Churches are organized in dioceses called jurisdictions, each under the authority of a bishop. Over time, the ministers and churches under Leonard P. Adams also separated from COGIC; they assimilated into other white Pentecostal groups or organizations. 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 . Church of God in Christ elects new Presiding Bishop After the death of Bishop Mason, he assumed leadership as the Senior Bishop of the Church of God in Christ. At its first convocation held in 1897, the group identified simply as the "Church of God." It has had rapid growth in many regions as one of the fastest-growing and largest religious groups in the United States.[30]. 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. Between 2009 and 2011, in response to the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa, Blake founded and was the first president of the Pan African Children's Fund (PACF). In April 2018, Presiding Bishop Charles Blake along with Lee Saunders, Andrew Young, DeMaurice Smith, and Brian Dunn coordinated the "I AM 2018 Mountaintop Conference" at the historic Mason Temple in Memphis to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. COGIC believes marriage is a monogamous sacred, civil, and legal union between a husband and wife that is recognized as a covenant between them and God for the purpose of the couple being a helpmate to each other and raising a family together. Together he and his wife, Karen, founded Karew Records, a faith-based record label focusing on various forms of Gospel, Christian and Inspirational music. The church is thought to have nearly two million members in 7,000 churches on the continent of Africa. Co Directors of the Men's Department Bishop Michael B. 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. Divorce is considered inconsistent with biblical teachings and is highly discouraged as well, but exceptions are made for special circumstances. [39], COGIC is a trinitarian Holiness Pentecostal denomination. He is known to many as being an eloquent, compassionate and practical leader, as well as a humanitarian and an advocate with a God-given gift for ministering to the whole man. Mother Deborah Mason Patterson#, daughter of founder, Bishop Mason and wife of first presiding bishop James O. Patterson Sr. [1] [2] Early life [ edit] He has also been awarded the Salvation Army's William Booth Award, the Greenlining Institute's Big Heart Award, and was the designated recipient of the L.A. Urban League's Whitney M. Young Award for the year 2000. President Moody also added these ministries to the Missions Department:[62]. During World War I, the FBI opened a file on Bishop Mason and conducted surveillance on him because of his pacifism during the war. 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 November 2012, Bishop Blake was re-elected again to serve a four-year term as the Presiding Bishop. "[50][51] COGIC also encourages mothers that if they know they will not be able to provide proper care to their child, they should seek assistance to give the child up for either private adoption, legal adoption through domestic or international adoption agencies, or foster care. 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 . Hall Sr. Board member (2021present). Vice Chairman of the National Judiciary Board Bishop Enoch Perry. 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. [20], The first national tabernacle was built and completed in 1925. The current presiding bishop and chief apostle is Bishop J. She established new auxiliaries including the International Hospitality Unit, the Educational and Bishop's Wives Scholarship funds, WE-12 and Lavender Ladies. During the 1990s, President Bill Clinton was invited by then COGIC Presiding Bishop, Louis Henry Ford to attend the International Holy Convocation. He was elected four times uncontested as presiding bishop. She is the longest serving president of the International Music Department and her influence and legacy have been indelible and are recognized around the world. Page in 1927. A visionary, she spearheaded the establishment of the multi-million dollar Hale Morris Lewis Manor, a senior citizen complex in Los Angeles, CA. [22], The years of 19621968 has been described as a "Dark Period" in the history of the Church of God in Christ, because there was polarization and conflict in leadership following the death of the founder. Today, the International Youth Department (IYD) is led by the International Youth President, Superintendent Nathaniel Green of Dallas, TX, and the International Chairlady, Evangelist Vandalyn Kennedy of Queens, NY. However, in 1996, the umbrella format was revised under the administration of Bishop C.D. He also instituted the Annual Prayer Breakfast, conducted Evangelistic Crusades across the country and developed the Church of God in Christ National Evangelist Registry. But during the early twentieth century, the Pentecostal movement had rapid growth nationally and attracted racially integrated congregants to its worship services. 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. As the first elected presiding bishop, Bishop Patterson Sr. established the Charles Harrison Mason Seminary in Atlanta, Georgia. 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. [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. It has nine members, elected by the general assembly, including three bishops, three elders, and three lay members. 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. He accepted his call into the ministry in 1956. Robinson was a staunch advocate for holiness and taught strict guidelines for the women with regard to dress and worldliness. The church has a tradition of prayer, fasting, praise, and consecration that was once unique to Holiness or Holiness Pentecostal groups. Bishop Jones was the only living bishop of the five original bishops consecrated by Bishop Mason. In 1982 during the Seventy-Fifth Holy Convocation, the diamond jubilee of the church, COGIC published its own hymnal, Yes, Lord!, which included many arrangements and songs written by COGIC and African-American musicians and songwriters. 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. G iving to the Church of God in Christ (COGIC) fell by nearly 50 percent during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 1996, the then Elder J. B. McEwen was elected chairman of the executive board, and O.T. This group of seven bishops became known officially as the executive commission; they took on greater responsibility over church affairs until Mason's death. From the very beginning of gospel music, COGIC members have influenced its rise. 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. The church's new presiding bishop, who took office on March 20, said he will have to. Furthermore, the new constitution created the office of the presiding bishop and a general board of twelve bishops and defined their responsibilities. 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. Jones Sr. was elected Senior Bishop by the General Assembly. [27], Bishop James Oglethorpe Patterson Sr. was elected in November 1968 as the first presiding bishop of the church by the General Assembly at the Sixty-First Holy Convocation of the church. During 19101913, two white ministers, Elder H. A. Goss and Elder Leonard P. Adams, were clergy under the authority of C. H. Mason. Drew Sheard was consecrated as Jurisdictional Bishop, succeeding Bishop Herbert J. Williams, Sr., the founding prelate of North Central Michigan Jurisdiction. 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. 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.. 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. It also increasingly stressed high academic standards so that its graduates could go to normal school or college, especially to teach other African Americans. [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. Lizzie Woods Robinson (19111945) was the first "General Mother" of the church. In 2009 he was appointed as a member of Barack Obama's Inaugural Advisory Council of the Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships where he served for one year on the council. 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]. He began production of the YPWW Quarterly Topics to train the youth of the COGIC in the faith, doctrine, and polity of the church. 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. 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 Lawrence M. Wooten Second Assistant Presiding Bishop (2021present) and board member (2012present). Macklin was selected as the first chairman. Drew Sheard June 22 and the consecration service for the jurisdictional and auxiliary bishop designates June 23, 2021. . Owens outlined a progressive plan to position the COGIC for ministry in the twenty-first century, known as "Vision 2000 and Beyond." In 1945, Bishop S. Crouch of the Northern California Jurisdiction appointed Elder H. C. Johnson as State Sunday School Superintendent who appointed Missionary Lucille Cornelius to be Chairlady, the first woman to lead the supervision of COGIC women in the Sunday School Department. 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. Bishop J.W. 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. Today COGIC has more than 12,000 churches, and several schools, missions, and medical clinics in more than eighty nations, including every inhabited continent. Dr. Mattie McGlothen (19751994) the fourth General Supervisor, was a tremendous organizer with great impact on the development of the Women's Department. [19], Mason continued to travel across the nation preaching and establishing COGIC churches. [12] Mason stayed in Los Angeles for five weeks and his visit to the Azusa Street Revival changed the direction of the newly formed holiness church. Dr. Mattie Moss Clark#, second and longest-serving president of Int'l. In 1981, Bishop J.O. She served as the jurisdictional supervisor of several states including Maryland and New Jersey helping to establish and stabilize struggling jurisdictions. Multiple Bishops and Pastors within Church of God in Christ Have Died 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. They rejected denominational names such as Baptist, Methodist, or Episcopal. ", COGIC teaches that sanctification is a continuous operation of the Holy Spirit, by which he "delivers the justified sinner from the pollution of sin, renews his whole nature in the image of God and enables him to perform good works". It believes that the gifts of the Spirit are given to believers and are active in the church today. Evangelist Goldia Haynes, Elder Utah Smith, Madame Earnestine Washington, and Marion Williams continued COGIC's influence throughout the fifties and sixties. [17][16] The organizers of the meeting in Hot Springs had sent invitations only to white ministers to discuss a new movement. Washington, Bishop Chandler D. Owens, Bishop Brandon B. Porter, and Bishop J. 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. Welcome to the Official Church Of God In Christ, Inc Online Store Dismiss. 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. A. Blake, Jr., who is also a bishop and pastor in the COGIC denomination in San Diego, California. By. [27], Several bishops disagreed with the new organizational structure; they severed ties with COGIC to start their own organizations. 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". 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. On October 23, 2020, Bishop Blake announced that he will 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.[34]. Humanity can only be restored through salvation offered only through Jesus Christ. We believe that the Baptism of the Holy Ghost, according to Acts 2:4, is given to believers who ask for it. 2nd Assistant Presiding Bishop Bishop Lawrence M. Wooten. (Young People Willing Workers), and Missions and Evangelism. 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. All officers are elected by the General Assembly. We believe the Bible to be the inspired and only infallible written Word of God. 1st Assistant Presiding Bishop Bishop Jerry W. Macklin. Chairman of AIM Bishop Linwood Dillard. 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. 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. [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. A new constitution and official manual of the church were completed in 1973. Assistant Financial Secretary Bishop David A. Sanders. Bishop Sedgwick Daniels Board member (2008present). Nevertheless, women are licensed in COGIC to proclaim the gospel as evangelists. The jurisdictional supervisor is assisted by district missionaries who oversee the women's ministry of the district. 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. The first general secretary of COGIC was Elder William B. Holt, a white minister. The church started with only 50 members in 1969 when he became pastor. In 1916, a few white churches were organized as a white branch of COGIC. Bishop Mason was opposed to the ordination of women to formal ministry, but in 1911 created an autonomous department to promote the ministry of women in the church. MEMPHIS, Tenn. The Church of God in Christ announced it has elected a new Presiding Bishop to lead the organization. The most notable rift occurred in 1969, when fourteen bishops met in Evanston, Illinois, to form the Church of God in Christ, International. The human soul is immortal and will spend eternity either in heaven as the redeemed or in hell as the damned. She built a home for missionaries in the Bahamas, a pavilion for senior citizens and unwed mothers in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. 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. 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 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. [47], COGIC teaches that the church is the community of Christian believers who have accepted Jesus Christ and submit to his Lordship and authority in their lives. Chandler David Owens Sr. - Wikipedia 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. 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 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. They are the largest department in the COGIC. In 1933, he set apart five overseers to the Office of Bishop in the church, the first five bishops of COGIC. Her predecessor was Evangelist Dr. Rita Womack of Los Angeles, California. They determined to separate from COGIC and form what would eventually become the Worldwide Fellowship of the Assemblies of God. 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. [96][97][98][99], This article is about the Holiness Pentecostal denomination. The Department of Evangelism was officially organized on a national level by Overseer L.C. Second Vice Chairman of the National Board of Trustees Attorney Amos Smith. As a result, an ongoing dispute between Elder Carter and Bishop Blake continued without resolution. [26], The parties filed lawsuits in the Chancery Court of Shelby County, Tennessee, to resolve the legitimate authority of the denomination. She revolutionized and reorganized the music ministry to become a leading department in the church. On June 5, 1951, he selected Bishop A. Although headquartered in Memphis, COGIC's leaders . Upon his return to Jackson, Mississippi, Mason faced opposition when he recounted his experience. To be consistent with progressive measures and modernization, in the Nineties, the international church along with many local COGIC churches began to use the term "youth department" instead of "YPWW. " [32], Bishop Chandler David Owens Sr. was elected Presiding Bishop after the death of Bishop Ford in 1995. The rope that holds the shaft together represents Charles Harrison Mason, COGIC's founding father. All rights reserved. Some of these African-American Baptist pastors in local Southern areas such as Mississippi, Tennessee, and Arkansas considered Jones and Mason to be controversial. 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. 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. Mason. The former Detroit-based math teacher was elected as the new presiding bishop over the largest Pentecostal denomination in the country in March. 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. Save Africa's Children, a program of PACF, currently provides support to over 220 charity missions and orphanages throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Clinton is the only US president to have addressed a COGIC convocation at Mason Temple.