Overseer E.R. 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]. Bishop Jones was the only living bishop of the five original bishops consecrated by Bishop Mason. The international membership of COGIC is estimated be between one and three million adherents. Thereafter, missionaries were sent to Africa and the islands of the Caribbean, Asia, and elsewhere. The Chairman of the Board of Bishops, CC it to both the Board of Bishop's Secretary and the Chairman of the Grievance Committee. Deaconess Missionaries serve and assist in the ceremonial and temporal affairs of the local church. All officers are elected by the General Assembly. Mother Lillian Coffey appointed Mother Reatha Herndon as president of the National Women's Evangelist Board in 1951. Bishop Malcolm W. Coby Board member (2021present). [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. A local church mother since the age of 21, she was committed to strengthening the auxiliaries in the local churches and to prepare the younger women to carry the mission of COGIC into the Twenty-first Century. 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. C. P. Jones and those Holiness leaders who did not embrace the Azusa Revival experience continued as Holiness churches. In 1927, the call was made for workers to go to serve the Lord in foreign lands. The current president of the Missions Department is Bishop Vincent Mathews Jr. of South Africa. 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. [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. Then in 1946, the YPWW Department was combined with the Sunday School Department for joint conventions until 1951 when they were separated once again. The church declares to be evangelical in ministry, fundamental in doctrine and practice and Pentecostal in worship and expression. Bishop Joel H. Lyle Jr. General Secretary Church of God in Christ, Inc. 930 Mason Street Memphis, Tennessee 38126 He is credited with systematically restructuring church departments and ministries, expanding the church in Asia, primarily India and the Philippines, and placing the COGIC on a solid financial status. COGIC also teaches that all the spiritual gifts are for believers today. The first general secretary of COGIC was Elder William B. Holt, a white minister. Evangelist Missionaries are licensed to preach the gospel, conduct gospel meetings, and may be given the oversight of local congregations serving as the church administrator. World headquarters are in Memphis, Tennessee at Mason Temple. Amen. There was the creation of the Sunday School Field Representative. [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]. She built a home for missionaries in the Bahamas, a pavilion for senior citizens and unwed mothers in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. According to Alex Haley, "He and his wife then received bomb threats at home and at church." In 1984 and 1988 respectively, Rev. 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. In her brief tenure, she encouraged the women to stay focused and supportive to the leadership of the church. In 2017, Presiding Bishop Charles E. Blake appointed gospel artist and Evangelist Dr. Dorinda Clark Cole of Detroit, Michigan as the Elect Lady. Drew Sheard who was elected in 2021. If you have any further questions, please contact Executive Secretary Sidney A. Buggs. [33] In 2009, Bishop Blake unveiled an aggressive program known as "Urban Initiatives" to address the plight of America's urban areas. [37] The National Council of Churches ranks it as the fifth largest Christian denomination in the U.S.[38] COGIC is a HolinessPentecostal Christian denomination,[2][4] with a predominantly African-American membership. He established COGIC Charities which has provided thousands of dollars in college scholarships and disaster relief efforts such as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. 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. Many mainline denominations and countless nondenominational churches that once rejected these beliefs and practices have adopted these distinctions in their worship liturgy and lifestyle practices. On the local church level in addition to the office of missionary, COGIC developed and has maintained the position of the "church mother." Bishop Darrell L. Hines Board member (2016present). She is also the Jurisdictional Supervisor for the First Jurisdiction, Southern California. We believe that the regeneration by the Holy Ghost is absolutely essential for personal salvation. Jesse Jackson was invited to speak during the COGIC International Holy Convocation when he was running for the presidency. [36], In 2022, it was present in 112 countries in 2022. [35], In 2016, the Church had 5.5 million members in 60 countries around the world. William B. Holt was appointed as General Superintendent. The legislative authority of the church is vested in a general assembly, composed of the members of the general board, jurisdictional/auxiliary bishops, jurisdictional supervisors, chaplains, pastors, ordained elders, four district missionaries and six lay members from each jurisdiction. Young, James Brewer, Daniel Spearman, and J. H. Boone. A. In 1933, he set apart five overseers to the Office of Bishop in the church, the first five bishops of COGIC. Her life story led many African-Americans into the Holiness movement, including Mason. They were also instrumental in establishing 75 churches across the nation. 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. Bishop Michael E. Hill Assistant Secretary to the General Board (2021present) and board member (2021present). From the very beginning of gospel music, COGIC members have influenced its rise. Owens continued to serve as a jurisdictional bishop and member of the General Board until his death in 2011. Bishop Mason was pivotal in licensing and credentialing both white and African-American ministers, who spread the Pentecostal message and planted new churches. In 1968, COGIC established the C.H. For the Anabaptist denomination, see, The official seal of the COGIC features a sheaf of wheat representing the members of the COGIC. Users should have no expectation of privacy as to any communication on or information stored within the system, Complete biographical information will be added to this page soon. 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. COGIC policies and bylaws have also been established regarding sexual misconduct of COGIC clergy and laymembers for disciplinary purposes. 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. Bishop Brandon B. Porter Secretary to the General Board (2021present) and board member (2012present). She led its expansion and emphasized high academic standards, disciplined behavior, and prayer. 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. In 1955, Emmett Till's funeral was held at Robert's Temple Church Of God in Christ in Chicago, Illinois. As African Americans migrated north and west to industrial cities during the Great Migration, he began to establish COGIC churches in the north and, especially after 1940, in the west. A. Blackwell, E. M. Blackwell, E. M. Page, R. H. I. Clark, D. J. COGIC licensed female evangelists may also serve as chaplains in military, federal, state, and local institutions requiring chaplains. 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. It is a separate and distinct work of grace that occurs in the lives of believers after conversion. Jurisdictions range in size between 30 and 100 churches. Hall Sr. Board member (2021present). The Church of God in Christ ecclesiastical structure is an episcopal-presbyterian form of government. Dr. Mattie Moss Clark#, second and longest-serving president of Int'l. Washington, Bishop Chandler D. Owens, Bishop Brandon B. Porter, and Bishop J. [19], Mason continued to travel across the nation preaching and establishing COGIC churches. Herndon and her twin sister Leatha were pioneers of the evangelistic work of the 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. A visionary, she spearheaded the establishment of the multi-million dollar Hale Morris Lewis Manor, a senior citizen complex in Los Angeles, CA. A. [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. Each department convened its own convention in various cities through 1975. 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. 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. As the International Holy Convocation grew to thousands, COGIC leaders had to negotiate with city officials to provide hotel accommodations for the saints. He was elected as the denomination's leader on March 27, 2021. He became nationally recognized in 1955 for officiating at the funeral of 15-year-old Emmett Till, who was brutally murdered in Mississippi. Jones was acquainted with Seymour between 1895 and 1905, as Seymour's travels led him to many Holiness preachers such as John G. Lake and Martin Wells Knapp. It believes that the gifts of the Spirit are given to believers and are active in the church today. President Moody also added these ministries to the Missions Department:[62]. 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. Rev. (Young People Willing Workers), and Missions and 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. [18], The H. A. Goss faction left COGIC to join the Assemblies of God USA. 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. Their pastor was then elder Gilbert Earl Patterson, who also became a COGIC Presiding Bishop, at Holy Temple COGIC in Memphis, Tennessee. Login ::: Church Of God In Christ ARC Portal ::: Log-in to your ARC account. COGIC believes "that if such a case arises, the mother should pray and seek the wisdom and guidance of God and the Holy Spirit on whether or not they should resort to emergency abortion if it is necessary to save her life," but if not, the Church traditionally encourages expecting mothers to "seek God's guidance for other options and choices regarding their unborn child so that they do not have to choose aborting it, and can safely go through with their pregnancy until childbirth. 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