Patterson Sr., the five major departments of COGIC were united under an umbrella convention known as UNAC-5 (United National Auxiliary Convention). Research Center at Boston University, the Greenlining Institutes Big Heart Award, a Trumpet Award, and the Urban Leagues Whitney M. Young award, among many others. [44], COGIC teaches that salvation is the work of redemption to the sinner and his restoration to divine favor and communion with God. Patterson, former presiding bishop of the Church of God In Christ.. He is credited with systematically restructuring church departments and ministries, expanding the church in Asia, primarily India and the Philippines, and placing the COGIC on a solid financial status. Patterson, as Presiding Bishop of the Church in the 2000s, he helped bridge denominational barriers and encouraged non-COGIC ministries and denominations to work collaboratively with the COGIC denomination to help support charity efforts for poor and disadvantaged African Americans and people affected by poverty and disasters in foreign countries through the COGIC Charities Department and the COGIC Missions and Evangelism Department. Drew Sheard who was elected in 2021. [61] Finally, she changed the visible presence of women in ministry with the introduction of the ministry "habit". In 1982 he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in . She has previously served on the Women's advisory board, Executive Board, steering committee Women's International Convention, General Supervisor's Regional Representative (West Coast Region of the United States), member of the Program Committee then chairperson, Chairperson Special Convention Assistance Committee, National Leadership Conference and Women's Convention Leadership Conference, International Marshall and Assistant General Supervisor. 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. Drew Sheard June 22 and the consecration service for the jurisdictional and auxiliary bishop designates June 23, 2021. . In 1946, the National Sunday School Congress began to meet with the Young People's Willing Workers (YPWW) Congress. Bishop Sheard is a former mathematics teacher and . The church believes that women are gifted and called to ministry; it does not, however, officially ordain women to the office of elder, pastor, or bishop. His passion for meeting the needs of the whole man reaches globally through his humanitarian efforts. [19], Mason continued to travel across the nation preaching and establishing COGIC churches. Each jurisdictional bishop appoints a jurisdictional supervisor to lead the work of the women on a jurisdictional level. 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. [17][16] The organizers of the meeting in Hot Springs had sent invitations only to white ministers to discuss a new movement. He served on the trustee board for 12 years and has served on the general board for eight years. Deaconess Missionaries serve and assist in the ceremonial and temporal affairs of the local church. By 1906, the church had grown to nearly 100 congregations in three states. Blake, Sr. and the late Evangelist Lula M. Blake. Organized in the South and having a predominately African-American membership, COGIC has had a long history in advancing civil rights. As African Americans migrated north and west to industrial cities during the Great Migration, he began to establish COGIC churches in the north and, especially after 1940, in the west. [27], Several bishops disagreed with the new organizational structure; they severed ties with COGIC to start their own organizations. For a brief period of time, the YPWW Congress was combined with the Sunday School Congress in a joint convention until 1951. As Pentecostals, the Church believes that demons can be subdued and subjugated through the power of the Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus Christ. Throughout the 1970s and 80s, as COGIC continued to grow to millions of members nationwide, COGIC ministers all over the country continued to advance civil rights in their communities. In addition to the general board, there is a board of bishops that is composed of all jurisdictional and auxiliary bishops, a national trustee board that is composed of 15 members who are elected for a term of four years, the General Council of Pastors and Elders, which is open to any officially recognized pastor and current credentialed ordained elder in the church. Pentecostals have been known and continue to be known for their lively worship, exuberant expressions of praise and worship, and musical compilations, mostly relying on congregational singing of hymns and chants. The legislative authority of the church is vested in a general assembly, composed of the members of the general board, jurisdictional/auxiliary bishops, jurisdictional supervisors, chaplains, pastors, ordained elders, four district missionaries and six lay members from each jurisdiction. The study also found that over 70% of COGIC members overwhelmingly opposed the legalizing of same-sex marriage, and considered relationships from infidelity, polygamy, polyamory, and sex outside of marriage as sinful and unbiblical as well.[56]. He was officially installed as the senior pastor of the church the following year in 1970. [31], Bishop Ford also renovated several COGIC structures in Memphis, including Mason Temple. It can be spoken of as the individual and the collective, physical and spiritual. Page in 1927. Bishop Blake also won a defamation lawsuit in 2016 against Earl Carter, who was ordered to remove all defamatory videos and to cease and desist from further conduct disparaging Bishop Blake. Bishop Michael E. Hill Assistant Secretary to the General Board (2021present) and board member (2021present). In 1984 and 1988 respectively, Rev. Drew Sheard. Chairman of the National Board of Trustees Bishop Dwight E. Walls Sr.. First Vice Chairman of the National Board of Trustees Superintendent Melton Timmons. Over time, the ministers and churches under Leonard P. Adams also separated from COGIC; they assimilated into other white Pentecostal groups or organizations. The designated church mother along with other "older and seasoned" women of the church provided the practical teaching of holiness in daily life and practice. She also established a musical program. This seasonal period was selected because most of the COGIC members were farmers and were finished harvesting their crops around this time. [15], In 1951, when Bishop Mason was approaching 85 years of age, he set up a "special commission" to help with the administration and oversight of the church. In April 2018, Presiding Bishop Charles Blake along with Lee Saunders, Andrew Young, DeMaurice Smith, and Brian Dunn coordinated the "I AM 2018 Mountaintop Conference" at the historic Mason Temple in Memphis to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. COGIC believes marriage is a monogamous sacred, civil, and legal union between a husband and wife that is recognized as a covenant between them and God for the purpose of the couple being a helpmate to each other and raising a family together. It was reopened in the early 1990s under the administration of Bishop L.H. Assistant Financial Secretary Bishop David A. Sanders. Bishop Carter came into holiness in 1952 at the Jones Avenue Church of God in Christ, under the leadership of the late Bishop George Briley. It also increasingly stressed high academic standards so that its graduates could go to normal school or college, especially to teach other African Americans. On May 19, 1952, he added Bishop J. O. Patterson Sr. However, after a meeting in Hot Springs, Arkansas that led to the founding of the Assemblies of God, the white constituency of COGIC continued to decline, until it was almost nonexistent by the 1930s. [22], The years of 19621968 has been described as a "Dark Period" in the history of the Church of God in Christ, because there was polarization and conflict in leadership following the death of the founder. [53], In 1965, during the March to Selma, a young COGIC minister Charles E. Blake, (previous COGIC Presiding Bishop) was studying at the Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC) in Atlanta, GA. Charles Edward Blake Sr. (born August 5, 1940) is an American minister and pastor who served as the Presiding Bishop and leader of the Church of God in Christ, a 6 million-member Holiness Pentecostal denomination, that has now grown to become one of the largest predominantly African American Pentecostal denominations in the United States, from 2007 to 2021. They were also instrumental in establishing 75 churches across the nation. They have three children and eight grandchildren. During the 1930s and 40s, a white COGIC elder named James L. Delk who remained in the church after many whites had left, was very active in politics in Missouri and worked to promote civil rights by writing legislatures and petitioning the federal government on the behalf of COGIC. Owens outlined a progressive plan to position the COGIC for ministry in the twenty-first century, known as "Vision 2000 and Beyond." A. Blackwell, E. M. Blackwell, E. M. Page, R. H. I. Clark, D. J. 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. She organized the sewing circle and after meeting Elder Searcy, she encouraged the women to support mission work through the Home and Foreign Mission bands. He testified to receiving entire sanctification after reading her autobiography in 1893. She established a high school and gained accreditation for it, and then for the junior college which she founded on campus. B. McEwen, Bishop J. S. Bailey, and Bishop O. M. Kelly as his assistants. COGIC teaches the deity of Jesus Christ, his virgin birth, sinless life, physical death, burial, resurrection, ascension and visible return to the earth. In 1945, Mason dedicated Mason Temple in Memphis as the church's national meeting site. During 19101913, two white ministers, Elder H. A. Goss and Elder Leonard P. Adams, were clergy under the authority of C. H. Mason. Since 2007, Ebony has recognized Bishop Blake annually, as one of its 100+ most influential African Americans. In 1969, he was asked by his father and by Southern California COGIC bishop, Bishop Samuel M. Crouch, to take over as the pastor of the West Angeles Church of God in Christ. Supervisor Irene Oakley#, pastor, supervisor, bishop's wife, Mother Louise Patterson, evangelist, former first lady and wife of G.E. [6], In June 1896, Jones held a Holiness convention at Mt. Some pastor's wives have served as pastor of congregations usually after the death of a pastor sometimes serving under the title of "shepherdess, shepherd mother, or church administrator. The current presiding bishop and chief apostle is Bishop J. Churches are organized in dioceses called jurisdictions, each under the authority of a bishop. 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 . Blake has served as Chair of the Executive Committee, member of the Board of Directors of Oral Roberts University, and as a member of the Board of Directors of International Charismatic Bible Ministries. 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. Treasurer of the General Council of Pastors and Elders Pastor William Ward. The fastest growing areas include Nigeria, South Africa, Brazil, and India. B. McEwen, came to a head and was addressed at the 57th Holy Convocation. This list may not reflect recent changes . In 2010 Superintendent J. By. He is an example of servant leadership and has become a voice to the nations to uphold the standards of holiness. Mother Lillian Coffey appointed Mother Reatha Herndon as president of the National Women's Evangelist Board in 1951. Malcolm X's Funeral was held in Harlem, New York City at Faith Temple Church Of God in Christ. Vice President of COGIC World Missions-Bishop Nate' M. Jefferson. Jurisdictions range in size between 30 and 100 churches. During World War I, the FBI opened a file on Bishop Mason and conducted surveillance on him because of his pacifism during the war. He protested during the 1950s and 1960s against lodging segregation in Memphis, while participating in COGIC Holy Convocations there during the Civil Rights era before federal laws prohibiting such segregation. He was assassinated the next day, on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel.[54]. In a November 2007 special election, he was elected to complete the unexpired term of his predecessor as Presiding Bishop. African-American parents sent their children to this school from across the United States, especially those who had grown up in Mississippi and knew its reputation. They exist primarily in the spiritual realm and are organized according to duty and function. Succession of Church of God in Christ Leaders. C. P. Jones and those Holiness leaders who did not embrace the Azusa Revival experience continued as Holiness churches. [48] COGIC clergy are also encouraged to have a certain degree of training in marriage counseling as well. National officers of the church are chosen at the general assembly every four years unless special elections are warranted. He was succeeded by Bishop Joe L. Ealy. Humanity can only be restored through salvation offered only through Jesus Christ. We believe in the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit, by whose indwelling a Christian is enabled to live a holy and separated life in the present world. The church declares to be evangelical in ministry, fundamental in doctrine and practice and Pentecostal in worship and expression. [8], In 1897, Elder Mason founded the St. Paul Church in Lexington, Mississippi, as the first church of the new movement. The rope that holds the shaft together represents Charles Harrison Mason, COGIC's founding father. As a compassionate advocate for the advancement of Gods Kingdom, he is committed to accomplishing Gods agenda as both a leader and a laborer, reaping a harvest of souls. 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. Vice President of COGIC World Missions-Supervisor Sideary King. 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. Clinton is the only US president to have addressed a COGIC convocation at Mason Temple. According to its 1973 Constitution, the church has two structures to govern the church: civil and ecclesiastical. Bishop Blake led COGIC through the death of G. E. Patterson while preparing the church for its 100th Holy Convocation; an important milestone for the church. President, International Department of Missions Bishop Vincent Matthews Jr.. In 2015, after more than 40 years of faithful service, Bishop Carlis L. Moody was emeritized as Bishop of Missions. [29] She is also the Jurisdictional Supervisor of Women for the South Carolina Jurisdiction. However, he said in his remarks that he did not want to use the word "retirement" as he said, "he would still be worshiping and fellowshiping with the saints of God in worship services, and that he would still be around for anyone who needs pastoral and fatherly counseling, prayer, and mentorship,"but added that he would no longer be carrying out his official duties as senior pastor of the church, and that he would "continue to serve the Lord Jesus Christ and serve the ministries of West Angeles however the Lord leads me and however you all may need me as the Lord sees fit and allows me to live on, so consider myself as semi-retired."[sic]. Bishop Sheard has over 30 years of leadership in the Church of God in Christ. Mason Theological Seminary to train its ministers and ministry leaders. The school closed in 1977 after her death, as it struggled financially in a period when some families were choosing integrated schools for their children. She was the Jurisdictional Supervisor of Women for Texas Southwest Jurisdiction under the late Bishop T. D. Iglehart. After being removed from the office of Senior Bishop, he remained the Jurisdictional Bishop of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania until his death in 1972. Church Of God In Christ, Inc. 2015-23. According to a 2015 statistical study by the Pew Research Center, the denomination was estimated to have a United States membership of approximately 84% African-Americans, 5% White Americans, 8% Latino-Americans, and roughly 2% Asian-Americans. Chandler David Owens Sr. (October 2, 1931 - March 6, 2011) was an American minister and Holiness Pentecostal denomination leader of the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), for which he served as the Presiding Bishop from 1995 to 2000, after the death of Bishop Louis Henry Ford. Nigeria alone has 19 bishops and more than 2000 churches. Vice chairman of the General Council of Pastors and Elders Bishop Marcus Ways. [5] Although an international and multi-ethnic religious organization, it has a predominantly African-American membership based within the United States. Church mothers have historically served as the leader of the women's ministries in the local congregations. The civil structure of the Church of God in Christ includes a president, first vice-president, second vice-president, general secretary, general treasurer, and the financial secretary. Patterson in March 2007. [5] He officially retired on March 19, 2021, and was succeeded by Bishop J. Adjutant General Bishop Dickerson L. S. Wells Sr.. General Supervisor, Department of Women Mother Barbara McCoo Lewis. Thereafter, missionaries were sent to Africa and the islands of the Caribbean, Asia, and elsewhere. On October 23, 2020, Bishop Blake announced that he would 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. [37] The National Council of Churches ranks it as the fifth largest Christian denomination in the U.S.[38] COGIC is a HolinessPentecostal Christian denomination,[2][4] with a predominantly African-American membership. It had a membership of more than 400,000, who supported more than 4,000 churches. General Secretary Bishop Joel H. Lyles Jr.. Chairman of the General Assembly Bishop Lemuel F. Thuston. The presidium includes a separately elected international presiding bishop by the general assembly who serves a term of four years, who, then appoints two assistant presiding bishops. The former Detroit-based math teacher was elected as the new presiding bishop over the largest Pentecostal denomination in the country in March. These jurisdictions are then separated into districts, which consist of 5 to 7 churches and are governed by superintendents (ordained elder or pastor). Al Sharpton, a noted civil rights activist, began his ministerial career as a minister in COGIC. He was a lifelong member of the. She developed the International Women's Convention into a training institute for women in the ministry. Remarriage is usually highly discouraged, except in the case of the death of a spouse or former spouse. Evangelist Goldia Haynes, Elder Utah Smith, Madame Earnestine Washington, and Marion Williams continued COGIC's influence throughout the fifties and sixties. 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. The most notable rift occurred in 1969, when fourteen bishops met in Evanston, Illinois, to form the Church of God in Christ, International. Save Africa's Children, a program of PACF, currently provides support to over 220 charity missions and orphanages throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Religious Figure, former Presiding Bishop of the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), the fourth largest Protestant denominaton in the world. [29] Former International Music Department President Professor Iris Stevenson-McCullough (originally from Rochester, NY) is a major influence in the gospel music industry around the world. A general supervisor of women is appointed by the presiding bishop and given authority to lead the International Women's Ministry of the church. Chairman of the General Council of Pastors and Elders Superintendent Michael Eaddy. In 1988, after a thirteen-year exodus from COGIC, Bishop G. E. Patterson returned as the founding Prelate of the newly formed Tennessee Fourth Jurisdiction. COGIC became a major force in the collective Black Church and worldwide Pentecostal movement. Co Directors of the Men's Department Bishop Michael B. We believe that there is One God, eternally existent in three persons, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. "[91] Bishop Blake apologized to a young man (Andrew C. Caldwell) who, following Superintendent Carter's message, came forward to proclaim that he had been delivered from homosexuality. Bishop Jones was the only living bishop of the five original bishops consecrated by Bishop Mason. He also instituted the Annual Prayer Breakfast, conducted Evangelistic Crusades across the country and developed the Church of God in Christ National Evangelist Registry. Mrs. Anna Broy Crockett Ford was the first organizer and director of the National Music Department, which was formally established in November 1949. Bishop Mason was pivotal in licensing and credentialing both white and African-American ministers, who spread the Pentecostal message and planted new churches. The then"Minister & Sister Carter" established and . The jurisdictional supervisor is assisted by district missionaries who oversee the women's ministry of the district. Winbush was selected to serve as the first chairman. The international headquarters is in Memphis, Tennessee. Youth on a Mission (YOAM) a ministry of young people visiting the mission field to serve each summer. [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. We believe that the redemptive work of Christ on the Cross provides healing for the human body in answer to believing prayer. It is one of the largest gathering of Christian women from any major denomination and religious organization. It ultimately ended by 1930, when the Depression set in. During his visit, Mason received the baptism of the Holy Ghost; the evidence was believed to be his "speaking in other tongues", in accordance with the biblical account found in the book of Acts 2:4. He continued to build on the department through expansion of the Regional Administration into 10 geographical locations across the country. Superintendent, International Sunday School Department Superintendent Mark Ellis. Here are the other 11 members elected to COGIC's general board, its highest executive board: Bishop Prince Bryant Sr., pastor of The Island of Hope Church of God in Christ and Buck Street Memorial . Mason. The Church of God in Christ is the fifth largest Protestant religious denomination in the United States, the largest Pentecostal church in the country and the second largest Pentecostal organization in the world with churches in 60 countries worldwide and an estimated membership of nearly 6.5 million members. [26], The parties filed lawsuits in the Chancery Court of Shelby County, Tennessee, to resolve the legitimate authority of the denomination. 2 in the denomination and whose death was reported by The Detroit News; Bishop Timothy Scott, a leader for nearly 50 years of the denomination in Mississippi whose death was reported ", COGIC teaches that sanctification is a continuous operation of the Holy Spirit, by which he "delivers the justified sinner from the pollution of sin, renews his whole nature in the image of God and enables him to perform good works". The presiding bishop and all twelve members of the general board are to be elected every four years and preside over the church when the General Assembly is not in session. In 2014, at the COGIC International Holy Convocation held in St. Louis, Missouri, COGIC minister Elder Earl Carter was selected by the General Board to be the keynote speaker for Saturday night. Amen. [4] He was reelected to a third term as Presiding Bishop on November 15, 2016. As the church continued to grow, she created women auxiliaries including the Purity Class and the Sunshine Band. COGIC licensed female evangelists may also serve as chaplains in military, federal, state, and local institutions requiring chaplains. Bishop Blake led the COGIC to become a greater global ministry, primarily in Africa and Latin America, while at the same time investing in the inner cities where many COGIC congregations are located. The Department of Evangelism was officially organized on a national level by Overseer L.C. Each department convened its own convention in various cities through 1975. He called for an annual gathering of COGIC members, known as the "International Holy Convocation", to be held in Memphis. Bishop Jerry W. Macklin First Assistant Presiding Bishop (2021present) and board member (2004present). She served as the jurisdictional supervisor of several states including Maryland and New Jersey helping to establish and stabilize struggling jurisdictions. A new constitution and official manual of the church were completed in 1973. 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 .
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