Permitted
Evangelical, Pentecostal, and non-denominational churches and cremation
Yes, in nearly every case. Evangelical, Pentecostal, and non-denominational churches overwhelmingly treat cremation as a personal decision. The Assemblies of God, the largest Pentecostal fellowship, takes no doctrinal position against it, and evangelical teaching grounds the resurrection in God’s power rather than in the condition of the body.
Permitted — personal conscience in nearly all churches.
Why conscience governs
Independent and evangelical churches typically bind conscience only where Scripture speaks, and Scripture gives no command about burial versus cremation. The Assemblies of God addresses the question in its published resources: the Bible neither endorses nor forbids cremation, and the decision belongs to the family. Teaching ministries across the evangelical world — from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association outward — give the same answer.
The doctrinal anchor is 1 Corinthians 15: the resurrection body is a new, imperishable work of God, sown in weakness and raised in power. Believers martyred by fire and lost at sea rise as surely as those buried in family plots; cremation places no one outside that promise.
Individual pastors sometimes commend burial as a picture of death and resurrection (Romans 6:4), and a minority of teachers argue for it as the better witness. Even those voices frame it as wisdom, not law.
Memorial practice in independent churches
Non-denominational memorial services are the most flexible in Christianity — a celebration of life at the church, a home gathering, worship music and testimony, with or without the urn. Direct cremation suits this pattern well: the cremation is handled simply and affordably, and the church community gathers when it can be fullest.
How we serve Evangelical and Pentecostal families
- We return ashes ahead of your celebration-of-life date and can recommend urns for keeping, burial, or scattering as your family decides.
- Your pastor or worship leader is welcome at our facility if the family wants prayer at the time of cremation.
- We serve bilingual congregations across DFW in English and Spanish.
Our direct cremation is $1,750, all-inclusive, answered live at (214) 550-7369 any hour. What it covers — and what it does not — is published on our pricing page; how the process runs is on how it works.
Primary sources
Doctrinal statements on this page cite the documents below. Where we link, we link the issuing body itself; where a document has no stable public link, we cite it by name.
- Perspectives: Cremation — The General Council of the Assemblies of God
- Answers: What does the Bible say about cremation? — Billy Graham Evangelistic Association
Questions families ask
Do Pentecostal churches forbid cremation?
The major Pentecostal bodies do not. The Assemblies of God treats it as a personal matter, and most independent charismatic churches follow the same reasoning: Scripture is silent, so conscience decides.
Will cremation affect the resurrection?
Evangelical teaching says no. The resurrection described in 1 Corinthians 15 is God creating an imperishable body, not reassembling a preserved one. The state of the remains places no limit on that promise.
Can we hold a celebration of life weeks later?
Yes — that is the most common pattern we see. Direct cremation happens promptly; the service happens when family and church can gather, with the urn present if you wish.
Ready when you are.
Call and a person picks up. No menu, no hold queue, no callback form. If you would rather start in writing, the online form takes about four minutes.