| Organization Type |
https://ontology.global.church/core#OrganizationTypeScheme |
10 |
Classification of organizations by structural/governance form. Org types describe what an organization IS (Church, Agency, Network), not what it DOES — activity classification uses gc:EngagementAcceleratorScheme via gc:hasEngagementAccelerator. |
| Belief Type (may be superseded by HIS ROR) |
https://ontology.global.church/core#BeliefTypeScheme |
10 |
Classification of organizations by Christian tradition, aligned with the World Christian Database (WCD) six-megabloc taxonomy. Layer 2 in the three-layer religion classification: HIS ROR (religion) → BeliefType (Christian tradition) → Denomination. |
| Denomination |
https://ontology.global.church/core#DenominationScheme |
32 |
Classification of organizations by denomination. Two-level hierarchy with denomination families and specific bodies. Layer 3 in the three-layer religion classification: HIS ROR (religion) → BeliefType (Christian tradition) → Denomination. Informed by the World Christian Database (WCD) denomination taxonomy. |
| Engagement Accelerators |
https://ontology.global.church/core#EngagementAcceleratorScheme |
61 |
Twelve strategic domains that catalyze phase transitions among people groups, as defined by the Phases of Engagement Toolkit (April 2026). Each accelerator represents a dimension of gospel-oriented activity that applies across all phases but requires different approaches at each. |
| Engagement Strength |
https://ontology.global.church/core#EngagementStrengthScheme |
5 |
Five-level scale measuring the intensity and quality of gospel-oriented activity relative to the population at a given engagement phase. Strength is not a measurement of a team's quality or impact, but an indicator of gospel-oriented activity relative to the population. From the Phases of Engagement Toolkit (April 2026) by Frontiers, IMB, Joshua Project, Engage Network, Vision 5:9, and Accelerate. |
| Attestation Status |
https://ontology.global.church/core#AttestationStatusScheme |
4 |
Status values for gc:Attestation instances. Tracks whether the attested claim is currently active, temporarily paused, completed, or withdrawn. Shared across EngagementAttestation, EkklesiaAttestation, and other Attestation subclasses. Endorsement uses its own gc:EndorsementStatusScheme. |
| Need Status |
https://ontology.global.church/core#NeedStatusScheme |
4 |
Status values for gc:Need instances. Tracks whether a declared gap is open, partially addressed, fully met, or withdrawn. |
| Commitment Status |
https://ontology.global.church/core#CommitmentStatusScheme |
7 |
Status values for gc:Commitment instances. 7 stages tracking the progression of an organizational commitment from declaration through fulfillment or abandonment. Phase 8 joint design memo (2026-04-16), Open Question #5 lock. |
| Ekklesia Form |
https://ontology.global.church/core#EkklesiaFormScheme |
5 |
Classifies gathered expressions of Christ's body by structural form — what kind of body is this? Five forms cover the major ecclesial shapes recognized in global church-planting literature. UniversalChurch deferred (no query requires it today). Used via gc:hasEkklesiaForm on gc:Ekklesia. |
| Ecclesial Mode |
https://ontology.global.church/core#EcclesialModeScheme |
2 |
Classifies the operational structure of an ekklesia using Ralph Winter's Two Structures framework: Modality (settled, gathered, inclusive parish-style structure) vs Sodality (sent, selective, mission-vocational structure). Multi-valued — an ekklesia may operate in both modes. |
| Gathering Mode |
https://ontology.global.church/core#GatheringModeScheme |
3 |
Describes how an ekklesia convenes. Three modes: InPerson (shared venue), Online (digital gathering with mutual participation), and Distributed (multi-node, no single-venue dependency). Multi-valued — an ekklesia may carry more than one mode simultaneously. |
| Ekklesia Lifecycle |
https://ontology.global.church/core#EkklesiaLifecycleScheme |
6 |
Six stages describing where an ekklesia is in its life journey. Each stage transition is authoritative as a dated gc:EkklesiaAttestation; gc:hasEkklesiaLifecycle on the Ekklesia instance is materialized from the latest non-superseded attestation (joint memo Decision 2) — and is OPTIONAL: absence under open-world semantics simply means no attester has produced a stage. Reconstituting and Dissolved are GC additions to honor the full life-arc, including church death and rebirth, which the source frameworks do not address. Enables queries: when did ekklesia X enter Multiplying? How many attested ekklesia in region R are Stalled? Movement M's generational depth via gc:fulfillsCommitment reverse-walk. |
| Assessment Methodology Scheme |
https://ontology.global.church/core#AssessmentMethodologyScheme |
8 |
Identifies the framework or scale used for an assessment. Each concept represents a distinct assessment methodology owned by a specific organization. Single registry across all assessment tiers (PeopleGroup / Ekklesia / Disciple). Methodology REGISTRATION concepts live in gc: as Global.Church's curated index entries; per-methodology DIMENSION and RESULT-VALUE vocabularies live in the owning org's namespace (imb:, exp:, lifeway:, reveal:). See ontology design Principle 11 (Namespace Incubation). |
| Endorsement Status Scheme |
https://ontology.global.church/core#EndorsementStatusScheme |
4 |
SKOS concept scheme for endorsement status values. |
| Endorsement Type Scheme |
https://ontology.global.church/core#EndorsementTypeScheme |
4 |
SKOS concept scheme for endorsement types. |
| Practice Type Scheme |
https://ontology.global.church/core#PracticeTypeScheme |
9 |
SKOS concept scheme containing the recognized practice types. |
| Resource Domain Scheme |
https://ontology.global.church/core#ResourceDomainScheme |
23 |
Content domain classification for ministry resources. Hierarchical — top concepts are broad domains, narrower concepts are specializations. |
| Resource Format Scheme |
https://ontology.global.church/core#ResourceFormatScheme |
8 |
SKOS concept scheme for resource delivery formats. |
| Resource Function Scheme |
https://ontology.global.church/core#ResourceFunctionScheme |
8 |
How the resource is used — its pedagogical or ministry function. |
| Resource Status Scheme |
https://ontology.global.church/core#ResourceStatusScheme |
5 |
SKOS concept scheme for resource lifecycle stages. Progression: NotStarted → Planned → InProgress → InReview → Available. |
| Theological Discipline Scheme |
https://ontology.global.church/core#TheologicalDisciplineScheme |
22 |
The classical divisions of theological study. Used to classify theological education resources by academic discipline. |
| Discipleship Tools |
https://ontology.global.church/core#DiscipleshipToolScheme |
8 |
Anchor scheme for core discipleship tools taught in training settings. Eight foundational concepts, movement-neutral, drawn from the shared vocabulary of DMM, CPM, T4T, and Four Fields practice. Third-party packs (Navigators 2:7, Cru Knowing God Personally, Zume sessions, IMB CMT, Disciple.Tools Training, local-church curricula) align in via skos:broadMatch when published as org-scoped SKOS files — see Phase 11 Shared Registries. Used on gc:TrainingAttestation via gc:trainingTool (required, single). v0.34.3 removed gc:ToolChurchCircle — Church Circle is an ekklesia-health diagnostic, not a discipleship-training tool, and lives in gc:MethodologyChurchCircle / gc:ChurchCircleScheme. v0.34.4 added gc:ToolCHAT — a four-step structured personal prayer rhythm (Confession / Honor / Ask / Thanksgiving) — to anchor the Prayer category in Multiply's L1–L2 rhythms feature. |
| Training Levels |
https://ontology.global.church/core#TrainingLevelScheme |
4 |
Four-level attainment scale for discipleship-tool training. Matches Multiply Grow-tab semantics. Collapses Multiply's separate command-style (obeying / teaching) and skill-style (practicing / teaching) distinctions into a single attainment axis: Unlearned < Learning < Practicing < Teaching. Practicing is the pastoral-roster threshold; Teaching is the multiplication threshold. Used on gc:TrainingAttestation via gc:trainingLevel (required, single). |
| Organizational Capabilities |
https://ontology.global.church/core#OrganizationalCapabilityScheme |
102 |
Comprehensive capability map across every kind of Christian organization. Nineteen top-level capabilities plus ~79 narrower function concepts. Names what an organization is equipped to do — parish work (worship, sacraments, pastoral care), denominational work (governance, ordination), mission work (translation, sending, planting), infrastructure work (funding, standards, technology, advocacy), and operational work (donor CRM, nonprofit finance, MEL, ChMS, comms). Coexists with gc:EngagementAcceleratorScheme on gc:Organization (overlap permitted; different intent, different vocabularies). |
| Church Circle Elements |
https://ontology.global.church/core#ChurchCircleScheme |
9 |
Nine elements of a Church Circle ekklesia-health diagnostic. Generic DMM/CPM movement vocabulary curated by GC because no single organization owns the tool. Each element cross-links to the corresponding gc:PracticeType* concept where one exists, via skos:exactMatch. Used as the dimension scheme for gc:MethodologyChurchCircle assessments. Result-values are per-element present/absent/reproducing booleans, NOT scaled ratings — see the v0.34.0 design rationale on per-methodology native value shapes. |
| People Group Scope Types |
https://ontology.global.church/core#PeopleGroupScopeTypeScheme |
17 |
Controlled vocabulary for the scope dimension of a gc:PeopleGroupPopulationSegment. Concepts cover PGAC (across countries), PGIC (in country), and 15 finer-grained operational scopes — geographic (City, AdminArea, Region, Polygon, Place), demographic (Language, Religion, CasteClanTribe, AffinityGroup, Cluster), diaspora, and operational (MinistryEngagement, Church, Network, Denomination). Sources include UUPG+ Alliance Hotspot conversations, JP / IMB / AX field-research vocabularies, and the integrated v0.35.0 reshape brief. |
| Ekklesia Core |
https://ontology.global.church/core#EkklesiaCoreScheme |
10 |
The default GC-curated catalog of Ekklesia category concepts. Ten concepts cover the major kinds of ekklesia bodies recognized across global church-planting and ecclesial traditions: HouseChurch, Church, Megachurch, MultiSiteChurch, CellGroup, MovementCell, ApostolicBand, Network, Denomination, UniversalChurch. Body instances are classified into one or more concepts via gc:EkklesiaClassification (multi-source, time-indexed, attributed). Sibling axes — Form (gc:EkklesiaFormScheme), Ecclesial Mode (gc:EcclesialModeScheme), Gathering Mode (gc:GatheringModeScheme), Lifecycle (gc:EkklesiaLifecycleScheme) — describe orthogonal properties of the body. |
| Ekklesia Scope Types |
https://ontology.global.church/core#EkklesiaScopeTypeScheme |
11 |
Controlled vocabulary for the scope dimension of a gc:EkklesiaSegment. Concepts cover Universal (whole-church scope), Network-AcrossCountries / Network-InCountry (network rollups), LocalBody (single-body scope), and finer geographic / linguistic / diaspora scopes (InCity, InAdminArea, InRegion, InCountry, InLanguage, InDiaspora). Sources include the v0.35.0 Track 12-2 reshape brief and the parallel PG-side scope-type pattern. |
| Gathering Forms |
https://ontology.global.church/core#GatheringFormScheme |
6 |
Controlled vocabulary for the form of an individual gc:EkklesiaGathering — Sunday service, midweek meeting, prayer gathering, Bible study, discipleship gathering, outreach event. Used per-event; the body-level gathering pattern is gc:hasGatheringMode. |
| Verification Levels |
https://ontology.global.church/core#VerificationLevelScheme |
4 |
A four-tier ladder ranking the evidence-strength behind an attestation or reachedness-assessment result. V1 is desk research only; V4 is verified by an on-the-ground partner with named field workers. Used as an orthogonal axis to source-specific status values: a JP-scale-1 reading can carry V2 verification on one segment and V4 on another. Provides a cross-source confidence signal usable by Watch List eligibility logic and by consumer apps that need to surface evidence quality. |
| Data Confidence |
https://ontology.global.church/core#DataConfidenceScheme |
3 |
A qualitative three-band confidence rating (Low / Medium / High) carried on an attestation or reachedness-assessment result. Captures the informant's own stated confidence in the value, orthogonal to verification-level (which records evidence-source strength). A V4-verified partner reading can still be DataConfidenceLow when the partner is honestly flagging that the underlying observation is uncertain (e.g., a population estimate in a closed-access context). |
| Association Types |
https://ontology.global.church/core#AssociationTypeScheme |
9 |
Minimal seed vocabulary for gc:associationType — categorical classifier for org-to-org associations (gc:OrganizationStructureAssociation, gc:ServiceFocusAssociation, gc:OrganizationMembership). Three families: structure types (campus / subsidiary / regional office / multi-site member), service focus types (PeopleGroup / Region / Accelerator), and membership types (formal / affiliate). Used by SHACL via sh:class skos:Concept; richer per-shape sh:in constraints can be added when consumer queries demand them. |
| Organization Roles |
https://ontology.global.church/core#OrganizationRoleScheme |
12 |
Minimal seed vocabulary for gc:organizationRole — the role an organization plays in a reified association (gc:OrganizationMembership, gc:ActivityParticipation, gc:CommitmentParticipation, gc:ResourceContribution, etc.). Three families: membership roles (founding-member / voting-member / affiliate-member / observer), participation roles (lead / partner / funder / implementer), resource contribution roles (author / translator / publisher / distributor / funder). Used on SHACL shapes via sh:class skos:Concept; richer per-shape sh:in constraints can be added when consumer queries demand them. Per-denomination / per-tradition role packs (Pastor/Elder/Deacon/etc.) belong in those orgs' namespaces under Principle 11, NOT here. |
| Temporal Lane Scheme |
https://ontology.global.church/core#TemporalLaneScheme |
5 |
A controlled vocabulary classifying properties by their temporal lane — whether the property records historical provenance, present derived state, future intent, stable identity facts, or materialized inference shortcuts. Properties are annotated via gc:temporalSemantics. |
| Relationship Status Scheme |
https://ontology.global.church/core#RelationshipStatusScheme |
3 |
A controlled vocabulary classifying the present posture of an organization's relationship — whether the relation is currently in force (Active), formally ended or dormant (Inactive), or temporarily on hold pending resolution (Suspended). Used on gc:RelationshipStateManifestation as a current-state record (gc:CurrentStateTerm); the underlying gc:OrganizationStructureAssociation / gc:OrganizationMembership / similar association instances carry the provenance history. |
| Service Interface Types |
https://ontology.global.church/core#ServiceInterfaceTypeScheme |
10 |
Categorical scheme classifying the wire-level interface contract of a gc:OfferedService: REST, GraphQL, SPARQL, MCP, A2A, OpenAPI-described, gRPC, Webhook, RSS/Atom, ActivityPub. Flat scheme (no hierarchy); a service has exactly one primary interface type. |
| Service Auth Schemes |
https://ontology.global.church/core#ServiceAuthSchemeScheme |
8 |
Authentication mechanisms a federation service may require: None, API Key, OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect, mutual TLS, JWT bearer, HTTP Basic, signed requests. Multi-valued on gc:OfferedService — a service may legitimately offer two auth modes (e.g., API key for simple usage and OAuth 2.0 for delegated access). |
| Service Statuses |
https://ontology.global.church/core#ServiceStatusScheme |
6 |
Lifecycle status of a gc:OfferedService: Active (production-ready), Beta (publicly callable but stability not guaranteed), Deprecated (still functional but scheduled for removal), Retired (no longer reachable), Planned (announced, not yet shipped), Maintenance (temporarily unavailable). Required 1..1 on every OfferedService. |
| Software Agent Types |
https://ontology.global.church/core#SoftwareAgentTypeScheme |
9 |
Runtime-shape classification for gc:SoftwareAgent: LLM Agent, MCP Server, ETL Bot, Scheduled Job, Webhook Handler, Crawler, Conversational Agent, RAG Pipeline, Inference Worker. Flat scheme — agents that span shapes are typed by their primary surface and linked to additional capabilities via gc:agentInvokesService. |
| Ecosystem Tier Scheme |
https://ontology.global.church/core#EcosystemTierScheme |
3 |
A controlled vocabulary classifying ecosystem activity by tier. Three concepts: Little-c Local Church Operations, Bridge Domains (Church ↔ Mission), and Big-C Global Coordination & Capital. Introduced v0.39.0 with EcosystemVerticalScheme; sources from Rich Pedersen's 2026-05-12 ecosystem-architecture prototype. |
| Ecosystem Vertical Scheme |
https://ontology.global.church/core#EcosystemVerticalScheme |
22 |
A controlled vocabulary of 22 ecosystem verticals organizing the Christian mission ecosystem into recognizable market segments. Each vertical sits in one tier from gc:EcosystemTierScheme (via gc:inTier), maps to one or more capabilities from gc:OrganizationalCapabilityScheme (via gc:expressesCapability), and declares the entity classes its products typically produce and consume (via gc:typicallyProducesType / gc:typicallyConsumesType). Sourced from Rich Pedersen's 2026-05-12 prototype diagram (16 verticals originally) with adjustments to give every named software cluster a distinct home. |
| Direction Scheme |
https://ontology.global.church/core#DirectionScheme |
2 |
A controlled vocabulary classifying the directional polarity of an Intent — Receive (a declared gap, need, or request) or Give (a declared offering, capability, or willingness to act). Authored in v0.40.0 as part of the Intent spine introduced via the gc-intent.ttl module. |
| Intent Match Status Scheme |
https://ontology.global.church/core#IntentMatchStatusScheme |
5 |
A controlled vocabulary classifying the status of a non-binding match between a Need and an Offering. The five concepts capture the full lifecycle from initial pairing (Proposed) through compatibility scoring (Scored), to terminal states (Rejected, Stale) or to gateway state (Accepted) that formalizes through a gc:Agreement. |