Timothy Wright, Myrna Summers, Rev. Malcolm X's Funeral was held in Harlem, New York City at Faith Temple Church Of God in Christ. Together they traveled across the country proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Rev. Bishop Sheard is a former mathematics teacher and . [6], In June 1896, Jones held a Holiness convention at Mt. As a result, the general board exercises great authority over the church. He is known to many as being an eloquent, compassionate and practical leader, as well as a humanitarian and an advocate with a God-given gift for ministering to the whole man. [8], In 1897, Elder Mason founded the St. Paul Church in Lexington, Mississippi, as the first church of the new movement. Co Directors of the Men's Department Bishop Michael B. The general assembly is the supreme authority over the church to decide matters of faith and practice. He was elected four times uncontested as presiding bishop. Humanity can only be restored through salvation offered only through Jesus Christ. Drew Sheard who was elected in 2021. She served as the jurisdictional supervisor of several states including Maryland and New Jersey helping to establish and stabilize struggling jurisdictions. Military chaplains have also been instrumental in spreading COGIC through military installations. In 1997, Bishop Chandler D. Owens appointed Evangelist Richard "Mr. Clean" White as president of the Department of Evangelism. The following 4 pages are in this category, out of 4 total. Charles Blake was born on August 5, 1940 in Little Rock, Arkansas, to the late Bishop Junious Augustus (J. They disagreed in having an electoral process to select the presiding bishop.[28]. Missions work in COGIC began under Elder Searcy in 1925. As has been stated, COGIC does not ordain women as elder or bishop, however, COGIC would not have become the largest predominately African-American Pentecostal church in the world, nor have the largest Women's convention of any major denomination without the contributions of women. COGIC has always been traditionally anti-abortion. The international membership of COGIC is estimated be between one and three million adherents. COGIC teaches that because God uses conception through and after sexual reproduction and intercourse to create human life, that willfully aborting a human fetus is contrary to God's Word and Christian ethics, and it is considered to be a sin against God and the Bible within the denomination. Green. [33] In 2009, Bishop Blake unveiled an aggressive program known as "Urban Initiatives" to address the plight of America's urban areas. The beliefs of the Church of God in Christ are briefly written in its Statement of Faith, which is reproduced below:[41] It is often recited in various congregations as part of the order of worship and all national and international convocations. He was denied such trial in 2016. From 1985 to 2009, he maintained the position of Prelate for the First Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of California, where he was responsible for overseeing over 250 . After graduating from high school, he matriculated to Wayne State. These offices are found in every local, district, and jurisdiction to support development and growth of the Sunday School. COGIC teaches that according to the Word of God, there will be final events and conditions that address the end of this present age of the world. Clean White, Jurisdictional Bishop, Bermuda Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction, National Evangelist, Recording Artist, Songwriter, Atlanta, Georgia, This page was last edited on 26 February 2023, at 15:15. Bishop James Oglethorpe Patterson 1968-1989* *Tenure as leader of the church: Presiding Bishop Gilbert Earl Patterson 2000-Present: Bishop Louis Henry Ford 1990-1995* Bishop Chandler David Owens 1995-2000* By. Mamie Till-Mobley was a member of St. Paul COGIC led by then Elder Louis Henry Ford (who would later become the presiding bishop of the denomination) officiated the service. She is the longest serving president of the International Music Department and her influence and legacy have been indelible and are recognized around the world. In 1975, he resigned as co-pastor, withdrawing his membership in the COGIC because of leadership disagreements with his uncle, J. O. Patterson Sr. concerning an establishment of another jurisdiction in the city of Memphis. [33] C. E. Blake served as the Presiding Prelate of the First Jurisdiction of Southern California. She developed the International Women's Convention into a training institute for women in the ministry. Coffey was a child convert to COGIC under the preaching of Bishop Mason, and was influential in organizing many of the auxiliaries, bands, and units that exist within the COGIC Women's Department. According to its 1973 Constitution, the church has two structures to govern the church: civil and ecclesiastical. Many mainline denominations and countless nondenominational churches that once rejected these beliefs and practices have adopted these distinctions in their worship liturgy and lifestyle practices. He accepted his call into the ministry in 1956. Bishop Charles E. Blake, Sr. is the fifth Presiding Bishop and the seventh leader in succession, appointed in November 2007 by the General Assembly of the Church of God in Christ. He gave the eulogy for Till at Robert's Temple COGIC in 1955. The judicial board serves as the judicial branch and is the supreme body that interprets polity and practice. [27], Several bishops disagreed with the new organizational structure; they severed ties with COGIC to start their own organizations. At the time, because many churches disagreed with what they considered its eccentric worship styles and expressions of Pentecostalism, such as the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues and the laying on of hands, many churches distanced themselves from the COGIC for many years. It ultimately ended by 1930, when the Depression set in. World headquarters are in Memphis, Tennessee at Mason Temple. Drew Sheard, Sr. as Presiding Bishop on March 20, 2021. [29] She is also the Jurisdictional Supervisor of Women for the South Carolina Jurisdiction. It teaches that sanctification should precede the baptism with the Holy Spirit. It was destroyed by fire in 1936. Education was considered key to advancement of the race. Mason was influenced by the testimony of the African-American Methodist evangelist Amanda Berry Smith, one of the most widely respected African-American holiness evangelists of the nineteenth century. (Young People Willing Workers), and Missions and Evangelism. This came on the heels of former Presiding Bishop Charles Edward Blake Sr.'s October 2020 announcement that he would not seek reelection. Later, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, ironically known as the "godmother of Rock and Roll," expanded and highlighted the COGIC sound to the greater American public in the 1930s and 1940s. The Church of God in Christ was formed in 1897 by a group of disfellowshipped Baptists, most notably Charles Price Jones (18651949) and Charles Harrison Mason (18641961). This office is reserved for a woman who serves as counterpart to the Sunday School Superintendent. The former Detroit-based math teacher was elected as the new presiding bishop over the largest Pentecostal denomination in the country in March. As COGIC has continued to grow, new departments, auxiliaries, and ministries have been established including the music department, the National Adjutancy, Men's Department, COGIC Charities, and Urban Initiatives to name a few. The COGIC has always had a long history with Christian ecumenism, partnering up with and collaborating with other Christian churches and denominations for the purposes of advancing ministry and charity efforts, both in the United States, and globally in foreign countries as well. At its first convocation held in 1897, the group identified simply as the "Church of God." Mason sent ministers and evangelists to cities and urban areas outside the South, including William Roberts (Chicago), O. M. Kelly (New York), O. T. Jones Sr. (Philadelphia), E. R. Driver (Los Angeles), and Samuel Kelsey (Washington, D.C.) From these major cities, COGIC spread throughout the country. Bishop Sedgwick Daniels Board member (2008present). Church Of God In Christ, Inc. 2015-23. As public education was segregated and underfunded by white officials in the South through most of the tenure of the first major leader, this school became a destination for parents wanting their children to have high-quality education. Bishop J. [48] COGIC clergy are also encouraged to have a certain degree of training in marriage counseling as well. He was able to bridge denominational barriers and encourage non-COGIC ministries to work collboratively with the COGIC denomination. Winbush was selected to serve as the first chairman. [47], COGIC teaches that the church is the community of Christian believers who have accepted Jesus Christ and submit to his Lordship and authority in their lives. One of her contributions was to divide the women's fellowship in the local congregations into two groups: The Christian Women's Council for the middle aged and senior women, and the Young Women's Christian Council (YWCC) for the younger women. Adjutant General Bishop Dickerson L. S. Wells Sr.. General Supervisor, Department of Women Mother Barbara McCoo Lewis. These auxiliaries are found in nearly every church, district, and jurisdiction within COGIC and function to support the holistic approach that COGIC has toward ministry within the church and the larger community that COGIC congregations serve. Amen. In 1927, the call was made for workers to go to serve the Lord in foreign lands. COGIC licensed female evangelists may also serve as chaplains in military, federal, state, and local institutions requiring chaplains. Upon his return to Jackson, Mississippi, Mason faced opposition when he recounted his experience. He is also known for his aggressive initiative, "Save Africa's Children" which supports hundreds of African children who have been affected by HIV/AIDS in orphanages in several countries in Africa. Helm Baptist Church in Jackson, Mississippi, attended by Mason and others from several states. (RNS) A Detroit bishop of the Church of God in Christ has been named the new presiding bishop of the nation's largest historically Black Pentecostal . We believe the Bible to be the inspired and only infallible written Word of God. More:J. Nigeria alone has 19 bishops and more than 2000 churches. Bishop Mason appointed her as a young woman to be head of the small school in 1926, after she had been teaching there. Chairman of the National Judiciary Board Bishop Martin Luther Johnson. A Jeter and D. J. The first convention was held in Los Angeles, California, in 1951. It has nine members, elected by the general assembly, including three bishops, three elders, and three lay members. COGIC clergy are also allowed to be married. Another body operating under the same name Church of God in Christ, International, split and organized in the Northeast area under Bishop R. T. Jones of Philadelphia and later Bishop C. E. Williams Sr. of Brooklyn, New York. He called for an annual gathering of COGIC members, known as the "International Holy Convocation", to be held in Memphis. Assistant Elect Lady, COGIC World Missions-Supervisor Lee E.Van Zandt. In 1992, during the Ford administration, UNAC was disbanded in favor of three separate conventions namely: the International Sunday School Convention, the MY Convention (Music and Youth) and the ME Convention (Missions and Evangelism) again meeting in separate cities.. Owens outlined a progressive plan to position the COGIC for ministry in the twenty-first century, known as "Vision 2000 and Beyond." The Church of God in Christ ecclesiastical structure is an episcopal-presbyterian form of government. [49] The church does not practice infant baptisms or christenings, but does conduct baby dedications in formal ceremonies. Washington, Bishop Chandler D. Owens, Bishop Brandon B. Porter, and Bishop J. In 1917, the YPWW was officially organized under the leadership of Elder Ozro Thurston Jones Sr., who in 1928 established the first Youth Congress bringing together youth leaders and workers on a national level. He was also a member of the General Board, the twelve head religious and executive leaders and head bishops of the COGIC denomination from 1988 until 2021. Succession of Church of God in Christ Leaders. [27], Bishop James Oglethorpe Patterson Sr. was elected in November 1968 as the first presiding bishop of the church by the General Assembly at the Sixty-First Holy Convocation of the church. Not everyone in the church were willing to accept "speaking in tongues" as the initial evidence of baptism of the Holy Ghost. Jones was acquainted with Seymour between 1895 and 1905, as Seymour's travels led him to many Holiness preachers such as John G. Lake and Martin Wells Knapp. The pair modeled the pastor and wife ministry team in COGIC. [15], COGIC originated among African Americans in the Southern states of Mississippi, Arkansas, and Tennessee. He became nationally recognized in 1955 for officiating at the funeral of 15-year-old Emmett Till, who was brutally murdered in Mississippi. COGIC Bishop Alvin A. Childs of the Faith Temple Church of God in Christ (later renamed Child's Memorial in his honor) was the clergyman who finally opened his doors. For many years, West Angeles has been one of the fastest growing churches in the United States and remains the largest COGIC local congregation with a membership of 25,000. On October 23, 2020, Bishop Blake announced that he will not seek re-election as Presiding Bishop nor as a member of the General Board. On October 23, 2020, Bishop Blake announced that he will not seek a re-election as Presiding Bishop nor as a member of the General Board and that he would retire from the Office of Presiding Bishop and from the General Board in 2021.[34]. In looking to COGIC'S future, Presiding Bishop Charles E. Blake, Sr., senior pastor of West Angeles Church of God in Christ in Los Angeles, announced last year that he would not seek-re-election as a member of the General Board or Presiding Bishop. It includes not only those who are members of COGIC, but all believers who have placed their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Bishop Charles H. McClelland Board member (2021present). In 2000 at the Ninety-Third International Holy Convocation, the COGIC General Assembly elected Bishop Gilbert Earl Patterson to replace Owens as Presiding Bishop. [5] He officially retired on March 19, 2021, and was succeeded by Bishop J. However, the General Assembly vested authority in the executive board composed of the seven bishops selected by Bishop Mason before his death. Bishop Darrell L. Hines Board member (2016present). Bishop Blake is married to Mae Lawrence Blake, a native of Michigan, and they have three children together, Charles Blake II (Jr.), Lawrence Blake, and Kimberly Blake, and they have eight grandchildren.[6]. COGIC Presiding Bishop Charles E. Blake issued a public apology, saying "I apologize for what seemed to be a harsh, uncompassionate, disrespectful spirit on the part of that speaker. The Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is the chief ecumenical officer of the church, and the leader and caretaker for the bishops of the synods. [5] He officially retired on March 19, 2021, and was succeeded by Bishop J. Dr. Valerie Daniels Carter, entrepreneur, Jurisdictional Supervisor, Dr. Dorinda Clark Cole, International Elect Lady of Evangelism Dept., international evangelist. Bishop Mason taught COGIC members against going to war, but more so he was against African-American men being called to fight a war overseas for freedom and then coming home and being treated as second-class citizens and being lynched, even in their uniforms, because of racism. She established new auxiliaries including the International Hospitality Unit, the Educational and Bishop's Wives Scholarship funds, WE-12 and Lavender Ladies. He consecrated and appointed more than 100 bishops during his twenty-one years of leadership. Since so many new holiness groups and fellowships were forming that used the name "Church of God," C. H. Mason sought a name to distinguish his Holiness group from others. Some of these African-American Baptist pastors in local Southern areas such as Mississippi, Tennessee, and Arkansas considered Jones and Mason to be controversial. It also increasingly stressed high academic standards so that its graduates could go to normal school or college, especially to teach other African Americans. President, International Music Department Dr. Myron Williams, General Assembly and Call Meeting (April) Memphis, General Council of Pastors and Elders (May), International Women's Crusade and Convention (May), Auxiliaries in Ministry (AIM) Conference (July), Bishop Mason's Birthday/Founder's Celebration (September), International Holy Convocation and General Assembly (November), Mother Lizzie Woods Robinson first general supervisor (19111945), Mother Lillian Brooks Coffey second general supervisor and founding president of the Women's International Convention (19461964), Mother Annie L. Bailey third general supervisor (19641975), Mother Mattie McGlothen fourth general supervisor (19751994), Mother Emma F. Crouch fifth general supervisor (19941997), Mother Willie Mae Rivers sixth general supervisor (19972017), Mother Barbara McCoo Lewis seventh general supervisor (2017present), Evangelist Emily Bram Bibby#, longest-serving national female evangelist, Missionary Pearl Paige Brown#, foreign missionary. The result of sin is the depravity of man, broken communion with God, shame and guilt, and physical and spiritual death. In 1982 he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Education, and in 1998 he earned a Master of Arts in Mathematics from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. Under her leadership, the Women's International Convention added the term "and Crusade" to highlight and promote the evangelistic approach of the convention. After being ejected for accepting these new Pentecostal teachings, Mason called a meeting in Memphis later in the year and reorganized the Church of God in Christ as a Holiness-Pentecostal body. The early pioneers of this newly formed Holiness-Pentecostal body in 1907 were E. R. Driver, J. Bowe, R. R. Booker, R. E. Hart, W. Welsh, A. The first meeting was held in Memphis, Tennessee around 1937. Each jurisdictional bishop appoints a jurisdictional supervisor to lead the work of the women on a jurisdictional level. Churches are organized in dioceses called jurisdictions, each under the authority of a bishop. G. E. Patterson established the Temple of Deliverance, the Cathedral of Bountiful Blessing which grew to become the largest Pentecostal church in Memphis with over 14,000 members. Known for the achievements of her students and school alumni, she had also served during these years, by invitation and appointment, on national federal commissions and with noted African-American women's groups. [45] It teaches that salvation is a work of grace brought about through faith in Jesus Christ; it does not promulgate nor encourage the doctrine of eternal security, also known as "once saved, always saved. Sister Church Support Ministry a church in the USA giving support to a church on the mission field. It is a separate and distinct work of grace that occurs in the lives of believers after conversion. Secretary of the National Board of Trustees Dr. T. Lynn Smith. [35], In 2016, the Church had 5.5 million members in 60 countries around the world. [2][4] The church teaches three separate and distinct works of grace that God performs in the life of believers: salvation, entire sanctification, and the baptism or infilling of the Holy Ghost. He was assassinated the next day, on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel.[54]. Vice President of COGIC World Missions-Supervisor Faye M. Butler. According to Alex Haley, "He and his wife then received bomb threats at home and at church." Pastor Dennis Martin and Superintendent Willie James Campbell succeeded Bishop White as presidents. When the COGIC was first founded by Bishop Mason in the 1910s, he wanted the denomination to have ecumenical relationships with other predominantly Black Methodist and Baptist churches, but many of them were unwilling to do so at the time because of Mason's controversial history with being expelled from his former Baptist ministry associations and churches in Mississippi for preaching sanctification and Pentecostalism.
