Of special note is Evangelist Reatha Herndon who served as the International Elect Lady of the Department of Evangelism from 1951 to 2001. 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. All rights reserved. He also established the COGIC national headquarters there. Bishop John Drew Sheard is Presiding Bishop and Chief Apostle of the Church of God in Christ, Inc., one of the largest African American Pentecostal denominations in the United States with 12,000 churches in over 112 countries. Nevertheless, women are licensed in COGIC to proclaim the gospel as evangelists. The current president of the Missions Department is Bishop Vincent Mathews Jr. of South Africa. These events include physical death, the intermediate state, bodily resurrection, the Second Coming of Christ, the Great Tribulation, the Battle of Armageddon, the Millennial Reign, the Final Judgment, the future of the wicked in hell, and life for the redeemed in heaven.[48]. Save Africa's Children, a program of PACF, currently provides support to over 220 charity missions and orphanages throughout sub-Saharan Africa. "Bishop Mason was one who lifted African Americans who were former slaves and the children of slaves, lifted them up from the degradation of slavery, ex-slavery, the brokenness of poverty,". During 19101913, two white ministers, Elder H. A. Goss and Elder Leonard P. Adams, were clergy under the authority of C. H. Mason. Vice chairman of the General Council of Pastors and Elders Bishop Marcus Ways. 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 . Bishop. He was recognized in Washington, D. C. by President Barack Obama in 2009 and invited to serve on the White House Advisory, Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Golden Jr. 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. Most recently, Biola University conferred an honorary doctorate upon him on June 12, 2010. [49] The church does not practice infant baptisms or christenings, but does conduct baby dedications in formal ceremonies. Mother Deborah Mason Patterson#, daughter of founder, Bishop Mason and wife of first presiding bishop James O. Patterson Sr. The constitutional convention drafted and approved a new constitution which dissolved both the office of the Senior Bishop and the executive board; it also established the General Assembly, which meets biannually, as the supreme authority over the church to decide matters of faith and practice. Chairman of the National Judiciary Board Bishop Martin Luther Johnson. [58], Her successor, Lillian Brooks Coffey (19451964) was the organizer of the Women's International Convention to support the work of foreign missionaries. He was elected as the denomination's leader on March 27, 2021. 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. Vice President of COGIC World Missions-Supervisor Sideary King. She also established a musical program. 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]. The three-year initiative would also help encourage COGIC clergy to use their missions and charity ministries in local churches to help offer aid and assistance to African-Americans and people of other ethnic minorities, and people of low incomes in local communities who are considering and contemplating abortion and offer aid and assistance to people dealing with economic and medical issues from pregnancy. Al Sharpton, a noted civil rights activist, began his ministerial career as a minister in COGIC. 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. In 2010 Superintendent J. After the death of Mother Coffey in 1964, Dr. Annie L. Bailey (19641975), became the third General Supervisor. As previously stated, COGIC although predominately black, had a significant white membership during its first decade of existence, with a number of white ministers holding leadership positions in the church. Mason. Malcolm X's Funeral was held in Harlem, New York City at Faith Temple Church Of God in Christ. He called for an annual gathering of COGIC members, known as the "International Holy Convocation", to be held in Memphis. Many Holiness Christian groups and fellowships forming at the time wanted biblical names for their local churches and fellowships, such as "Church of God, Church of Christ, or Church of the Living God". These elders became the first Pentecostal General Assembly of the Church of God in Christ. We believe that the regeneration by the Holy Ghost is absolutely essential for personal salvation. Succession of Church of God in Christ Leaders. Assistant Secretary of the Board of Bishops Bishop Adrian Williams. The most active women's auxiliaries include: Missionary Circle, Hospitality, Executive Hospitality, Hulda Club, Wide Awake Band, Minister's Wives Circle, Deaconess, Deacon's Wives Circle, Prayer Warriors, Young Women's Christian Council, Usher Board, Educational Committee, Boy's League, Big Brothers, Cradle Roll, Women's Chorus, Board of Examiners, Public Relations, News Reporters and the Burners Home and Foreign Mission Bands. 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. Porter pointed out that he is based in Memphis. Dr. Mattie Moss Clark#, second and longest-serving president of Int'l. This endorsement allows female chaplains who are serving in the military, working in an institution or jails to perform religious services including funerals and weddings. Their pastor was then elder Gilbert Earl Patterson, who also became a COGIC Presiding Bishop, at Holy Temple COGIC in Memphis, Tennessee. [29], Bishop Gilbert Earl (G. E.) Patterson began his ministry as co-pastor of the Holy Temple COGIC with his father, Bishop W. A. Patterson. It has had rapid growth in many regions as one of the fastest-growing and largest religious groups in the United States.[30]. As Senior Pastor of the 26,000 member, West Angeles Church of God In Christ in Los Angeles, California, Bishop Blakes leadership is positively impacting lives and enhancing the community through the work of the many ministries offered. 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]. These offices are found in every local, district, and jurisdiction to support development and growth of the Sunday School. 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). 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. Bishop Darrell L. Hines Board member (2016present). Today however, many church mothers have been reserved to titular positions as many pastor's wives have assumed the role of leader of women's ministries in local congregations. This convention brings thousands of COGIC members representing all the major departments including Sunday School, Missions, Evangelism, Music, and Youth together in July and meets in cities around the U.S. He announced that he met with the ministry leaders and church council and trustee board members and consulted with them to approve of Reverend Charles Blake, Jr and Reverend Lawrence Blake, taking over much of his duties as the de facto pastor and assistant pastor of the church. Chairlady, International Youth Department Evangelist Vandalyn Kennedy. 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. This group of seven bishops became known officially as the executive commission; they took on greater responsibility over church affairs until Mason's death. The church has a tradition of prayer, fasting, praise, and consecration that was once unique to Holiness or Holiness Pentecostal groups. COGIC has always been traditionally anti-abortion. The first youth leader on a national level was Elder M.C. He led a group of students to participate in the March on Selma. 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. [citation needed] Bishop Ford is credited with inviting President Bill Clinton, a personal friend, to speak to the Eighty-Sixth International Holy Convocation on November 13, 1993. 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. In 1916, a few white churches were organized as a white branch of COGIC. 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. The COGIC emphasized the use of the choir as an integral part of the worship experience. Then in 1946, the YPWW Department was combined with the Sunday School Department for joint conventions until 1951 when they were separated once again. Together they traveled across the country proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Bishop Owens led the COGIC in its centennial celebration in 1997 with the theme, "Holiness, a Proven Foundation for a Promising Future!" Remarriage is usually highly discouraged, except in the case of the death of a spouse or former spouse. He served faithfully as an Ordained Deacon, the Sunday School Superintendent and the Guitarist. He was elected four times uncontested as presiding bishop. Pastor Dennis Martin and Superintendent Willie James Campbell succeeded Bishop White as presidents. In 1946, the National Sunday School Congress began to meet with the Young People's Willing Workers (YPWW) Congress. On May 19, 1952, he added Bishop J. O. Patterson Sr. They unanimously chose C.H. Bishop Malcolm W. Coby Board member (2021present). She developed the role of the State Minister of Music and traveled the world conducting seminars and workshops perfecting the quality of choir music, their performance, appearance and demeanor, and the COGIC sound. From 1997-2001 Bishop Sheard served COGIC as President of the International Youth Department; and he served as Chairman of the AIM Convention from 2004 to 2012. At the start of the new millennium, then COGIC presiding Bishop Gilbert Earl Patterson, continued to support the advancement of civil rights. Later in 1897, while in Little Rock, Arkansas, C. H. Mason stated that God had given him such a name for the group, the "Church of God in Christ". He became a Christian and converted to Pentecostal Christianity as a young adolescent, under the ministry of his mother and father in Arkansas, and he and his family moved to Los Angeles when he was in his 20's when his father was asked to take over as a bishop of the First Jurisdiction of Southern California for the COGIC denomination. 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. For a brief period of time, the YPWW Congress was combined with the Sunday School Congress in a joint convention until 1951. The YPWW department began in 1928 with the convening of its first Youth Congress. Today, the International Youth Department (IYD) is led by the International Youth President, Superintendent Nathaniel Green of Dallas, TX, and the International Chairlady, Evangelist Vandalyn Kennedy of Queens, NY. Each department convened its own convention in various cities through 1975. In November 1975, at the National Holy Convocation in Memphis, TN., with the consent of the General Board, Bishop Carlis Moody Sr. of Evanston, Illinois, was appointed by Bishop J. O. Patterson to be president of the Department of Home and Foreign Missions. J. O. Patterson Sr. was the Presiding Bishop at that time. In 1982 during the Seventy-Fifth Holy Convocation, the diamond jubilee of the church, COGIC published its own hymnal, Yes, Lord!, which included many arrangements and songs written by COGIC and African-American musicians and songwriters. The Youth Congress eventually become one of the largest conventions in COGIC. In 2000, he was elected as the Presiding Bishop of COGIC. He is an example of servant leadership and has become a voice to the nations to uphold the standards of holiness. [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. The seminary is accredited by the Association of Theological Schools (ATS) and is part of a consortium of the Interdenominational Theological Center. Bishop Patterson was the second youngest person to ever be elected Presiding Bishop of COGIC at the age 60 in 2000, second to his uncle, Bishop J. O. Patterson Sr. who was 56 when he was elected Presiding Bishop in 1968. In 1955, Emmett Till's funeral was held at Robert's Temple Church Of God in Christ in Chicago, Illinois. Mason was given authority to lead the new denomination. We believe in the Blessed Hope, which is the rapture of the Church of God, which is in Christ, at His return. He believed that the name, taken from 1 Thessalonians 2:14, was divinely revealed and biblically inspired. 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].

Signs Of Heart Damage From Drugs, Articles F