More than two months after announcing James River Church’s split from the Assemblies of God, Lead Pastor John Lindell has offered additional insight into what sparked disaffiliation and shared his plans to step down in 2027.
“In March 2023, with the Board of Trustees’ support and approval, we announced our plans to transition from the Lead Pastor role. In March 2027, Debbie and I will be stepping aside as the Lead Pastors of James River Church,” Lindell said in a statement.
Published on the church’s website, the statement from Lindell and the board of trustees sought to address “falsehoods” and “rumors” concerning his ministerial credentials and the Missouri megachurch’s split from the world’s largest Pentecostal denomination.
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“In the coming weeks you may hear that the Assemblies of God dismissed my ministerial credentials. Prior to their decision, I had already resigned my ministerial credentials due to the Board of Trustees vote to disaffiliate from the Assemblies of God,” Lindell said. “However, dismissal of a pastor’s ministerial credentials is most often the Assemblies of God’s protocol when a church chooses to disaffiliate.”
While he did not reveal the exact reason why the church left the denomination, Lindell and the church’s board said that the split stemmed from a dispute with the Southern Missouri Ministry Network of the Assemblies of God, a fellowship of AOG congregations in southern Missouri.
“One year ago in June, I voiced to a Southern Missouri Ministry Network of the Assemblies of God official that if things continued to occur that were detrimental to the church, we would need to leave the Assemblies of God. Three months later, at a lunch with the Southern Missouri Ministry Network of the Assemblies of God Superintendent in September 2024, I expressed the same concerns again. In both instances there was no attempt on the Southern Missouri Ministry Network Leadership’s part to meet for the purpose of processing our concerns,” Lindell stated.
“After much prayer, seeking counsel from godly leaders (who are part of the Fellowship and love the Assemblies of God), and with the Board of Trustees’ approval, in April 2025, we made the decision to notify the Assemblies of God of our intent to disaffiliate.”
Lindell said Southern Missouri Ministry Network officials subsequently requested a Zoom meeting with James River Church’s Board of Trustees on May 12 to persuade them not to leave the fellowship. But that effort failed.
“In that meeting, the Board of Trustees were disappointed by the contentious demeanor and words of the Ministry Network official who led the meeting, which only served to confirm their resolve that disaffiliation was the right decision for James River Church,” the statement continued.
Lindell dismissed claims that James River Church split with the Assemblies of God because they did not want to be held accountable.
“That is completely false and was not the reason for our disaffiliation. In a meeting with the Assemblies of God General Superintendent Rev. Doug Clay, he asked me not to publicly state the specific reasons for our departure, which I will continue to honor,” he wrote. “The decision to disaffiliate from the Assemblies of God has not inured to the personal benefit of any individual; it was based solely on a legitimate concern that both the Board of Trustees and I had for the future vitality and well-being of James River Church.”
Lindell’s response comes more than a year after he accused Pastor Mark Driscoll of attempting to overthrow him as the leader of his church. He accused Driscoll of dividing his family and congregation by unfairly attacking as demonic a performance by a professional sword swallower, whom he accused of being a male stripper, at their Stronger Men’s Conference.
The church, formerly known as James River Assembly, was founded in 1991. The congregation also made headlines in 2023 after Lindell claimed during a livestream that a miracle occurred the previous day when a member saw her amputated toes grow back, prompting critics to demand proof of such a claim.
“This entire process has saddened our hearts. Because of the baseless rumors that have continued to be circulated, the Board of Trustees and I felt you needed to know these things, if for no other reason than to set your hearts at ease as you hear our heart. If you have questions, please feel free to ask; we would be happy to talk with you,” Lindell and his board noted.
“At the same time, we have chosen to believe that the Lord has allowed these events to occur in much the same way as He allowed Paul and Barnabas to separate but continue to reach people for Christ. And that is what we intend to do together with you until the Lord returns.”
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