The current president of the Missions Department is Bishop Vincent Mathews Jr. of South Africa. She established new auxiliaries including the International Hospitality Unit, the Educational and Bishop's Wives Scholarship funds, WE-12 and Lavender Ladies. The general assembly is the supreme authority over the church to decide matters of faith and practice. They are the largest department in the COGIC. The current leader of the International Music Department is recording artist Dr. Myron Williams, succeeding Dr. Judith Christie McAllister of Los Angeles, California, who is also a praise and worship national recording artist. From the very beginning of gospel music, COGIC members have influenced its rise. Vice Chairman of the Board of Bishops Bishop Roger L. Jones. She was greatly interested in the building of Mason Temple and she kept her national building fund drives functioning until she knew the building was ready for dedication. Mitchell#, national evangelist, pastor, St. Andrew, Denton, TX, Carlis L. Moody#, foreign missionary, jurisdictional bishop emeritus, Germany Jurisdiction; pastor, Faith Temple, Evanston, IL, Eugene Franklin Rivers, political activist, pastor, Azusa Christian Community, Boston, MA, William Roberts#, jurisdictional bishop, Illinois First Jurisdiction, pastor, Robert's Temple, Chicago, IL, John Drew Sheard, general board member, jurisdictional bishop, Michigan North Central Jurisdiction; pastor, Greater Emmanuel Institutional, Detroit, MI, Nathan Simmons#, national evangelist, pastor, Citadel of Hope Evangelistic, Atlanta, GA, Robert James Ward#, jurisdictional bishop, Eastern Missouri First Jurisdiction; pastor, Historic Kennerly Temple, St. Louis, MO, Wyoming Wells#, jurisdictional bishop, Greater North Carolina Jurisdiction; pastor, Well's Memorial, Greensboro, NC; Well's Chapel, Greenville, NC, Frank Otha White#, General Board Member, Jurisdictional Bishop, New York Eastern Third Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction; Pastor, Zion Cathedral, Freeport, NY, David Lawrence Williams Sr.#, general board member, jurisdictional bishop, Virginia Second Jurisdiction; pastor, Mason Memorial, Norfolk, VA, Levi Edgar Willis#, radio and television personality, jurisdictional bishop, Virginia Third Jurisdiction; pastor, Garden of Prayer Temple, Norfolk, VA, Roy Lawrence Hailey Winbush#, general board member, jurisdictional bishop, Louisiana First Jurisdiction; pastor, Gethsemane, Lafayette, LA, Bishop Richard Mr. The then"Minister & Sister Carter" established and . 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 . However, his out-spoken criticism of the racial prejudice and discrimination of whites led most, if not all of them, to leave his church for other ministries where the message against racism was not so obvious and offensive to them. 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". As a Pentecostal church, COGIC teaches that when one is baptized in the Holy Spirit, the believer will experience an initial evidence of speaking in tongues (glossolalia) by the will of God. As a classical Holiness Pentecostal denomination,[2][4] COGIC continues to embrace its holiness heritage, teaching modesty in dress, appearance, moderate participation in secular entertainment and prohibitions against profanity, alcohol, substance abuse and immoral behavior. [16], A few years after the Azusa Revival, in 1914, shortly before the United States entered World War I, approximately 300 white ministers, representing a variety of independent churches and networks of churches, including the "Association of Christian Assemblies" of Indiana; and the "Church of God in Christ and in Unity with the Apostolic Faith Movement" from Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Texas; met in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Nigeria alone has 19 bishops and more than 2000 churches. Elect Lady, International Department of Missions Mother Maddaline Norfleet. [6], In June 1896, Jones held a Holiness convention at Mt. This list may not reflect recent changes . [29] COGIC continued to grow and in 1973, the church claimed a worldwide membership of nearly three million. She began women's work on the state level and appointed the first state mothers. The church's new presiding bishop, who took office on March 20, said he will have to. He believed that the name, taken from 1 Thessalonians 2:14, was divinely revealed and biblically inspired. In Chicago, Ford organized voter registration initiatives. [93] Leaders within the COGIC, other denominations and Bishop Blake's own family came to his defense. We believe the Bible to be the inspired and only infallible written Word of God. Vice chairman of the General Council of Pastors and Elders Bishop Marcus Ways. [13], Although the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee) began earlier, it is still the case that in 1907, with ten congregations, The Church of God in Christ became the first legally chartered Pentecostal body incorporated in the United States. To be consistent with progressive measures and modernization, in the Nineties, the international church along with many local COGIC churches began to use the term "youth department" instead of "YPWW. " In 1984 and 1988 respectively, Rev. 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. The first convention was held in Los Angeles, California, in 1951. Hall Sr. Board member (2021present). Clinton is the only US president to have addressed a COGIC convocation at Mason Temple. In 1933, he set apart five overseers to the Office of Bishop in the church, the first five bishops of COGIC. Bishop Brandon B. Porter Secretary to the General Board (2021present) and board member (2012present). On April 3, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I've Been To The Mountaintop" speech, at Mason Temple Church Of God in Christ in Memphis. [29] She is also the Jurisdictional Supervisor of Women for the South Carolina Jurisdiction. 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. President Moody also added these ministries to the Missions Department:[62]. 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. B. McEwen, came to a head and was addressed at the 57th Holy Convocation. 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. Chairman of the National Judiciary Board Bishop Martin Luther Johnson. He established COGIC Charities which has provided thousands of dollars in college scholarships and disaster relief efforts such as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. He was able to bridge denominational barriers and encourage non-COGIC ministries to work collboratively with the COGIC denomination. 1st Assistant Presiding Bishop Bishop Jerry W. Macklin. 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]. [43], COGIC teaches that man was created perfect and sinless in the image of God as a tripartite being having a body, soul, and spirit. A Jeter and D. J. He began production of the YPWW Quarterly Topics to train the youth of the COGIC in the faith, doctrine, and polity of the church. He also instituted the Annual Prayer Breakfast, conducted Evangelistic Crusades across the country and developed the Church of God in Christ National Evangelist Registry. 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. In 1915, after years of court litigation over the name of the organization and use of the name "Church of God in Christ" by the two groups; Mason's group was granted the use of the name and Jones's group organized a legally chartered Holiness body called the Church of Christ (Holiness) U.S.A.[14], After moving to Memphis, Tennessee, Bishop Mason established a local congregation called Temple COGIC. The former Detroit-based math teacher was elected as the new presiding bishop over the largest Pentecostal denomination in the country in March. Today COGIC has more than 12,000 churches, and several schools, missions, and medical clinics in more than eighty nations, including every inhabited continent. Her life story led many African-Americans into the Holiness movement, including Mason. He has also been awarded the Salvation Army's William Booth Award, the Greenlining Institute's Big Heart Award, and was the designated recipient of the L.A. Urban League's Whitney M. Young Award for the year 2000. President, International Department of Evangelism Evangelist Gary Sprewell, Elect Lady, International Department of Evangelism . It also increasingly stressed high academic standards so that its graduates could go to normal school or college, especially to teach other African Americans. Patterson Sr. in 1989. Mother Rivers also began the "49 and Under" to enlist and focus the younger women of COGIC to remain committed to the doctrine and teachings of the church. 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. [10] After testifying to being sanctified, members of the church referred to themselves as "Saints", believing that they were set apart to live a daily life of Christian Holiness in words and deeds.[11]. A. Blake, Jr., who is also a bishop and pastor in the COGIC denomination in San Diego, California. At the 1907 COGIC Convocation held in Jackson, a separation occurred among Jones and other leaders in the church because of such disagreements. Mother Lillian Coffey appointed Mother Reatha Herndon as president of the National Women's Evangelist Board in 1951. [29] In 1926, upon the recommendation of Mother Lizzie Roberson, Elder C. G. Brown of Kansas City Missouri, was appointed the first Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Home and Foreign Missions Department by Bishop C. H. Mason. Each jurisdictional bishop appoints a jurisdictional supervisor to lead the work of the women on a jurisdictional level. COGIC teaches that the Holy Spirit is alive and active in the world. Pages in category "Presiding Bishops of the Church of God in Christ". Chairlady, International Youth Department Evangelist Vandalyn Kennedy. 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. A. Blackwell, E. M. Blackwell, E. M. Page, R. H. I. Clark, D. J. In the 1990's and early 2000's, Blake also penned articles for Ebony and Christianity Today noting the importance of the Black Church's influence on presidential elections and American politics and society in general. Chairman of the General Council of Pastors and Elders Superintendent Michael Eaddy. Originally, this gathering of the 'Saints' lasted for twenty days, from November 25 to December 14. Assistant Elect Lady, COGIC World Missions-Supervisor Lee E.Van Zandt. His testimony "literally went viral, and brought upon him criticism and sardonicism. 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. B. McEwen was elected chairman of the executive board, and O.T. In 2021 he was again re-elected Bishop as a member of the Presidium (General Board) of the Church of God in Christ, Inc., at that time he was also subsequently elected to the Office of the Presiding Bishop as Chief Apostle. 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. Bishop Charles E. Blake, as the Presiding Bishop of the COGIC from the late 2000s up to the 2010s, was also dedicated to increasing and maintaining stable ecumenical relationships from the COGIC with other diverse Christian denominations, most notably Pentecostal/Charismatic churches, Baptist churches, African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Churches, and A.M.E. Zion churches, and even some non-denominational Christian ministries for the purposes of ministry efforts and collaborating on addressing social issues that affect Christians and specifically the Black Church in America, most notably through his Urban Initiatives program. Christ is the Head of the church, and He is the only mediator between God and humanity, and there is no salvation in any other. She formed her daughters into a singing group who became known as the legendary "Clark Sisters" who helped introduce and became leaders of the contemporary gospel music era. [55], A 2014 statistical study from the Pew Research Center Forum on Religion & Public Life, reported that most members of COGIC usually got married between the ages of 25 and 30, and that over 42% of COGIC members between the ages of 25 and 65+ were married, at least 19% were divorced or separated, 32% were never married, and at least 5% were widowed. Throughout the dispute, Elder Carter made allegations against Bishop Blake for impropriety, sexual misconduct, and abuse of power as presiding bishop. The church has a tradition of prayer, fasting, praise, and consecration that was once unique to Holiness or Holiness Pentecostal groups.

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