One of its more distinctive features is that there is no formal membership, since the movement believes that true salvation through Jesus Christ, the son of God, makes one a member.

"[4] When Church of God ministers, such as Lena Shoffner, visited the camp meetings of other denominations, the rope in the congregation that separated whites and blacks was untied "and worshipers of both races approached the altar to pray".

[4] In the late 19th century, the Church of God used their journal, the Gospel Trumpet, to disseminate pacifist view.

In April 1898, the Gospel Trumpet responded to a question about the Church of God's stance on a Christian going to war.

When German Church of God congregants were drafted into the army, the Gospel Trumpet began running letters submitted about the conditions of training camps and on the battlefields.

Strege writes that as the war waged on, "there occurs in print no condemnation of those who entered the army—whether German or American—and there is no questioning of their religious commitment".

Sentiment against Communism (which advocated for state atheism in the Eastern Bloc) has since kept strong pacifism from developing in the Church of God.

This led to a sense that certain cultural practices then common in late nineteenth and early twentieth America were out of bounds for the "sanctified Christian."

By the 1950s, the movement no longer forcefully taught against the immodesty of mixed bathing (swimming) among the sexes or the addition of a television to the home.

These twentieth century changes focused on the idea that the internal transformations of holiness deserved far more emphasis than debates over its proper outward manifestation, such as styles of dress and some forms of worship.

It holds that all "blood washed ones" (Christians) are part of the church and that attending services is enough to count someone as a member of a congregation.

The church observes baptism by total immersion,[17] the Lord's Supper (commonly known as communion), and feet washing as symbolic acts, recognizing them as the ordinances of God.

While the church does not believe in official creeds, the Anderson School of Theology has released several pamphlets available online which outline their interpretation of the Bible on multiple points[18] such as Eschatology, which is Amillennial.

In North America, cooperative work is coordinated through Church of God Ministries with offices in Anderson, Indiana.

Personal conversion and Christian conduct, coupled with attendance, are sufficient for participation in a local Church of God congregation.