Gathering Forms

Publisher: Global.Church · Created: 2026-05-06 · 6 concepts

https://ontology.global.church/core#GatheringFormScheme

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.

Code	Label	Definition
`GTHF-BIB`	Bible Study	A gathering whose primary purpose is corporate study of Scripture — small-group Bible study, inductive study cohort, community-wide Bible-study series. Distinct from teaching-by-pastor as part of a Sunday service.
`GTHF-DSC`	Discipleship Gathering	A gathering whose primary purpose is structured discipleship — a discipleship cohort, a Three-Thirds gathering, a leadership-formation cohort, a one-on-one or triad meeting. The natural companion to gc:TrainingAttestation data when the training happens in the context of an ongoing discipleship gathering.
`GTHF-MID`	Midweek Meeting	A regular non-Sunday gathering of the body — Wednesday-night service, midweek small-group, fellowship meal. Distinct from per-purpose gatherings (Prayer, BibleStudy, Discipleship) by its general-purpose framing.
`GTHF-OUT`	Outreach Event	A gathering whose primary purpose is outward — evangelistic event, community service, neighborhood gathering, missional engagement. The body is gathered around outward-facing activity rather than internal worship or formation.
`GTHF-PRY`	Prayer Gathering	A gathering whose primary purpose is corporate prayer — prayer meeting, prayer walk, prayer concert. Distinct from a Sunday or Midweek gathering that contains prayer alongside other elements.
`GTHF-SUN`	Sunday Service	The body's main weekly worship gathering — typically Sunday morning in Western traditions, but the concept covers any ecclesial tradition's primary weekly assembly (Saturday in Adventist contexts; Friday in some persecuted-church contexts). The default gathering form for a Local Church body.