Secretary of the National Board of Trustees Dr. T. Lynn Smith. [94][95], After the November 2016 COGIC Holy Convocation, Carter left the COGIC denomination because Blake had been re-elected as the Presiding Bishop. 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. Historically, women in ministry in COGIC are known as "Missionaries" and are designated in two categories: Deaconess Missionary, and Evangelist Missionary. Secretary General. law enforcement and other purposes. The YPWW department began in 1928 with the convening of its first Youth Congress. 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. The most active women's auxiliaries include: Missionary Circle, Hospitality, Executive Hospitality, Hulda Club, Wide Awake Band, Minister's Wives Circle, Deaconess, Deacon's Wives Circle, Prayer Warriors, Young Women's Christian Council, Usher Board, Educational Committee, Boy's League, Big Brothers, Cradle Roll, Women's Chorus, Board of Examiners, Public Relations, News Reporters and the Burners Home and Foreign Mission Bands. Chairlady, International Youth Department Evangelist Vandalyn Kennedy. retrieve any information stored within this system. 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. B. McEwen, came to a head and was addressed at the 57th Holy Convocation. She also established a musical program. As a Pentecostal church, COGIC teaches that when one is baptized in the Holy Spirit, the believer will experience an initial evidence of speaking in tongues (glossolalia) by the will of God. Patterson in March 2007. They were given the authority through a "gentlemen's agreement" to license ministers and establish churches under the COGIC name. Patterson Sr. in 1989. In 1981, Bishop J.O. In 1895, C.P. Jones and C.H. Mason were licensed Baptist ministers in Mississippi who began teaching and preaching a Wesleyan doctrine of Christian perfection or entire sanctification as a second work of grace to their Baptist congregations. 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. Mother Dorothy Exume#, foreign missionary, Evangelist Reatha D. Herndon#, first and longest-serving elect Lady, church organizer, national evangelist, Supervisor Deola Wells Johnson, national evangelist, jurisdictional supervisor, Evangelist Maria Gardner Langston, COGIC pastor, national evangelist, former Elect Lady, Mother Elsie Washington Mason#, third and final wife of Bishop Mason, Mother Lelia Washington Mason#, second wife of Bishop Mason. Deaconess Missionaries serve and assist in the ceremonial and temporal affairs of the local church. Bishop Darrell L. Hines Board member (2016present). 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. Church mothers have historically served as the leader of the women's ministries in the local congregations. In 1915, after years of court litigation over the name of the organization and use of the name "Church of God in Christ" by the two groups; Mason's group was granted the use of the name and Jones's group organized a legally chartered Holiness body called the Church of Christ (Holiness) U.S.A.[14], After moving to Memphis, Tennessee, Bishop Mason established a local congregation called Temple COGIC. The Pastor of the church shall notify in writing the General Secretary of the Church of God in Christ, the Jurisdictional Bishops where the church is affiliated, and the Jurisdictional Bishop where the church intends to transfer, of intent to transfer, which notice shall be given at least thirty (30) days before the local church's membership can C. D. Owens had gained national attention in the church as the president of the Youth Department. Dr. Valerie Daniels Carter, entrepreneur, Jurisdictional Supervisor, Dr. Dorinda Clark Cole, International Elect Lady of Evangelism Dept., international evangelist. There was the creation of the Sunday School Field Representative. 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. This office is reserved for a woman who serves as counterpart to the Sunday School Superintendent. 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. 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. It teaches that sanctification should precede the baptism with the Holy Spirit. By that time, it was known as Saints Academy and Junior College. The general secretary, general treasurer, and financial secretary terms run concurrent with the current presidential administration that is elected every four years.[20]. The COGIC constitution at the time did not identify a clear successor or the authority of the executive board after Mason's death. The Board was updated on a proposed budget modification to cover outstanding obligations from the previous fiscal year. In addition, the Office of the General Secretary is an integral part of all ceremonial activities, inaugurals, celebrations and ecumenical services. Drew Sheard who was elected in 2021. We believe in the Blessed Hope, which is the rapture of the Church of God, which is in Christ, at His return. Ford was pastor of the St. Paul COGIC in Chicago and was Presiding Prelate of the Historic Illinois First Jurisdiction. Of special note is Evangelist Reatha Herndon who served as the International Elect Lady of the Department of Evangelism from 1951 to 2001. At the 1907 COGIC Convocation held in Jackson, a separation occurred among Jones and other leaders in the church because of such disagreements. 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. Field representative, International Sunday School Department Mother Cleolia Penix. The church is thought to have nearly two million members in 7,000 churches on the continent of Africa. The Holy Spirit is the agent that equips, empowers, leads, and guides the church until the return of Christ. As the church continued to grow, she created women auxiliaries including the Purity Class and the Sunshine Band. The most notable rift occurred in 1969, when fourteen bishops met in Evanston, Illinois, to form the Church of God in Christ, International. The Office of the General Secretary is responsible for developing and maintaining data pertaining to the Church Of God In Christ and oversees the credentialing of those engaged in the ministry of the Church. (19721994). (Young People Willing Workers), and Missions and Evangelism. As a result, the general board exercises great authority over the church. 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. Treasurer of the General Council of Pastors and Elders Pastor William Ward. 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. On February 21, 1965, when Malcolm X was assassinated and the family needed a place for his funeral, no major black church or facility would open their doors for the service. In keeping with the times, the school had some industrial education and training for its students, so that they could learn practical skills. 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]. It can be spoken of as the individual and the collective, physical and spiritual. 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.. 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. 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. During the current administration of Presiding Bishop Charles Blake, COGIC unveiled its Urban Initiatives Program to provide 60,000 programs nationwide through its more than 12,000 congregations to continue to promote the work of civil rights, and to reduce poverty, crime and violence, etc. Elect Lady, International Department of Missions Mother Maddaline Norfleet. 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. 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. We believe that the Baptism of the Holy Ghost, according to Acts 2:4, is given to believers who ask for it. He also instituted the Annual Prayer Breakfast, conducted Evangelistic Crusades across the country and developed the Church of God in Christ National Evangelist Registry. His dream was to establish an international ministry complex known as "Saints Center" and an accredited institution known as "All Saints University". He was denied such trial in 2016. A Jeter and D. J. He was able to bridge denominational barriers and encourage non-COGIC ministries to work collboratively with the COGIC denomination. [49] The church does not practice infant baptisms or christenings, but does conduct baby dedications in formal ceremonies. Divorce is considered inconsistent with biblical teachings and highly discouraged as well. After the death of Mother Coffey in 1964, Dr. Annie L. Bailey (19641975), became the third General Supervisor. He was assassinated the next day, on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel.[54]. Some of these African-American Baptist pastors in local Southern areas such as Mississippi, Tennessee, and Arkansas considered Jones and Mason to be controversial. Each department convened its own convention in various cities through 1975. 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". [31], Bishop Ford also renovated several COGIC structures in Memphis, including Mason Temple. She revolutionized and reorganized the music ministry to become a leading department in the church. Login ::: Church Of God In Christ ARC Portal ::: Log-in to your ARC account. The church has a tradition of prayer, fasting, praise, and consecration that was once unique to Holiness or Holiness Pentecostal groups. By accessing and using this system, you are consenting to such monitoring and information retrieval for In 1951, the first separate National Sunday School Convention convened in Kansas City, Missouri. 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. [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. Mother Deborah Mason Patterson#, daughter of founder, Bishop Mason and wife of first presiding bishop James O. Patterson Sr. 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. Education was considered key to advancement of the race. Bishop Blake led COGIC through the death of G. E. Patterson while preparing the church for its 100th Holy Convocation; an important milestone for the church. [26], The parties filed lawsuits in the Chancery Court of Shelby County, Tennessee, to resolve the legitimate authority of the denomination. Mamie Till-Mobley was a member of St. Paul COGIC led by then Elder Louis Henry Ford (who would later become the presiding bishop of the denomination) officiated the service. The ordinances of the church are water baptism by immersion, the Lord's Supper and foot washing. It ultimately ended by 1930, when the Depression set in. 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