Championing Independent Churches
Our network provides relational support and tax covering to hundreds of local churches, empowering independent ministries to thrive in their unique callings.
Churches
Churches
We are home to over 600 local churches worldwide
We are a home to independent churches of all shapes and sizes, from small gatherings in homes to well-established megachurches. Every church in the Fellowship Network is a unique congregation with its own unique part to play in the Body of Christ. Together, we value relationship, unity of spirit, and a hunger to see God move through the local expressions of His church.
How we resource local churches:
Practical Resources
Looking for a solution to a unique problem? There are people in our network who have walked in your shoes and have solutions to offer.
Mentoring
Relationships that provide shepherding, learning, and spiritual growth for Christian ministers.
Relational Support
Our network is made up of pastors and leaders from hundreds of independent churches around the world.
Tax Covering
Our team can guide you through the process of legally organizing your church and obtaining tax-free status with the IRS
A supportive place to grow your church
It can be a challenge to find peers, mentors, and leaders who will help you grow as a ministry. You need help that doesn’t require becoming part of another organization’s hierarchical structure and authority. Just like with Elijah, John the Baptist, and many others, every minister needs confirmation that they are not alone.
The Fellowship is structured to never have any ecclesiastical or hierarchical authority over its members (see bylaws 3.01). We are committed to helping each other become examples of how “…the whole body fits together perfectly, each part doing its own special work, helping the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love” (Ephesians 4:16).
The Fellowship Network is a large interconnection of peers and mentors, with an up-to-date resource center, field-tested practical solutions to ministry situations, regular gatherings and a community where “iron sharpens iron” as the Holy Spirit leads.
We will guide you through all the legalities, forms and tax codes required to establish a tax-exempt organizational structure that best fits your ministry. Our regional gatherings are a family affair, a time to start new friendships, renew old ones, become inspired and partake of one-on-one mentoring, as well as personal counseling in matters that uniquely impact independent ministers.
A legacy of hunger
From our very beginning, The Fellowship has been Full Gospel, Spirit-empowered, and hungry for the Presence of God.
In 1948 Gordon Lindsay, Jack Moore and several other independent evangelistic healing ministries formed “The Voice of Healing.” The resulting alliances birthed a healing revival that quickly spread around the world. As the number of independent evangelists approached 100, they came together to form a fellowship that elected Gordon Lindsay as president. Those well-watered roots continue to produce much fruit.
As more pastors, missionaries, evangelists, teachers, and churches joined the group, it became clear that a coordinated group of independent ministers should be formed to care for all the souls God was birthing, as well as a place for the laborers in the harvest to regroup, recharge and be refreshed.
In 1962, Lindsay convened a conference at the Baker Hotel in Dallas for all interested ministers. Plans were laid and the Full Gospel Fellowship of Churches & Ministers International was born. We celebrated 50 years of dedicated service in 2012, and continue on as “The Fellowship Network” – a Spirit-empowered community, advancing the Kingdom of God.
The perfect place to launch your ministry
We know how hard it is today to start a ministry from scratch. Paperwork, forms, legal verbiage, tax-exemption, time delays and ongoing expenses can loom large, hobble your progress, and be downright discouraging.
The good news is we have been there before and we can guide you through the maze. The men and women of The Fellowship Network really do understand the challenges you face and are committed to shouldering the load with you. We will help you avoid some of the pitfalls, dead-ends, and rabbit trails that everyone encounters when starting an independent ministry. We will be more than a cheering section: we will provide you with up-to-date, actionable information. We stay current, so you won’t have to.
We have streamlined the complicated, time-consuming, and expensive process of establishing the 501(c)(3) organization your ministry needs to advance its mission. If the legal requirements change, we will notify you and help you stay current, freeing you to focus on your ministry.
I can jump on the phone with one of the people in The Fellowship that I have built relationship with and get valuable information about my next ministry step…
Randy Estelle