Does any denomination believe that it's not possible to be a Christian full of the Holy Spirit without being eventually led by the HS to join them?

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Accepted answer

There is a group of churches teaching that. They are collectively known as The International Churches of Christ (ICOC). They are part of the Restoration Movement, and were formed in 1993. They have a network of over 700 non-denominational churches in about 150 countries. However, they claim to be non-denomination, which threatens to throw a spanner in the works of your question!

The ICOC believes that anyone who is not baptized is not saved and must be “evangelized” and brought into the church. Baptism is a work that God requires before he grants salvation. Further, the ICOC teaches that the only “valid” baptism is one performed by the ICOC. No other baptism will do. Further still, the ICOC does not allow anyone to be baptized until he or she is first a “disciple” committed to the organization.

The group is exclusivist, claiming that the church is meant to be divided only by geography. Any church outside of their unified system, i.e., not under the ICOC’s leadership, is not a part of the “true church.” This is where the aspect of the Holy Spirit comes in, because if one religious group says they alone are the true church, they are saying that only they have the Holy Spirit’s operation and blessing. To be outside of them is to be devoid of the Holy Spirit’s operation and blessing.

Any church, denomination, or group of congregations that don’t claim to be a denomination but which claim to be the “one true church” and that all others are false churches is likely to fall into the category your question asks about. And there are various others, not simply the ICOC.

Sources: https://www.gotquestions.org/International-Church-of-Christ.html
https://carm.org/synopsis-international-church-christ

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