[29] The spread of COGIC was due largely to the efforts of its evangelists through crusades and revivals. It was reopened in the early 1990s under the administration of Bishop L.H. Secretary of the Board of Bishops Bishop William Watson, III. After graduating from high school, he matriculated to Wayne State University, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in education and a Master of Education degree in mathematics. The current president of the Missions Department is Bishop Vincent Mathews Jr. of South Africa. Chairman of the National Judiciary Board Bishop Martin Luther Johnson. National officers of the church are chosen at the general assembly every four years unless special elections are warranted. "[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. 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. Owens and became known as AIM (Auxiliaries in Ministry). Ford, as Saints' Academy, a private co-educational grade school. 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. Women in COGIC have been influential in the leadership and organization of the church since its inception. 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. Known for the achievements of her students and school alumni, she had also served during these years, by invitation and appointment, on national federal commissions and with noted African-American women's groups. In Chicago, Ford organized voter registration initiatives. [5] He officially retired on March 19, 2021, and was succeeded by Bishop J. [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. The fastest growing areas include Nigeria, South Africa, Brazil, and India. 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. 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. He established the World Fellowship of Black Pentecostal Churches and gained COGIC membership in the Congress of National Black Churches. He served on the trustee board for 12 years and has served on the general board for eight years. He re-ignited the church to be a flagship Pentecostal denomination. 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. 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. They have two children, Kierra Kelly and John Drew Sheard, II, one son-in-love, Jordan Kelly, and two grandchildren. 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. Assistant General Treasurer Bishop Kendall Anderson. 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". Bishop Charles E. Blake, Sr. is the fifth Presiding Bishop and the seventh leader in succession, appointed in November 2007 by the General Assembly of the Church of God in Christ. Youth on a Mission (YOAM) a ministry of young people visiting the mission field to serve each summer. 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. [31], Bishop Ford also renovated several COGIC structures in Memphis, including Mason Temple. COGIC Presiding Bishop Charles E. Blake issued a public apology, saying "I apologize for what seemed to be a harsh, uncompassionate, disrespectful spirit on the part of that speaker. 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. J. O. Patterson Sr. was the Presiding Bishop at that time. The denomination considers these to be inconsistent with COGIC doctrine and teaching. He also established the COGIC national headquarters there. Supervisor Irene Oakley#, pastor, supervisor, bishop's wife, Mother Louise Patterson, evangelist, former first lady and wife of G.E. Three years later on October 12, 1955, he added three more bishops to the hierarchy: Bishop U. E. Miller, Bishop S. M. Crouch, and Bishop O. T. Jones Sr. C. D. Owens had gained national attention in the church as the president of the Youth Department. Today thousands of COGIC women when ministering the gospel or serving in official capacities are seen in their civic (black) or ceremonial (white) habits. Throughout the dispute, Elder Carter made allegations against Bishop Blake for impropriety, sexual misconduct, and abuse of power as presiding bishop. C. P. Jones was elected the General Overseer, C. H. Mason was selected as Overseer of Tennessee, and J. There was the creation of the Sunday School Field Representative. They unanimously chose C.H. (Young People Willing Workers), and Missions and Evangelism. 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. The judicial board serves as the judicial branch and is the supreme body that interprets polity and practice. Drew Sheard is a former public-school teacher. The then"Minister & Sister Carter" established and . COGIC teaches the deity of Jesus Christ, his virgin birth, sinless life, physical death, burial, resurrection, ascension and visible return to the earth. The church has more than 3,000 churches in Asia, and 2,000 churches in the Caribbean and South America. In 1964 however, disagreement between the authority of the Senior Bishop and the executive board, led by Bishop A. [2][3] On March 21, 2007, he became the Presiding Bishop of the Church of God in Christ, Inc., as a result of Presiding Bishop Gilbert E. Patterson's death. [36], In 2022, it was present in 112 countries in 2022. Bishop Carlis Moody immediately began to reorganize the Missions Department, giving new guidelines. 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. 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. Despite what seems to be obvious limitations to minister because of ordination, women have been given great latitude and numerous opportunities to serve in ministry in COGIC. The denomination teaches that God gives life to human beings, biologically and spiritually, through the moment of conception in the womb of the mother, using Jeremiah 1:5, Genesis 1:2627, and Psalms 139:1316 as their scriptural basis for this belief. [23][24] After Mason's death, in accordance with the 1952 church constitution, the control of the church reverted to the COGIC Board of Bishops. 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. 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. It had a membership of more than 400,000, who supported more than 4,000 churches. (19721994). 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 churches. 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. In 1945, Mason dedicated Mason Temple in Memphis as the church's national meeting site. [17][16] The organizers of the meeting in Hot Springs had sent invitations only to white ministers to discuss a new movement. Her life story led many African-Americans into the Holiness movement, including Mason. Bishop Owens led the COGIC in its centennial celebration in 1997 with the theme, "Holiness, a Proven Foundation for a Promising Future!" 1st Assistant Presiding Bishop Bishop Jerry W. Macklin. As the church continued to grow, she created women auxiliaries including the Purity Class and the Sunshine Band. The following 4 pages are in this category, out of 4 total. The court ordered the church to convene a constitutional convention in February 1968. 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. . He is an example of servant leadership and has become a voice to the nations to uphold the standards of holiness. 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. Founder 1907-1961* Senior Bishop & Chief Apostle Charles Harrison Mason: . Rev. Al Sharpton, a noted civil rights activist, began his ministerial career as a minister in COGIC. According to the Articles of Religion in the COGIC Official Manual, COGIC believes in biblical inspiration and holds that the Bible is the supreme and final authority for doctrine and practice. 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.. Bishop J. 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. [32], Bishop Chandler David Owens Sr. was elected Presiding Bishop after the death of Bishop Ford in 1995. They disagreed in having an electoral process to select the presiding bishop.[28]. 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]. YPWW became a distinctive trademark for COGIC and the principle training institute usually meeting on Sunday night prior to evening worship services. In November 2012, Bishop Blake was re-elected again to serve a four-year term as the Presiding Bishop. Chairman of the General Council of Pastors and Elders Superintendent Michael Eaddy. 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 general assembly meets biannually each year in April and November while the presidium acts as the executive branch of the church, overseeing the day-to-day operation when the general assembly is not in session. 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. 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. 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. Protestant doctrinal debates about Calvinism and Wesleyan Perfectionism affected how even local African-American Baptist pastors responded to new Christian movements at the time. Presiding Bishop J. Welcome to the Official Church Of God In Christ, Inc Online Store Dismiss. He gave the eulogy for Till at Robert's Temple COGIC in 1955. [27], Several bishops disagreed with the new organizational structure; they severed ties with COGIC to start their own organizations. Mother Lillian Coffey appointed Mother Reatha Herndon as president of the National Women's Evangelist Board in 1951. Drew Sheard who was elected in 2021. The COGIC emphasized the use of the choir as an integral part of the worship experience. The presiding bishop is part of a general board, consisting of eleven other bishops elected by a general assembly consisting of pastors, elders, chaplains, bishops, missionaries, supervisors, and designated lay delegates. Since so many new holiness groups and fellowships were forming that used the name "Church of God," C. H. Mason sought a name to distinguish his Holiness group from others. [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. Bishop Blake is married to Lady Mae Lawrence Blake. Vice President of COGIC World Missions-Bishop Nate' M. Jefferson. Each state in the US consists of at least one jurisdiction, and several states have more than one jurisdiction. Patterson in March 2007. COGIC theology and beliefs fall in the tradition of Wesleyan-Arminian theology.[40]. [9] This Holiness group/fellowship adopted the name Church of God in Christ, and COGIC began to develop congregations throughout the South. Ford was pastor of the St. Paul COGIC in Chicago and was Presiding Prelate of the Historic Illinois First Jurisdiction. He self-identifies as Bishop/CEO of his newly organized fellowship called the 7000 Club (not to be confused with The 700 Club from Pat Robertson). 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. COGIC teaches that the Holy Spirit is alive and active in the world. 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. [63] The current president of the Department of Evangelism is Bishop Elijah Hankerson III of St. Louis, Missouri. 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. [4] He was reelected to a third term as Presiding Bishop on November 15, 2016. [5] He officially retired on March 19, 2021, and was succeeded by Bishop J. These offices are found in every local, district, and jurisdiction to support development and growth of the Sunday School. The Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is the chief ecumenical officer of the church, and the leader and caretaker for the bishops of the synods. 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. 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. During his administration, Battles organized Regions to oversee evangelistic ministry in various regional areas across the country. 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]. 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 1975, he resigned as co-pastor, withdrawing his membership in the COGIC because of leadership disagreements with his uncle, J. O. Patterson Sr. concerning an establishment of another jurisdiction in the city of Memphis. C. P. Jones and those Holiness leaders who did not embrace the Azusa Revival experience continued as Holiness churches. The church started with only 50 members in 1969 when he became pastor. Vice Chairman of the Board of Bishops Bishop Roger L. Jones. 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. He consecrated and appointed more than 100 bishops during his twenty-one years of leadership. 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. Their pastor was then elder Gilbert Earl Patterson, who also became a COGIC Presiding Bishop, at Holy Temple COGIC in Memphis, Tennessee. His ministry spanned more than seven decades. Her predecessor was Evangelist Dr. Rita Womack of Los Angeles, California. Student Aid a ministry of support to foreign students. Thereafter, missionaries were sent to Africa and the islands of the Caribbean, Asia, and elsewhere. B. McEwen was elected chairman of the executive board, and O.T. On November 14, 1968, the General Assembly of the COGIC elected the first general board and presiding bishop of the church. In his first year as Presiding Bishop in 2021, in order to combat debt that the church had accrued from previous years, Bishop Sheard helped to launch the "I Love My Church" Initiative, which was a massive fundraising campaign that helped the COGIC denomination to pay off much of its debts, renovate and refurbish its headquarters church, Mason Temple, establish housing complexes for low-income families throughout Shelby County, Tennessee near the church's headquarters, and purchased a former Catholic nunnery convent in Memphis to provide housing for single mothers affected by health challenges, disabilities, teen pregnancies, and domestic violence. These elders became the first Pentecostal General Assembly of the Church of God in Christ. Drew Sheard was born on Jan. 1, 1959, in Detroit, Michigan, to Bishop and Mrs. John Henry Sheard. In 1997, Bishop Chandler D. Owens appointed Evangelist Richard "Mr. Clean" White as president of the Department of Evangelism. A. Blackwell, E. M. Blackwell, E. M. Page, R. H. I. Clark, D. J. Assistant Financial Secretary Bishop David A. Sanders. The church is thought to have nearly two million members in 7,000 churches on the continent of Africa. During World War I, the FBI opened a file on Bishop Mason and conducted surveillance on him because of his pacifism during the war. 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. Bishop Jerry W. Macklin First Assistant Presiding Bishop (2021present) and board member (2004present). The presiding bishop chairs the biennial Church-wide Assembly and provides for the preparation of agendas for the assembly, the Church Council and its executive . He was also a member of the General Board, the twelve head religious and executive leaders and head bishops of the COGIC denomination from 1988 until 2021. "[90] This excerpt of Elder Carter's sermon went viral throughout social media and was picked up by major television news broadcasts. Assistant Elect Lady, COGIC World Missions-Supervisor Lee E.Van Zandt. She led its expansion and emphasized high academic standards, disciplined behavior, and prayer. 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. Finding two groups of women in the church, one group praying known as the Prayer Band, the other group studying and teaching the Word known as the Bible Band, she combined the two under the name of the Prayer and Bible Band. Chairman of the Board of Bishops Bishop Albert Galbraith. Macklin was selected as the first chairman. The church declares to be evangelical in ministry, fundamental in doctrine and practice and Pentecostal in worship and expression. Vice President of COGIC World Missions-Supervisor Sideary King. As a result, an ongoing dispute between Elder Carter and Bishop Blake continued without resolution. On the local church level in addition to the office of missionary, COGIC developed and has maintained the position of the "church mother." A general supervisor of women is appointed by the presiding bishop and given authority to lead the International Women's Ministry of the church. Remarriage is usually highly discouraged, except in the case of the death of a spouse or former spouse. The Five Presiding Bishops of the Church Of God In Christ Jonathan DesVerney Gospel Channel 349K subscribers 740 65K views 5 years ago I created this video a long time ago, this is just the.