The Church of God is one of the types of Christian churches in America, alongside some of the larger denominations in
our country. A Church of God church would be considered more of a charismatic church as opposed to a more formal type
of church. Who makes up the membership of the Church of God? The membership is composed of Christians who believe in
some of the more sensational gifts of the Holy Spirit. By far, Church of God Christians have more in common with formal
denominational Christians than they have differences. When a person becomes a Christian, they begin a relationship with
God our heavenly Father, through a belief in his son Jesus. This relationship that a person has with God through Jesus
is by far the most important thing a person will ever be a part of on this earth. A Christian's subsequent membership in
a local church comes after a person begins their relationship with God. Church of God holds the same beliefs about how a
person becomes a Christian as does the other national denominations of Christianity.
What are the charismatic practices of a Church of God church? Many of these churches have members who speak in tongues.
This is a type of gift from the Holy Spirit whereby a person receives a supernatural "utterance" from the Holy Spirit in
the form of a verbal but inhuman speech. This utterance comes out of the person's mouth, during the worship service, in
the form of an audible series of sounds that might last anywhere from several seconds to several minutes. While this
tongue is being spoken, the other members of the church in attendance are to listen. After the tongue is complete, the
Holy Spirit is to have given someone else in attendance that day the explanation of the tongue. This explanation also
to be spoken publicly in the assembly and the explanation is to be in English (or whatever is the common language of the
worship service). For a Church of God, speaking in tongues is a common practice but it has the potential to introduce
unwanted tendencies in less mature Christians. A person can get puffed up with spiritual pride if God chooses to speak
through them in such a powerful way. The bible has warning against speaking in tongues; notably that if a person is given
a "tongue" to proclaim, yet no one is in attendance to also explain the tongue, then that person is to keep quiet.
A Church of God church has other charismatic practices, but the Christians in this type of church are just as genuine and
friendly as any of the other types of Christian denominations around the world.