Although headquartered in Memphis, COGIC's leaders . Bishop Malcolm W. Coby Board member (2021present). 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]. The first convention was held in Los Angeles, California, in 1951. Chairman of the National Board of Trustees Bishop Dwight E. Walls Sr.. First Vice Chairman of the National Board of Trustees Superintendent Melton Timmons. This office is reserved for a woman who serves as counterpart to the Sunday School Superintendent. She also established a musical program. Owens outlined a progressive plan to position the COGIC for ministry in the twenty-first century, known as "Vision 2000 and Beyond." [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. Mallory retired in 1976 after fifty years of service; and she had a national reputation. The rope that holds the shaft together represents Charles Harrison Mason, COGIC's founding father. This endorsement allows female chaplains who are serving in the military, working in an institution or jails to perform religious services including funerals and weddings. Young, James Brewer, Daniel Spearman, and J. H. Boone. Religious Figure, former Presiding Bishop of the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), the fourth largest Protestant denominaton in the world. We believe that there is One God, eternally existent in three persons, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The Church of God in Christ (COGIC) is a HolinessPentecostal Christian denomination,[2][4] and the largest Pentecostal denomination in the United States. According to its 1973 Constitution, the church has two structures to govern the church: civil and ecclesiastical. [17][16] The organizers of the meeting in Hot Springs had sent invitations only to white ministers to discuss a new movement. 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 became a staple of gospel music under the guidance and leadership of Dr. Mattie Moss Clark. Throughout the 1970s and 80s, as COGIC continued to grow to millions of members nationwide, COGIC ministers all over the country continued to advance civil rights in their communities. COGIC has always been traditionally anti-abortion. In 2015, after more than 40 years of faithful service, Bishop Carlis L. Moody was emeritized as Bishop of Missions. 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.. In 1981, Bishop J.O. Bishop David A. 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. Bishop Sedgwick Daniels Board member (2008present). 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. In 1917, the YPWW was officially organized under the leadership of Elder Ozro Thurston Jones Sr., who in 1928 established the first Youth Congress bringing together youth leaders and workers on a national level. Mother Willie Mae Rivers (19972017) of Goose Creek, South Carolina, succeeded Mother Crouch. The early conventions of the Evangelist Board were basically crusades led by Page and a few other Evangelists from across the country. B. McEwen, came to a head and was addressed at the 57th Holy Convocation. Presiding Bishop J. C. P. Jones was elected the General Overseer, C. H. Mason was selected as Overseer of Tennessee, and J. Presiding Bishop Emeritus of the Church of God in Christ, Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches of North America, "COGIC Re-Elects Presiding Bishop Charles E. Blake Sr. as Leader - Afro", "PRESS RELEASE: Presiding Bishop Charles E. Blake, Sr. Will Not Seek Reelection", "Why the Power of the Black Church Matters This Election", "Whitehouse.gov - Inaugural Advisory Council: Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships", Succession of Church of God in Christ Leaders, Historically African-American Christian denominations, First African Baptist Church (Richmond, Virginia), First African Baptist Church (Savannah, Georgia). MEMPHIS, Tenn Funeral arrangements are set for COGIC Evangelist Louise Patterson, the widow of the late Bishop G.E. She established a high school and gained accreditation for it, and then for the junior college which she founded on campus. 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. In 1984 and 1988 respectively, Rev. [5] He officially retired on March 19, 2021, and was succeeded by Bishop J. He was officially installed as the senior pastor of the church the following year in 1970. 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". Al Sharpton, a noted civil rights activist, began his ministerial career as a minister in COGIC. Blake, Sr. and the late Evangelist Lula M. Blake. 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. Page in 1927. He was elected as the denomination's leader on March 27, 2021. Ford, as Saints' Academy, a private co-educational grade school. [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. Welcome to the Official Church Of God In Christ, Inc Online Store Dismiss. Chandler David Owens Sr. (October 2, 1931 - March 6, 2011) was an American minister and Holiness Pentecostal denomination leader of the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), for which he served as the Presiding Bishop from 1995 to 2000, after the death of Bishop Louis Henry Ford. (RNS) A Detroit bishop of the Church of God in Christ has been named the new presiding bishop of the nation's largest historically Black Pentecostal . The church started with only 50 members in 1969 when he became pastor. Drew Sheard June 22 and the consecration service for the jurisdictional and auxiliary bishop designates June 23, 2021. . He served faithfully as an Ordained Deacon, the Sunday School Superintendent and the Guitarist. She was the Jurisdictional Supervisor of Women for California Northern First Jurisdiction. 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. Recognizing the significance of women to the ministry, COGIC has created numerous positions that allow women to work as counterparts to the department presidents as chair ladies (YPWW) and Elect ladies (Evangelism). Washington, Bishop Chandler D. Owens, Bishop Brandon B. Porter, and Bishop J. (Young People Willing Workers), and Missions and Evangelism. From 1985 until 2009, he was the Jurisdictional Prelate of the First Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of Southern California, overseeing more than 250 churches that compose the jurisdiction. His dream was to establish an international ministry complex known as "Saints Center" and an accredited institution known as "All Saints University". President Clinton gave speeches at COGIC meetings including the International Holy Convocation at Mason Temple and the Women's International Convention. [1] [2] Early life [ edit] 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. [7] The leadership of the Mississippi State Convention of the National Baptist Convention intervened and expelled Jones, Mason, and others who embraced the Wesleyan teaching of entire sanctification. Her predecessor was Evangelist Dr. Rita Womack of Los Angeles, California. A. Blake, Jr., who is also a bishop and pastor in the COGIC denomination in San Diego, California. Blake has also formerly served as an Advisory Committee Member of the Pentecostal World Conference, and as the founder and Co-chair of the Los Angeles Ecumenical Congress (LAEC), an interdenominational coalition of religious leaders and pastors for the city of Los Angeles. The COGIC constitution at the time did not identify a clear successor or the authority of the executive board after Mason's death. Upon his return to Jackson, Mississippi, Mason faced opposition when he recounted his experience. Field representative, International Sunday School Department Mother Cleolia Penix. The fastest growing areas include Nigeria, South Africa, Brazil, and India. Throughout the dispute, Elder Carter made allegations against Bishop Blake for impropriety, sexual misconduct, and abuse of power as presiding bishop. 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. COGIC does not teach that Spirit baptism is the same as salvation. B. McEwen, Bishop J. S. Bailey, and Bishop O. M. Kelly as his assistants. 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. 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. It was also around this time, that he married his wife, Mae Lawrence Blake, a native of Michigan and daughter of another COGIC bishop and pastor, and they had three children together, Charles Blake, Jr., Lawrence "Larry" Blake, and Kimberly Blake. Bishop Blake is an ardent advocate of education and academic excellence, who holds multiple academic and honorary degrees, from various educational institutions. Today thousands of COGIC women when ministering the gospel or serving in official capacities are seen in their civic (black) or ceremonial (white) habits. Overseer E.R. The denomination considers these to be inconsistent with COGIC doctrine and teaching. There are more than 200 ecclesiastical jurisdictions around the world, with 170 in the United States. He appointed regional presidents to serve as liaisons to the jurisdictional presidents. [15], 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. At the 1907 COGIC Convocation held in Jackson, a separation occurred among Jones and other leaders in the church because of such disagreements. All rights reserved. Bishop Carter came into holiness in 1952 at the Jones Avenue Church of God in Christ, under the leadership of the late Bishop George Briley. 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]. During World War I, the FBI opened a file on Bishop Mason and conducted surveillance on him because of his pacifism during the war. A.) He became a Christian and converted to Pentecostal Christianity as a young adolescent, under the ministry of his mother and father in Arkansas, and he and his family moved to Los Angeles when he was in his 20's when his father was asked to take over as a bishop of the First Jurisdiction of Southern California for the COGIC denomination. [4] He was reelected to a third term as Presiding Bishop on November 15, 2016. The first youth leader on a national level was Elder M.C. Sin originated in eternity when Satan committed open rebellion against God in heaven. At the start of the new millennium, then COGIC presiding Bishop Gilbert Earl Patterson, continued to support the advancement of civil rights. Vice President of COGIC World Missions-Bishop Glenn Plummer. 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. She revolutionized and reorganized the music ministry to become a leading department in the church. Coffey also began the use of the title "Jurisdictional Supervisor" for state mothers as more jurisdictions were forming in each state.[59]. [29] She is also the Jurisdictional Supervisor of Women for the South Carolina Jurisdiction. Adjutant General Bishop Dickerson L. S. Wells Sr.. General Supervisor, Department of Women Mother Barbara McCoo Lewis. Today COGIC has more than 12,000 churches, and several schools, missions, and medical clinics in more than eighty nations, including every inhabited continent. On October 23, 2020, Bishop Blake announced that he would not seek a re-election as Presiding Bishop nor as a member of the General Board and that he would retire from the Office of Presiding Bishop and from the General Board in 2021. She organized the sewing circle and after meeting Elder Searcy, she encouraged the women to support mission work through the Home and Foreign Mission bands. COGIC teaches that the Holy Spirit is alive and active in the world. Bishop Sheard was inducted into the prestigious Morehouse College Martin Luther King, Jr. Board of Preachers. In 1968, COGIC established the C.H. 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. The designated church mother along with other "older and seasoned" women of the church provided the practical teaching of holiness in daily life and practice. After being ejected for accepting these new Pentecostal teachings, Mason called a meeting in Memphis later in the year and reorganized the Church of God in Christ as a Holiness-Pentecostal body. He was recognized in Washington, D. C. by President Barack Obama in 2009 and invited to serve on the White House Advisory, Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Bishop Jerry W. Macklin First Assistant Presiding Bishop (2021present) and board member (2004present). Mason sent ministers and evangelists to cities and urban areas outside the South, including William Roberts (Chicago), O. M. Kelly (New York), O. T. Jones Sr. (Philadelphia), E. R. Driver (Los Angeles), and Samuel Kelsey (Washington, D.C.) From these major cities, COGIC spread throughout the country. It is a separate and distinct work of grace that occurs in the lives of believers after conversion. The Holy Spirit is the agent that equips, empowers, leads, and guides the church until the return of Christ. Vice Chairman of the Board of Bishops Bishop Roger L. Jones. [21], In 1907, there were ten COGIC churches, but by the time of Bishop Mason's death in 1961, COGIC had spread to every state in the United States and to many foreign countries. 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. C. D. Owens had gained national attention in the church as the president of the Youth Department. YPWW became a distinctive trademark for COGIC and the principle training institute usually meeting on Sunday night prior to evening worship services. The pair modeled the pastor and wife ministry team in COGIC. Charles Blake was born on August 5, 1940 in Little Rock, Arkansas, to the late Bishop Junious Augustus (J. 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. 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]. According to a 2015 statistical study by the Pew Research Center, the denomination was estimated to have a United States membership of approximately 84% African-Americans, 5% White Americans, 8% Latino-Americans, and roughly 2% Asian-Americans. 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. Golden Jr. Mrs. Mattie McCaulley of Tulsa, Oklahoma was the first to respond, and was sent to Trinidad. Amen. 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. Mason. B. McEwen made conflicting administrative and executive decisions. COGIC clergy do not officially sanction or recognize same-sex relationships to be united in marriage and the denomination at-large discourages same-sex relationships as unbiblical and immoral. Bishop Blake led the COGIC to become a greater global ministry, primarily in Africa and Latin America, while at the same time investing in the inner cities where many COGIC congregations are located. He testified to receiving entire sanctification after reading her autobiography in 1893. Built in the 1940s during World War II, the nearly 4000-seat building was the largest church auditorium of any African-American religious group in the United States. 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. Male as well as female evangelists were instrumental in spreading COGIC throughout the United States as well as around the world. The court ordered the church to convene a constitutional convention in February 1968. 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 the deity of Jesus Christ, his virgin birth, sinless life, physical death, burial, resurrection, ascension and visible return to the earth. Timothy Wright, Myrna Summers, Rev. 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). [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]. According to Alex Haley, "He and his wife then received bomb threats at home and at church." 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. Bishop Blake also won a defamation lawsuit in 2016 against Earl Carter, who was ordered to remove all defamatory videos and to cease and desist from further conduct disparaging Bishop Blake. In 1918, COGIC opened its first institution of higher learning, the Saints Industrial and Literary School in Lexington, Mississippi, for both girls and boys. Today however, many church mothers have been reserved to titular positions as many pastor's wives have assumed the role of leader of women's ministries in local congregations. However, the Church believes that in some extreme or rare cases, medical and operational abortion may be the safest way to help the mother if the pregnancy is jeopardizing the mother's life and health. In 1933, he set apart five overseers to the Office of Bishop in the church, the first five bishops of COGIC. Bishop O. T. Jones Sr, however, did not leave the COGIC. Secretary of the National Judiciary Board Attorney Peter Davis. Other leaders of the Youth Department who leader became influential leaders of the church included: Bishop F.D. 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. 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. Secretary of the National Board of Trustees Dr. T. Lynn Smith. "[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. After the death of Bishop Mason, he assumed leadership as the Senior Bishop of the Church of God in Christ. Women in COGIC have been influential in the leadership and organization of the church since its inception. All officers are elected by the General Assembly. [96][97][98][99], This article is about the Holiness Pentecostal denomination. 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 . Clinton is the only US president to have addressed a COGIC convocation at Mason Temple. He became nationally recognized in 1955 for officiating at the funeral of 15-year-old Emmett Till, who was brutally murdered in Mississippi. Bishop John Drew Sheard Sr., who had previously been elected to the General Board in 2012 and 2016, was reelected to the General Board and subsequently elected as the current Presiding Bishop on March 20, 2021, in the first-ever virtual online election for the denomination. Divorce is considered inconsistent with biblical teachings and is highly discouraged as well, but exceptions are made for special circumstances. The beliefs of the Church of God in Christ are briefly written in its Statement of Faith, which is reproduced below:[41] It is often recited in various congregations as part of the order of worship and all national and international convocations. In November 2008, Bishop Blake was re-elected to serve a four-year term as Presiding Bishop. Bishop Brandon B. Porter Secretary to the General Board (2021present) and board member (2012present). [50], In July 2016 during their annual Auxiliaries in Ministries convention, COGIC announced their Urban Initiative Outreach ministries and Missions and Charity departments would be partnering up with The Human Coalition, an anti-abortion advocacy group, from 2016 to 2019 for a three-year initiative to encourage COGIC pastors and ministers to encourage anti-abortion advocacy in their local churches. After the death of Mother McGlothen, Mother Emma F. Crouch (19941997) of Dallas, Texas, served as the fifth General Supervisor. In 1946, the National Sunday School Congress began to meet with the Young People's Willing Workers (YPWW) Congress. On April 24, 2022, while addressing his local congregation at the West Angeles COGIC for their sunday morning service, he announced that he has been dealing with and coping with Parkinson's disease, "for the past ten years", and that as of April 2022, he was going to be retiring as the senior pastor of West Angeles COGIC, and that his two sons who are also COGIC elders and ministers, Reverends Charles, Jr. and Lawrence Blake, would be taking over as the de facto pastor and assistant pastor of the West Angeles congregation, respectively. Originally, this gathering of the 'Saints' lasted for twenty days, from November 25 to December 14. Bishop Sheard is a former mathematics teacher and . He was a speaker at the Democratic National Conventions first Ecumenical Service where he eloquently, challenged all to protect the unborn by advocating pro-life.
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