A Covenant Connection of Autonomous Churches

United Deliverance Churches in America was established under the leadership and vision of Bishop-Designate Charles Paige, Presiding Bishop & Chief Servant-Elect, together with clergy and church leaders who recognized the need for a national connection specifically serving independent Deliverance, Holiness, Pentecostal, and Spirit-filled congregations. UDCA was developed to provide something many independent churches need but do not always have: meaningful connection without institutional control. The vision is not to create another denomination that governs local congregations. Instead, UDCA brings autonomous churches into a covenant relationship where leaders can pray together, learn together, develop together, share resources, strengthen ministries, collaborate in mission, and build lasting relationships while maintaining their local identity. Our guiding philosophy is: Independent in Governance. Covenanted in Relationship. Collaborative in Mission. Strategic in Development. Measurable in Impact.

UDCA is led by the Presiding Bishop & Chief Servant, who serves as the principal ecclesiastical leader, national visionary, and chief servant of the Connection. The Presiding Bishop provides spiritual and strategic leadership to UDCA, presides over the episcopacy and national gatherings, appoints or recommends connectional leaders according to the Bylaws and Book of Order, and works with the other governing and advisory bodies of the Connection. The leadership structure also includes the Executive Bishops, who provide leadership to the major geographical regions of UDCA; the Board of Presbyters/Covenant Council, which provides senior spiritual counsel, episcopal accountability, and guidance concerning doctrine and ministerial standards; and the General Secretary, who serves as the principal administrative and corporate records officer of the Connection. The broader national structure includes the Executive Council, General Treasurer, Chief Financial Officer, General Counsel, State Bishops, District Elders, national officers, department leaders, commissions, collaboratives, ministry directors, and regional and state coordinators. Leadership within UDCA is understood fundamentally as service rather than status. The office of bishop, elder, officer, or director exists to strengthen the churches—not to replace the authority of the local congregation.

Participation in UDCA remains a voluntary covenant — no congregation is pressured into joining, and no church is bound beyond what it freely undertakes. The membership structure is transparent, reasonable, and accessible to churches of different sizes, and the annual fee is not a single combined amount. The annual membership fee is structured as separate annual amounts, each serving a defined part of the Connection’s work: administration, leadership development, church-development resources, national and regional programming, communications, missions, ministry training, Holy Convocation, and services made available to affiliated congregations. One amount is allocated to each Bishop, and each regional meeting carries its own separate allocation, so every level of the Connection — national, episcopal, and regional — is supported clearly and directly. The actual dollar amounts are published annually in the official UDCA Schedule of Covenant Participation and Ministry Support rather than permanently embedded in the Bylaws, which allows the Executive Council to adjust amounts responsibly without having to amend the Constitution or Bylaws whenever financial circumstances change. Most importantly, financial contribution does not purchase ecclesiastical authority, voting power, appointment, ordination, or preferential treatment within UDCA.

Joining UDCA begins with relationship, not paperwork. A pastor or congregation may first participate in a UDCA gathering, leadership conversation, prayer fellowship, regional meeting, training opportunity, or Holy Convocation. Churches interested in formal affiliation may then submit a Covenant Connection Application. The process generally includes an introductory conversation, review of the church’s ministry and leadership, affirmation of UDCA’s faith and covenant principles, completion of the affiliation documents, and approval through the appropriate connectional process. Once received, the congregation becomes part of the UDCA family while retaining its own name, history, governing documents, leadership, property, finances, membership, and local ministry identity. A church does not have to change its name to include “UDCA.” A congregation may publicly identify itself as: “A Covenant Church of United Deliverance Churches in America.” That designation communicates relationship without suggesting ownership.

Yes. Connection with UDCA is a voluntary covenant relationship. No congregation should be pressured into joining, and an affiliated congregation is not trapped in the Connection once it becomes affiliated. A church may voluntarily withdraw from UDCA by providing written notice according to the procedures established in the Bylaws and Book of Order. UDCA may likewise address serious breaches of covenant through a fair process involving notice, review, accountability, and, where appropriate, opportunities for reconciliation or restoration. Withdrawal from UDCA does not give UDCA ownership of the congregation’s property, money, equipment, accounts, membership records, or other local assets. The relationship should begin honorably, function honorably, and—if necessary—be capable of ending honorably.

The local church retains its local authority. This is one of the foundational principles of United Deliverance Churches in America. An affiliated congregation continues to determine its own pastoral leadership, officers, trustees, membership, worship schedule, ministry programs, staff, compensation, budget, bank accounts, property, facilities, governing documents, and local mission, subject to its own governing documents and applicable law. UDCA does not automatically own or control the property of an affiliated church. UDCA does not automatically control a local church’s bank accounts. UDCA does not automatically appoint or remove its pastor. UDCA does not determine who may become a member of the congregation. UDCA does not assume the debts or liabilities of an affiliated congregation, nor does the congregation automatically assume the debts or liabilities of UDCA. The Presiding Bishop, Executive Bishops, State Bishops, District Elders, and other connectional officers provide spiritual leadership, fellowship, counsel, development, accountability within UDCA, and connectional support—not ownership of the local church.

UDCA governs UDCA. The Connection establishes standards for its own officers, episcopal appointments, credentials, national ministries, departments, programs, events, finances, communications, leadership conduct, safeguarding requirements, and use of the UDCA name and identity. For example, UDCA may determine who is recognized as a bishop or credentialed minister within UDCA, who may hold a UDCA office, and whether a church remains in good standing with the Connection. That is different from controlling the congregation itself. A church could therefore cease to be affiliated with UDCA while continuing to exist as the same independent local congregation. This distinction is essential: UDCA possesses connectional authority over the relationship. The local church possesses governing authority over the congregation.

An affiliated congregation becomes part of a broader national fellowship with access to connectional relationships and resources designed to strengthen—not replace—the local ministry. Benefits may include pastoral and episcopal fellowship, prayer networks, leadership development, church-health resources, governance and administrative resources, youth and young-adult development, women’s and men’s ministry networks, worship and sacred-arts resources, communications and media development, missions opportunities, community-impact initiatives, ministerial training, Holy Convocation, regional gatherings, and opportunities to serve throughout the Connection. Affiliation should answer the practical question: “How does belonging to UDCA help our church become healthier, stronger, and more effective in fulfilling its God-given mission?” That is the standard by which the Connection should continually evaluate its work.

Absolutely. That is central to our model. A congregation may voluntarily request assistance with governance, pastoral transition, strategic planning, conflict resolution, church development, financial systems, leadership training, safeguarding, ministry development, or another area of concern. In such circumstances, UDCA serves as a resource, adviser, facilitator, and covenant partner. If a congregation desires UDCA to exercise additional temporary authority in a particular situation, that authority should be established through a separate written agreement defining its purpose, scope, duration, and termination. Assistance should never quietly become ownership.