Church of God vs Assembly of God: What's the Difference?

[Kct29]

I am seeking to fully understand the true difference between Assemblies of God and Church of God.

These are my specific questions:

1) Do both believe in washing feet? If so, do they have differing beliefs regarding feet washing? If not, which one believes in it and which one does not?

2) I know AoG believes speaking in tongues is the INITAL evidence of infilling of HG. Does the Church of God also believe you have to speak in tongues to be filled? Or do they believe you can have the infilling without the tongues?

3) I have been to several AoG where women still wear dresses or skirts but cut their hair, wear makeup, etc. I have never been to a CoG where they wear skirts/dresses still. Is this an AoG thing or a case by case scenario?

4) are there any other differences that are significant?

----

Also,

***What is the diff between Church of God and Church of God of Prophecy?

Thanks.

 

[ltwin]

I am seeking to fully understand the true difference between Assemblies of God and Church of God.

I assume you are referring to the Church of God denomination with headquarters in Cleveland, Tennessee, often referred to as Church of God (Cleveland, TN) to avoid confusion). They are both classical Pentecostal denominations. Assemblies of God is a non-Wesleyan or "Baptistic" type Pentecostal denomination. The Church of God is a Wesleyan or "Methodistic" type Pentecostal denomination. I'll explain the difference below, but first lets answer your questions.

These are my specific questions:

1) Do both believe in washing feet? If so, do they have differing beliefs regarding feet washing? If not, which one believes in it and which one does not?

It can be practiced in both denominations. As far as I am aware, it has no "official" status in the Assemblies of God. It is not mentioned in the Statement of Fundamental Truths. However, there is nothing forbidding an AG church from having a foot washing and I imagine that certain AG churches will do it at least occasionally. This article gives an example of how foot washing is used in the AG: "Foot Washing Brings Down Ministry Barriers".

The practice is specifically mentioned in CoG doctrinal statements. See the denomination's Declaration of Faith where you will see foot washing mentioned right beside the Lord's Supper.

2) I know AoG believes speaking in tongues is the INITAL evidence of infilling of HG. Does the Church of God also believe you have to speak in tongues to be filled? Or do they believe you can have the infilling without the tongues?

The CoG's Declaration of Faith (linked above) states: They believe "In speaking with other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance and that it is the initial evidence of the baptism of the Holy Ghost."

3) I have been to several AoG where women still wear dresses or skirts but cut their hair, wear makeup, etc. I have never been to a CoG where they wear skirts/dresses still. Is this an AoG thing or a case by case scenario?

Neither the AG or the CoG require women to wear dresses or grow their hair out. That is a personal choice. Some pastors/congregations may be more conservative than others in this regard. If anything, you would see this more often in the CoG if anywhere, but in general both the AG and CoG have moved away from this type of dress code as markers of holiness.

4) are there any other differences that are significant?

The only major doctrinal difference is that the CoG is a Wesleyan denomination. This means they believe that it is possible to achieve "entire sanctification". This is an experience that occurs after salvation but before Spirit baptism in which the person is enabled, by faith, to achieve a greater degree of holiness of life. This new holiness or "clean heart" then prepares one to be "filled" with the Spirit in Spirit baptism. Their Declaration of Faith states that they believe:

• In sanctification subsequent to the new birth, through faith in the blood of Christ; through the Word, and by the Holy Ghost.

• Holiness to be God's standard of living for His people.

• In the baptism with the Holy Ghost subsequent to a clean heart.

The Assemblies of God, however, rejects this Wesleyan notion of "entire sanctification." Their Statement of Fundamental Truths states the following:

Sanctification is realized in the believer by recognizing his identification with Christ in His death and resurrection, and by the faith reckoning daily upon the fact of that union, and by offering every faculty continually to the dominion of the Holy Spirit.

For the AG, sanctification is a progressive (continual) action of the Holy Spirit. It is a process, not an event. While the CoG also recognizes that sanctification is a process, they also believe in an event in the life of the believer that is necessary for us to achieve greater holiness in this life. This is called "entire sanctification."

To simplify, the AG is a 2-stage denomination: you get saved, then you get the baptism in the Holy Spirit. The CoG is a 3-stage denomination: you get saved, then you get "sanctified", and then you get baptized in the Holy Spirit.

What is the diff between Church of God and Church of God of Prophecy?

The Church of God of Prophecy started as a split within the Church of God. They basically believe the same thing, they just had a fight over who should be in charge. Basically. It happened a long time ago. The two denominations are pretty friendly today.

 

[aog17]

I am seeking to fully understand the true difference between Assemblies of God and Church of God.

These are my specific questions:

1) Do both believe in washing feet? If so, do they have differing beliefs regarding feet washing? If not, which one believes in it and which one does not?

2) I know AoG believes speaking in tongues is the INITAL evidence of infilling of HG. Does the Church of God also believe you have to speak in tongues to be filled? Or do they believe you can have the infilling without the tongues?

3) I have been to several AoG where women still wear dresses or skirts but cut their hair, wear makeup, etc. I have never been to a CoG where they wear skirts/dresses still. Is this an AoG thing or a case by case scenario?

4) are there any other differences that are significant?

----

Also,

***What is the diff between Church of God and Church of God of Prophecy?

Thanks.

1) I’ve attended both denominations. The CoG did footwashings in community outreach, the AoG church does not practice it(although they may have done it at one point. Either way, modern churches simply don’t put a huge emphasis on foot washing ceremonies compared to water baptisms.

2) They both have similar theology regarding speaking in tongues. AoG is more orderly. If one openly spoke in tongues without interpretation they will be approached and corrected by the Pastor. The Pastor has to address the church why the person spoke in tongues because it could scare first time visitors and unbelievers.

3) It depends on the congregation, but the Aog Im attending is very contemporary and the attire tends to be trendy. The Pastor dresses like Rick Warren. In the CoG the congregation dresses more conservative. Conservative-Casual, Business Casual, or suits.

4) Most CoG congregations are small fellowship churches and they are more like your Prototypical Pentecostal Church. Their Pastors tend to be loud and fiery. The worship music program is amateurish and their choice of contemporary worship music is dated.

The Aog Im attending is very contemporary. The worship band sounds professional, the building is a modern auditorium with sound insulation. The speaker systems and tech are high end. They use concert lighting and dim the lights during worship.

 

[LinkH]

The info shared so far seems pretty accurate.

I get the impression that the CoG and some of the other Wesleyan Pentecostal churches have a lot of congregations that don't emphasize sanctification as a one-time experience you get after salvation and before the baptism with the Holy Ghost. I think this comes from two factors-- one is people not being able to see it in the Bible, and the other is the fact that so many other Pentecostals who are similar in their doctrine don't teach it.

In the mid-1980's, at one of the general assemblies, a change was made which allowed women to cut their hair and wear make-up, so you see this at some COGs, but some are more old-school. My impression is that these preachers also tend to emphasize sanctification as an experience.

The COG is set up with an episcopal church system with preachers higher up in the hierarchy choosing preachers for those down below. The A/G is set up kind of like the Southern Baptists. They may even have an elected board of deacons who votes in a pastor. There is more autonomy on the local church level in this regard. The Pentecostal Holiness has also historically taught sanctification as a one-time experience after one gets saved, and they have a episcopal style church government system. They also have a lot of congregations in the southeast, though they are trying to expand.

Lots of COGs are very tiny with bi-vocational pastors.

The COG has a lot of their churches in the Southeast.

The largest COG national conference is in Indonesia. I don't think they have the Holiness movement doctrine on sanctification. I've never heard it preached that way. Some of the congregations call themselves 'Charismatic.'

I hear COGs tend to have more tongues and interpretation in their meetings as opposed to prophesying than the A/G. That's based on conversations with people in the movement. Pastors may be more likely to give the interpretation in the CoG. (That's my impression.)

The A/Gs I went to as a teen in the 1980's wanted orderly tongues and interpretation. I saw one pastor, a school principle in a chapel, say that he believed a tongue was for self-edification and not for the assembly after a teenager gave a message in tongues and there was no interpreter. One church taught that tongues in the assembly were to be interpreted. I don't recall it addressed in the other. I never heard everyone speaking in tongues in the A/Gs I attended, unless I heard it once at a country church where the people may have been from 'holiness' backgrounds. Some of the COG people may have interpreted 'let him keep silent in the church and let him speak to himself and to God' to allow for speaking to himself and to God by mumbling in tongues.

Some of the 'Holiness' churches in the south will all pray together in English or in tongues 'out loud.' I don't remember that in the A/G.

A lot of A/G preachers sound like Yankees or like they are from the midwest. COG preachers tend to sound southern, at least in the US.

 

[Susan Swanger Zipf]

I am an ordained minister in the Church of God.
We do believe in salvation, sanctification, and Baptism in the Holy Ghost.
However, there is additional sanctification that occurs when we repent from sin and ask God to forgive us.
We do tend to be more conservative in our dress, though I've preached in sneakers.

As for tongues, sometimes there is interpretation, and sometimes there isn't. The times there isn't we attribute to that person praising God in tongues.

Believe me. If God gives you an interpretation, you HAVE to give it. It burns in your soul and in your heart until you do.