Bishop Lawrence M. Wooten Second Assistant Presiding Bishop (2021present) and board member (2012present). The most notable rift occurred in 1969, when fourteen bishops met in Evanston, Illinois, to form the Church of God in Christ, International. His sons Reverend Charles Blake, Jr. and Reverend Lawrence Blake were officially appointed as the senior pastor and assistant pastor of the church in October of 2022.[13]. 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. By 1906, the church had grown to nearly 100 congregations in three states. Assistant General Treasurer Bishop Kendall Anderson. [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. His pastor and mentor was Bishop F. D. Washington of Brooklyn, NY. It teaches that sanctification should precede the baptism with the Holy Spirit. Pentecostals have been criticized because of their noticeable absence from the official record of activism that has been largely overshadowed by black ministers of other denominations such as Baptists and Methodists; however, there is evidence to verify and document the role and response of COGIC ministers and other Pentecostal denominations to the cause and struggle for Civil Rights in the United States during the 20th Century. 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. In November 2012, Bishop Blake was re-elected again to serve a four-year term as the Presiding Bishop. National officers of the church are chosen at the general assembly every four years unless special elections are warranted. 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. COGIC teaches that the Holy Spirit is alive and active in the world. 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. Military chaplains have also been instrumental in spreading COGIC through military installations. [12] On November 15, 2016, Bishop Blake was reelected as the Presiding Bishop of the Church of God in Christ during the 2016 COGIC Election held by the COGIC General Assembly to a third four-year term. He served faithfully as an Ordained Deacon, the Sunday School Superintendent and the Guitarist. These elders became the first Pentecostal General Assembly of the Church of God in Christ. Bishop Owens led the COGIC in its centennial celebration in 1997 with the theme, "Holiness, a Proven Foundation for a Promising Future!" The pair modeled the pastor and wife ministry team in COGIC. In 1927, the call was made for workers to go to serve the Lord in foreign lands. [17][16] The organizers of the meeting in Hot Springs had sent invitations only to white ministers to discuss a new movement. 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. William B. Holt was appointed as General Superintendent. Welcome to the Official Church Of God In Christ, Inc Online Store Dismiss. 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]. Dr. Valerie Daniels Carter, entrepreneur, Jurisdictional Supervisor, Dr. Dorinda Clark Cole, International Elect Lady of Evangelism Dept., international evangelist. After being removed from the office of Senior Bishop, he remained the Jurisdictional Bishop of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania until his death in 1972. 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.. [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. Of special note is Evangelist Reatha Herndon who served as the International Elect Lady of the Department of Evangelism from 1951 to 2001. 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. Furthermore, the new constitution created the office of the presiding bishop and a general board of twelve bishops and defined their responsibilities. 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. However, in 1996, the umbrella format was revised under the administration of Bishop C.D. [18], The H. A. Goss faction left COGIC to join the Assemblies of God USA. During the tenure of Bishop L. H. Ford as Presiding Bishop in the 1990s, he helped gain COGIC membership into the Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches of North America, a more diverse, international caucus of different Pentecostal church denominations and organizations that sought to heal the racial divides in the North American Pentecostal movement.[57]. 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. Today the International Women's Convention/Crusade meets annually in May in different cities throughout the nation drawing thousands of women from around the world. The current International Sunday School Superintendent is Superintendent Mark Ellis of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and the International Field Representative is Mother Cleolia Penix of Chicago, Illinois.[29]. He gave the eulogy for Till at Robert's Temple COGIC in 1955. However, the General Assembly vested authority in the executive board composed of the seven bishops selected by Bishop Mason before his death. The first meeting was held in Memphis, Tennessee around 1937. Succession of Church of God in Christ Leaders. Welcome to the Official Church Of God In Christ, Inc Online Store Dismiss. Drew Sheard, Sr. as Presiding Bishop on March 20, 2021. The denomination considers these to be inconsistent with COGIC doctrine and teaching. On June 5, 1951, he selected Bishop A. Ford was pastor of the St. Paul COGIC in Chicago and was Presiding Prelate of the Historic Illinois First Jurisdiction. He called for an annual gathering of COGIC members, known as the "International Holy Convocation", to be held in Memphis. Jurisdictions range in size between 30 and 100 churches. He established COGIC Charities which has provided thousands of dollars in college scholarships and disaster relief efforts such as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. [29] The spread of COGIC was due largely to the efforts of its evangelists through crusades and revivals. He consecrated and appointed more than 100 bishops during his twenty-one years of leadership. The international headquarters is in Memphis, Tennessee. 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. Pages in category "Presiding Bishops of the Church of God in Christ". 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. G iving to the Church of God in Christ (COGIC) fell by nearly 50 percent during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the 1940s and 50s, Bishop Mason often invited the white elected officials of the city of Memphis to the International Holy Convocation on Civic Night. The general secretary, general treasurer, and financial secretary terms run concurrent with the current presidential administration that is elected every four years.[20]. Superintendent, International Sunday School Department Superintendent Mark Ellis. He referred in his sermon to gay men as "sissies", "perverted and lost", and said, "If you want to feel like a girl; I wish God would give you the monthly of a girl; I wish He had you bleeding out of your butt. Divorce is considered inconsistent with biblical teachings and is highly discouraged as well, but exceptions are made for special circumstances. Jesse Jackson was invited to speak during the COGIC International Holy Convocation when he was running for the presidency. In 1976, under the leadership of Bishop J.O. The church declares to be evangelical in ministry, fundamental in doctrine and practice and Pentecostal in worship and expression. 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). Drew Sheard elected as COGIC's new presiding bishop; two Memphis bishops elected to general board Sheard, 62, was elected in late March to lead the predominantly African American . The current Presiding Bishop is Bishop John Drew Sheard Sr., who is the Senior Pastor of the Greater Emmanuel Institutional Church of God in Christ of Detroit, Michigan. [6], In June 1896, Jones held a Holiness convention at Mt. Dr. Mattie Moss Clark#, second and longest-serving president of Int'l. His testimony "literally went viral, and brought upon him criticism and sardonicism. 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. 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. Today COGIC operates the All Saints Bible College in Memphis, the C. H. Mason system of bible colleges, and the C. H. Mason Theological Seminary in Atlanta, Georgia. Drew Sheard was born on Jan. 1, 1959, in Detroit, Michigan, to Bishop and Mrs. John Henry Sheard. Drew Sheard was consecrated as Jurisdictional Bishop, succeeding Bishop Herbert J. Williams, Sr., the founding prelate of North Central Michigan Jurisdiction. Nevertheless, as time progressed in the 1950s and 60s, and as COGIC began to grow and became increasingly institutionalized as a denomination, several other churches and denominations began partnering up with COGIC's leaders to help advance the cause of Civil Rights for African Americans, most notably such as the National Baptist Convention, the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, and many other similar predominantly Black denominations as well. 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. Bishop Sheard has over 30 years of leadership in the Church of God in Christ. During his administration, Battles organized Regions to oversee evangelistic ministry in various regional areas across the country. Owens continued to serve as a jurisdictional bishop and member of the General Board until his death in 2011. "[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. They exist today as adversaries to the kingdom, purpose and will of God. Secretary of the General Council of Pastors and Elders Superintendent Prince W. Bryant, II. Patterson appointed Dr. Edward Lee Battles President of the Department of Evangelism. 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. She led its expansion and emphasized high academic standards, disciplined behavior, and prayer. For the Anabaptist denomination, see, The official seal of the COGIC features a sheaf of wheat representing the members of the COGIC. He was a noted evangelist who had pastored several churches, including: Bostick Temple in St. Louis, Missouri; Well's Cathedral COGIC in Newark, New Jersey; and Greater Community COGIC in Marietta, Georgia. B. McEwen was elected chairman of the executive board, and O.T. [8], In 1897, Elder Mason founded the St. Paul Church in Lexington, Mississippi, as the first church of the new movement. Church of God in Christ Elects J. Drew Sheard as New Presiding Bishop On May 19, 1952, he added Bishop J. O. Patterson Sr. Also in 1952, Mason revised the constitution to determine the leadership and succession of the church after his death. [42], COGIC teaches that angels are messengers sent from God who served during the creation, throughout the Old Testament, the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, the establishment of the church and the ministry of the apostles, and continue to be at work in the Kingdom of God. He was able to bridge denominational barriers and encourage non-COGIC ministries to work collboratively with the COGIC denomination. Young were appointed as a committee by C. P. Jones to investigate reports of a revival in Los Angeles, California that was being led by an itinerant preacher named William J. Seymour. Bishop Jerry W. Macklin First Assistant Presiding Bishop (2021present) and board member (2004present). Nurses Aid Ministry nurses taking their skills to the mission field. In 1984 and 1988 respectively, Rev. All rights reserved. This came on the heels of former Presiding Bishop Charles Edward Blake Sr.'s October 2020 announcement that he would not seek reelection. MEMPHIS, Tenn. The Church of God in Christ announced it has elected a new Presiding Bishop to lead the organization. These jurisdictions are then separated into districts, which consist of 5 to 7 churches and are governed by superintendents (ordained elder or pastor). COGIC policies and bylaws have also been established regarding sexual misconduct of COGIC clergy and laymembers for disciplinary purposes. They rejected denominational names such as Baptist, Methodist, or Episcopal. Patterson Sr. in 1989. The former Detroit-based math teacher was elected as the new presiding bishop over the largest Pentecostal denomination in the country in March. 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. COGIC does not teach that Spirit baptism is the same as salvation. [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. 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. Medger Evers, the famed NAACP Field representative for the state of Mississippi who was gunned down in the front of his house in 1963 was raised in by his mother as a member of COGIC before later becoming a Baptist. [93] Leaders within the COGIC, other denominations and Bishop Blake's own family came to his defense. 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 . In 1968, Two sanitation workers who were also COGIC members, Echol Cole and Robert Walker, were crushed to death in a garbage compactor where they were taking shelter from the rain. Jurisdictions are set up similar to the national church in terms of composition, polity, and procedure. [46], COGIC teaches that the baptism of the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit is an experience subsequent to conversion and sanctification, can be experienced by all believers who ask for it. Dr. Mattie McGlothen (19751994) the fourth General Supervisor, was a tremendous organizer with great impact on the development of the Women's Department. B. McEwen made conflicting administrative and executive decisions. She established new auxiliaries including the International Hospitality Unit, the Educational and Bishop's Wives Scholarship funds, WE-12 and Lavender Ladies. His passion for meeting the needs of the whole man reaches globally through his humanitarian efforts. COGIC clergy are also allowed to be married. 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. Driver, who was the overseer of California and pastor of the Saints Home COGIC led an interracial congregation made up of many Blacks, Whites, and Latinos, for many years. 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. She is also the Jurisdictional Supervisor for the First Jurisdiction, Southern California. [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 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. [31], Bishop Ford also renovated several COGIC structures in Memphis, including Mason Temple. White. 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". Church Of God In Christ, Inc. 2015-23. 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. 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. 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. A. CN Morning Rundown: Watch COGIC Installation, Consecration of Bishops A.) The Voice of Missions a bimonthly magazine, John Seth Bailey#, general board member, jurisdictional bishop, Michigan Southwest Jurisdiction; pastor, Bailey Cathedral, Detroit, MI, Elmer Elijah Cleveland#, jurisdictional bishop, Northern California Jurisdiction, pastor, Ephesians, Oakland, CA, Bishop David Willard Grayson, Sr#, Jurisdictional Bishop of Maine, Founding Jurisdictional Bishop of Eastern New York Fourth, David Daniels, educator, professor, auxiliary bishop, James Logan Delk#, politician, pastor, First, Hopkinsville, KY, James Louis Felton, auxiliary bishop, pastor, Mount Airy, Philadelphia, PA, James Neaul Haynes#, general board member, jurisdictional bishop, Texas Northeast First Jurisdiction; pastor, Saintsville, Dallas, TX, Roderick Hennings, author, auxiliary bishop, pastor, Zion Dominion Global Ministries, Amherst, NY, William Morgan James#, general board member, jurisdictional bishop, Ohio North First Jurisdiction, pastor, St. James, Toledo, OH and James Temple, Cincinnati, OH, Orzo Thurston Jones Jr.#, general board member, jurisdictional bishop, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Jurisdiction; pastor, Holy Temple, Philadelphia, PA, Otha Miema Kelly#, general board member, jurisdictional bishop, Eastern New York First Jurisdiction; pastor, Kelly Temple, Harlem, NY, Otis Lockett#, church planter, jurisdictional bishop, North Carolina Second Jurisdiction, pastor, Evangel Word Fellowship, Greensboro, NC, George Dallas McKinney#, scholar, general board member, jurisdictional bishop, Southern California Second Jurisdiction; pastor, St. Stephen's Cathedral, San Diego, CA, S.E. Although headquartered in Memphis, COGIC's leaders . 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. Dr. Roy L.H. There are more than 200 ecclesiastical jurisdictions around the world, with 170 in the United States. [9] This Holiness group/fellowship adopted the name Church of God in Christ, and COGIC began to develop congregations throughout the South. Second Vice Chairman of the National Board of Trustees Attorney Amos Smith. The racial climate in the post WWI years, when there was high competition for jobs and housing and violent unrest in many cities in 1919, would not sustain this relationship.

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