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). The current presiding bishop and chief apostle is Bishop J. He also established the COGIC national headquarters there. 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. Rev. President, International Department of Evangelism Evangelist Gary Sprewell, Elect Lady, International Department of Evangelism . The National Board of Trustees. [3] Bishop Lawrence M. Wooten Second Assistant Presiding Bishop (2021present) and board member (2012present). Under her leadership and tenure, COGIC choirs and individual singers came to dominate gospel music producing a number of recordings and gospel hits. They were also instrumental in establishing 75 churches across the nation. It teaches that sanctification should precede the baptism with the Holy Spirit. [29] She is also the Jurisdictional Supervisor of Women for the South Carolina Jurisdiction. A. Jeter was selected as Overseer of Arkansas. Bishop Mason appointed her as a young woman to be head of the small school in 1926, after she had been teaching there. Bishop Darrell L. Hines Board member (2016present). However, in 1996, the umbrella format was revised under the administration of Bishop C.D. He was a strong advocate for social justice. [33] C. E. Blake served as the Presiding Prelate of the First Jurisdiction of Southern California. The fastest growing areas include Nigeria, South Africa, Brazil, and India. [32], Bishop Chandler David Owens Sr. was elected Presiding Bishop after the death of Bishop Ford in 1995. During World War I, the FBI opened a file on Bishop Mason and conducted surveillance on him because of his pacifism during the war. 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. COGIC believes, though, that even then in the case of saving the life of the mother, that abortion should still only be considered as a last resort, if all other options to help the mother and the unborn fetus have been thoroughly exhausted. The Chairman of the Board of Bishops, CC it to both the Board of Bishop's Secretary and the Chairman of the Grievance Committee. ", 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". 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. By accessing and using this system, you are consenting to such monitoring and information retrieval for [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. C. P. Jones was elected the General Overseer, C. H. Mason was selected as Overseer of Tennessee, and J. She served as chairperson of the board of supervisors, member, Executive Board, member, Screening Committee, member, Program Committee General Church, coordinator, Leadership Conference, International Marshall, secretary, and Assistant General Supervisor for the Department of Women. In addition, the Office of the General Secretary is an integral part of all ceremonial activities, inaugurals, celebrations and ecumenical services. Demons exist as manifestation of evil or unclean spirits. They unanimously chose C.H. He began production of the YPWW Quarterly Topics to train the youth of the COGIC in the faith, doctrine, and polity of the church. Assistant General Treasurer Bishop Kendall Anderson. Login ::: Church Of God In Christ ARC Portal ::: Log-in to your ARC account. 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. Golden Jr. The Church may search and Not everyone in the church were willing to accept "speaking in tongues" as the initial evidence of baptism of the Holy Ghost. The church has more than 3,000 churches in Asia, and 2,000 churches in the Caribbean and South America. [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. She established new auxiliaries including the International Hospitality Unit, the Educational and Bishop's Wives Scholarship funds, WE-12 and Lavender Ladies. In 1964 however, disagreement between the authority of the Senior Bishop and the executive board, led by Bishop A. The General Secretary is the official keeper of the COGIC seal, Registered Agent for the Church and signatory on all official documents. She was the Jurisdictional Supervisor of Women for California Northern First Jurisdiction. Divorce is considered inconsistent with biblical teachings and is highly discouraged as well, but exceptions are made for special circumstances. 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. He re-ignited the church to be a flagship Pentecostal denomination. 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. [94][95], After the November 2016 COGIC Holy Convocation, Carter left the COGIC denomination because Blake had been re-elected as the Presiding Bishop. It had a membership of more than 400,000, who supported more than 4,000 churches. Bishop Elijah Hankerson III - Board member (2021present), Bishop Charles E. Blake Presiding Bishop Emeritus. 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. According to Alex Haley, "He and his wife then received bomb threats at home and at church." She served as the jurisdictional supervisor of several states including Maryland and New Jersey helping to establish and stabilize struggling jurisdictions. Factions developed within the organization as both the senior bishop and Bishop A. Welcome to the home page of the General Board of the Church Of God In Christ, Inc. Field representative, International Sunday School Department Mother Cleolia Penix. It was reopened in the early 1990s under the administration of Bishop L.H. Sin was transmitted to humanity when Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, as a result all men have original sin. If you have any further questions, please contact Executive Secretary Sidney A. Buggs. 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. Also send a copy to the General Secretary Bishop Lyle. 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. B. McEwen, Bishop J. S. Bailey, and Bishop O. M. Kelly as his assistants. White. [60] Units added during her tenure as general supervisor were the: business and Professional Women's Federation, Rescue Squad, Sunday School Representatives Unit, United Sisters of Charity, National Secretaries Unit, and the Jr. Missionaries. [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. In April 2018, Bishop Blake led COGIC in partnership with American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis to continue to struggle for civil rights in the 21st Century. 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". Superintendent, International Sunday School Department Superintendent Mark Ellis. Well-known gospel musicians with COGIC roots include; Andrae Crouch and Sandra Crouch, Walter Hawkins and Edwin Hawkins, Tramaine Hawkins, Rubenstein McClure, Yvette Flunder, Sara Jordan Powell, Daryl Coley, BeBe and CeCe Winans, The Winans, "Detroit" Gary Wiggins, John P. Kee, The O'Neal Twins, Vanessa Bell Armstrong, Rance Allen, Rev. This system HAS BEEN LICENSED FOR USE BY the General Secretary's and Financial Secretary's Offices of the Church Of God In Christ. Humanity can only be restored through salvation offered only through Jesus Christ. 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. Secretary General. 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. " According to the Articles of Religion, "We believe that we are not baptized with the Holy Ghost in order to be saved, but that we are baptized with the Holy Ghost because we are saved". COGIC considers any physical, sexual relationship outside of the sanctity of marriage to be outside of the sovereign will of God and unbiblical. Then in 1946, the YPWW Department was combined with the Sunday School Department for joint conventions until 1951 when they were separated once again. Ford, as Saints' Academy, a private co-educational grade school. After being removed from the office of Senior Bishop, he remained the Jurisdictional Bishop of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania until his death in 1972. The Church may search and retrieve any information stored within this system. 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