General Council Convenes

ORLANDO, Florida — Approximately 20,000 adherents from the Assemblies of God (U.S.) will meet at the Orange County Convention Center here this week for the church’s 58th General Council. Delegates will come from every state and many foreign countries for this biennial meeting.

The General Council is the business meeting for the church, which is part of the largest Pentecostal denomination in the world with over 69 million members. There are more than 3 million adherents in the U.S.

Business sessions where delegates will elect officers, hear reports of church ministries, and adopt resolutions beginning at 8:30 a.m. (Eastern) Friday, Aug. 2, and continue through Saturday, Aug. 3. Delegates are comprised of all licensed and ordained AG ministers who are present and registered for the convention. In addition, every General Council church may send one delegate to participate in business sessions.

Doug Clay, general superintendent of the Assemblies of God (U.S.) will give the keynote address at the first service of the General Council, Thursday evening. Other speakers for the week include Executive Presbyter Melissa J. Alfaro (Friday evening); Assistant General Superintendent Alton Garrison (Saturday evening); and pastor Randall Ross of Calvary Church, Naperville, Illinois (Sunday morning). The convention concludes with a missions celebration and commissioning service on Sunday evening.

Even before Council officially opens Thursday night (August 1), crowds began meeting for pre-council meetings and a leadership conference that begins Wednesday, July 31.

The Influence Conference will begin Wednesday afternoon and continue through Thursday. Speakers for the two-day event include Robert Madu, evangelist and on staff at Trinity Church, Cedar Hill, Texas; John Lindell, senior pastor of James River Church in Springfield, Missouri; Bobby Gruenewald, pastor/innovation leader at Life.Church, and founder of the YouVersion Bible app; Al Toledo, founder and pastor of Chicago Tabernacle; and Jeremy DeWeerdt, pastor, City First Church in Rockford, Illinois.

Some 15,000 students, parents, and sponsors will participate in the National Youth Convention this week at the Orange County Convention Center. Youth will be participating in numerous activities, including National Fine Arts Festival, community outreach, and nightly services. The week culminates with the Fine Arts presentations and awards, Saturday, Aug. 4, beginning at 5 p.m.

People can follow the Influence sessions, GC business, and GC and National Youth Convention services via livestream at GeneralCouncil.org. A full backstage experience will begin 30 minutes prior to each service in English and Spanish. Archived videos will be posted the day after each session.