includes a request for copies of the documents listed below, along with a short questionnaire about past legal and financial activities of your organization.
The documents listed below (and itemized in section 2 of form AR-1c) will be reviewed by the district office, and various departments of the central office as part of the application process.
If the church must form a corporation, Foursquare has pre-negotiated prices with Startchurch.com. StartChurch may be contacted at www.startchurch.com or 770-638-3444. Please mention Foursquare when calling to receive the right incorporation documents and the special pricing. The church must use Startchurch.com or an attorney to form a corporation.
Articles of incorporation
The applicant church will be asked to supply the articles of incorporation filed by the local church corporation. If there have been any subsequently filed amendments (which is rare), please supply dated copies of those amendments as well.
Applicant churches that are not incorporated should notify the district office up front in order to determine next steps.
Bylaws
Most churches whether incorporated or unincorporated have bylaws that govern the operations of the church. In signing the covenant agreement, the local church board voluntarily agrees to apply Foursquare bylaws in place of its own bylaws and to operate the church under all Foursquare adopted policies and procedures. As a result, the local church will be recognized as a Foursquare church (as defined in the Foursquare bylaws) with respect to all ecclesiastical, polity and relational issues. For real property transaction purposes, the local church will follow the Covenant church property transaction process as outlined in the Foursquare bylaws. The Foursquare bylaws have distinct real property transaction processes for Covenant churches, as compared to Charter churches. A Covenant church does not, in general, need to obtain ICFG board approval for property transactions, and the transactions will be placed in the name of the local church corporation and not ICFG.
Note: By signing the covenant agreement, your church board voluntarily agrees that the Foursquare bylaws will supersede your existing bylaws; thus, there should be no need to make any amendments to your bylaws.
Insurance policies
Every Foursquare (Charter or Covenant) church is required to maintain adequate insurance for church activities. This obligation is the joint responsibility of the pastor and members of the church board/council.
While the Foursquare Insurance Department is available to provide consulting to a Covenant church, that insurance program cannot legally be made available to incoming Covenant churches. As a result, Covenant churches must obtain or continue insurance from a separate carrier.
Copies of current insurance policies (including property, liability, worker’s compensation, sexual misconduct and officer’s/directors insurance) should be submitted with the application so the Foursquare Insurance Department can confirm that the new policies meet required minimum coverage limits. These minimum coverage limits can be found in the Insurance Service Policy Notebook on the Foursquare Insurance Department Webpage under the section titled, “Information for Securing Insurance with a Carrier other than through Foursquare Insurance Services.”
The following insurance carriers are known to provide coverage that satisfies the listed requirements:
- Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Co.
- Guide One Insurance Co.
- Church Mutual Insurance Co.
- Farmers Insurance Co.
When making contact with these companies, church leaders should ask for an agent referral in their area.
2 years’ financial history
The church will be asked to submit to the district office the past two years’ financial history, which would include the statement of financial position (balance sheet) and the statement of financial activities (income statement). Revised 8/31/23
List of current officers and directors
Please provide a list of the names and positions of the corporate officers and names of the board of directors of your church corporation with the submission of the Form AR-1c.
IRS 501(c)3’s determination letter
If your church has IRS 501(c)3 tax exempt status, your church will retain its existing 501(c)3 tax exempt status with the IRS for your corporation. Please supply a copy of the IRS determination letter with the submission of form AR-1c.
If your church does not yet have 501(c)3 status, after the covenant agreement is signed by the officers of ICFG, the corporate secretary’s office will notify the IRS that your church corporation is to be included under ICFG’ s group exemption. The corporate secretary’s office will notify you in writing of this submission and will send you a letter from the IRS indicating the corporation has been included under the group 501(c)3 exemption status of ICFG. Please keep this letter as part of the church’s permanent records.
Certificate of good standing from state of incorporation
Please provide a current certificate of good standing for the church corporation from the state the church was incorporated in. A certificate of good standing is a document that shows a corporation has met the statutory requirements and is authorized to do business in the state. This letter must be dated within six months of going to the ICFG board for approval as a Covenant church.
Vote
Local congregation
votes to join the
Foursquare movement
as a Covenant
church.
The covenant is an agreement detailing the nature and relationship between the local church and The Foursquare Church. Foursquare commits that the covenant arrangement entitles the Covenant church to all of the organizational benefits that are available to Foursquare churches. In turn, the Covenant church agrees to voluntarily adopt the Foursquare bylaws in place of its own bylaws and agrees to follow and operate under all Foursquare adopted policies and procedures. Because this is a very significant commitment for a church, the covenant agreement requires ratification by a ¾ supermajority of the congregants and attestation of such through the signatures of the senior pastor and church board members.
Submit to District
Church submits AR-1c application
form, supporting documents
& signed Covenant agreement
documenting ¾ supermajority
congregational vote and church
board signatures.
A complete application packet will consist of Foursquare form AR-1c, the signed Covenant church agreement documenting the ¾th supermajority vote, along with the supporting documents itemized on form AR-1c. Once complete, this packet should be sent to the district office. The district office will review and approve the application which will then be forwarded to the ICFG central office for board approval. If there are any additional follow- up questions or missing documentation, the district office will follow up directly with the applicant.
Review Application
ICFG Legal and
Insurance Departments
review application and
copies of important
documents.
Upon receiving the completed form AR-1c application package and the signed Covenant church agreement, the Foursquare central office will review the application and documentation provided. When the review is complete, the application will be submitted for inclusion on the ICFG board agenda.
Board Approval
ICFG Board of
Directors issues
resolution to approve
application and receive
new Covenant church.
Once the central office staff has reviewed the completed application and supplemental documents, the ICFG board will record a formal resolution to consummate the covenant agreement.
Sign Agreement
ICFG signs
Covenant
agreement with
local church
corporation.
Upon approval, the covenant agreement will be sent to the corporate secretary’s office to obtain signatures on behalf of the ICFG’s board of directors. The corporate secretary’s office will provide a written copy of the board resolution and a copy of the signed covenant agreement for the permanent records of the local church corporation.
Database Access
Church staff receives
logins to access The
Foursquare Hub
database.
Membership and activity records for every Foursquare church and minister are tracked in a database known as “The Foursquare Hub.” The Hub also serves as the portal for reporting missional and financial activity of the church, tracking appointments of Foursquare ministers, applying for ministerial credentials and many other important functions. The district office will assign the senior pastor and his/her designees (at the senior pastor’s request) with login credentials to The Foursquare Hub database. The senior pastor and those handling the administrative aspects of the church should become familiar with The Hub by watching the tutorial videos available through the Foursquare Administrative Toolkit. Please contact your district office if you have not yet been assigned login credentials for The Foursquare Hub.
Welcome
District team welcomes
Covenant church and
invites participation in
camps, conferences
and other regional and
national events.
As a way to celebrate and honor your entry into the Foursquare family, the district office will present your church with a covenant plaque. Your district office will contact you to schedule this presentation.
The district office will include your church in communications regarding upcoming events such as camps, leadership trainings and other regular communications. You will also be receiving communications from our national office including invitations to participate in national events such as Connection, our convention for Foursquare ministers.
Covenant Church
The local church board retains
responsibility for property
decisions, but operates as a
Foursquare church per the
Covenant agreement.
As stated in the covenant agreement, your church board will retain responsibility for the administration of the local church corporation and will serve as the “church council” for all responsibilities referenced in the Foursquare bylaws and policies. The local church board will be responsible to maintain its corporate status and comply with all state and federal laws.
Ongoing Support
Foursquare districts and
One Team provide
ongoing support, resources
consultation and care.
The Foursquare church has many resources available through the Foursquare administrative toolkit. This 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 district office will continue to provide ongoing care and consultation for your church. If at any time your church has a question or concern, the district office will serve as the first point of contact.
Is becoming a Covenant Church the path for you? Let’s get going!
Get all the details!
Have Questions?
Ready to Apply?
Not a Foursquare Church but looking to affiliate?
Foursquare Community churches are completely autonomous and independent legal entities. A Foursquare Community Church affiliates with Foursquare but is not a Foursquare legal entity. There are numerous benefits to becoming a member of the Foursquare Association as a Community Church.