In 1955, Emmett Till's funeral was held at Robert's Temple Church Of God in Christ in Chicago, Illinois. These offices are found in every local, district, and jurisdiction to support development and growth of the Sunday School. [61] Finally, she changed the visible presence of women in ministry with the introduction of the ministry "habit". As a result, many local congregations, foreign missions, and schools were established through the leadership and efforts of women in COGIC. 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. The seminary is accredited by the Association of Theological Schools (ATS) and is part of a consortium of the Interdenominational Theological Center. 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. Bishop O. T. Jones Sr, however, did not leave the COGIC. Chairlady, International Youth Department Evangelist Vandalyn Kennedy. James Moore, Thomas Whitfield (singer), Deniece Williams, Hubert Powell, Donnie McClurkin, LaShun Pace, The Anointed Pace Sisters, Dr. Bettye Ransom Nelson, Bishop Richard "Mr. Clean" White, Bishop Paul S. Morton, The Clark Sisters: (Jacky Clark-Chisholm, Elbernita "Twinkie" Clark, Dorinda Clark-Cole and Karen Clark-Sheard). B. McEwen, Bishop J. S. Bailey, and Bishop O. M. Kelly as his assistants. 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. 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". We believe that the regeneration by the Holy Ghost is absolutely essential for personal salvation. Education was considered key to advancement of the race. Bishop Blake was the pastor of the West Angeles Church of God in Christ,[7] one of the largest African-American churches in the Western United States, with a membership of over 24,000, from 1969 until his retirement in 2022. Winbush General Board Member Jurisdictional prelate", Atonement: COGIC Leader Slams "Disrespectful" Preacher & Apologizes To 'I'm Not Gay No More' Guy | AlwaysAList.com, Bishop Blake Condemns 'Bad Preacher'; Apologizes to 'I Don't Like Mens No More' Guy, "COGIC's Bishop Charles Blake Wins Defamation Lawsuit Against Minister Earl Carter", "Man Who Attacked COGIC Bishop Charles Blake Jailed", "Dr. Earl Carter Responses to Bishop Blake Apology", "A Letter to the Members of the Church of God in Christ, Inc", Succession of Church of God in Christ Leaders, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Church_of_God_in_Christ&oldid=1141739755, Bishop J. O. Patterson Sr. presiding bishop, Bishop J. S. Bailey first assistant presiding bishop, Bishop S. M. Crouch second assistant presiding bishop. The COGIC constitution at the time did not identify a clear successor or the authority of the executive board after Mason's death. 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". The church started with only 50 members in 1969 when he became pastor. Pentecostals have been criticized because of their noticeable absence from the official record of activism that has been largely overshadowed by black ministers of other denominations such as Baptists and Methodists; however, there is evidence to verify and document the role and response of COGIC ministers and other Pentecostal denominations to the cause and struggle for Civil Rights in the United States during the 20th Century. 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. When she died in 1945, she had laid an impressive foundation for the women's ministry in COGIC. The first youth leader on a national level was Elder M.C. 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. According to its 1973 Constitution, the church has two structures to govern the church: civil and ecclesiastical. He announced that he met with the ministry leaders and church council and trustee board members and consulted with them to approve of Reverend Charles Blake, Jr and Reverend Lawrence Blake, taking over much of his duties as the de facto pastor and assistant pastor of the church. President Clinton gave speeches at COGIC meetings including the International Holy Convocation at Mason Temple and the Women's International Convention. The pair modeled the pastor and wife ministry team in COGIC. Vice President of COGIC World Missions-Supervisor Faye M. Butler. Bishop Mason was pivotal in licensing and credentialing both white and African-American ministers, who spread the Pentecostal message and planted new churches. 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. 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. Secretary of the National Judiciary Board Attorney Peter Davis. 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. Patterson, the nephew of the above-mentioned Bishop J.O. 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. 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. [36], In 2022, it was present in 112 countries in 2022. 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. Green. After the death of Mother Coffey in 1964, Dr. Annie L. Bailey (19641975), became the third General Supervisor. Charles Edward Blake Sr. (born August 5, 1940) is an American minister and pastor who served as the Presiding Bishop and leader of the Church of God in Christ, a 6 million-member Holiness Pentecostal denomination, that has now grown to become one of the largest predominantly African American Pentecostal denominations in the United . We believe that the Baptism of the Holy Ghost, according to Acts 2:4, is given to believers who ask for it. [2][4] The church teaches three separate and distinct works of grace that God performs in the life of believers: salvation, entire sanctification, and the baptism or infilling of the Holy Ghost. 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). 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. 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. (19721994). Male as well as female evangelists were instrumental in spreading COGIC throughout the United States as well as around the world. They exist today as adversaries to the kingdom, purpose and will of God. He was pastor of the Pentecostal Temple Institutional COGIC in Memphis, Tennessee, and was the Presiding Prelate of the Tennessee Headquarters Jurisdiction. The church has more than 3,000 churches in Asia, and 2,000 churches in the Caribbean and South America. Chairman of AIM Bishop Linwood Dillard. 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. [48] COGIC clergy are also encouraged to have a certain degree of training in marriage counseling as well. However, the General Assembly vested authority in the executive board composed of the seven bishops selected by Bishop Mason before his death. 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. 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. [35], In 2016, the Church had 5.5 million members in 60 countries around the world. 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. As a result, an ongoing dispute between Elder Carter and Bishop Blake continued without resolution. During 19101913, two white ministers, Elder H. A. Goss and Elder Leonard P. Adams, were clergy under the authority of C. H. Mason. 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. Rev. C. P. Jones and those Holiness leaders who did not embrace the Azusa Revival experience continued as Holiness churches. 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. 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). White. 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. Assistant Financial Secretary Bishop David A. Sanders. Ford, as Saints' Academy, a private co-educational grade school. Thereafter, missionaries were sent to Africa and the islands of the Caribbean, Asia, and elsewhere. The church has a tradition of prayer, fasting, praise, and consecration that was once unique to Holiness or Holiness Pentecostal groups. 2nd Assistant Presiding Bishop Bishop Lawrence M. Wooten. President, International Youth Department Superintendent Nathaniel Green. Carter was found in contempt of court for failing to obey the court order and was jailed until he removed all videos and agreed to comply. A new constitution and official manual of the church were completed in 1973. 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. The constitutional convention drafted and approved a new constitution which dissolved both the office of the Senior Bishop and the executive board; it also established the General Assembly, which meets biannually, as the supreme authority over the church to decide matters of faith and practice. 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 jurisdictional supervisor is assisted by district missionaries who oversee the women's ministry of the district. In 1996, the then Elder 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. Adelle M. Banks. 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 is married to Lady Mae Lawrence Blake. At its first convocation held in 1897, the group identified simply as the "Church of God." [13], Although the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee) began earlier, it is still the case that in 1907, with ten congregations, The Church of God in Christ became the first legally chartered Pentecostal body incorporated in the United States. [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. 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. G iving to the Church of God in Christ (COGIC) fell by nearly 50 percent during the COVID-19 pandemic. She developed the International Women's Convention into a training institute for women in the ministry. Each jurisdictional bishop appoints a jurisdictional supervisor to lead the work of the women on a jurisdictional level. 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 1984 and 1988 respectively, Rev. 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. Bishop Mason appointed her as a young woman to be head of the small school in 1926, after she had been teaching there. This office is reserved for a woman who serves as counterpart to the Sunday School Superintendent. His passion for meeting the needs of the whole man reaches globally through his humanitarian efforts. Together they traveled across the country proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. [5] He officially retired on March 19, 2021, and was succeeded by Bishop J. 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. He was a strong advocate for social justice. Salvation is an operation of the Holy Spirit upon sinners brought about by repentance toward God, which brings about conversion, faith, justification, and regeneration. Religious Figure, former Presiding Bishop of the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), the fourth largest Protestant denominaton in the world. The current president of the Missions Department is Bishop Vincent Mathews Jr. of South Africa. 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. In 1982, he was selected by Ebony magazine as one of the 15 "Greatest Preachers in America". She developed the role of the State Minister of Music and traveled the world conducting seminars and workshops perfecting the quality of choir music, their performance, appearance and demeanor, and the COGIC sound. 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. 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. Bishop Michael E. Hill Assistant Secretary to the General Board (2021present) and board member (2021present). In 1976, under the leadership of Bishop J.O. The general assembly is the supreme authority over the church to decide matters of faith and practice. 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]. 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. Pentecostals have been known and continue to be known for their lively worship, exuberant expressions of praise and worship, and musical compilations, mostly relying on congregational singing of hymns and chants. Desiring to learn more about the work of the Holy Spirit in the church, C. H. Mason, J. Bishop Blake is married to Mae Lawrence Blake, a native of Michigan, and they have three children together, Charles Blake II (Jr.), Lawrence Blake, and Kimberly Blake, and they have eight grandchildren.[6]. As public education was segregated and underfunded by white officials in the South through most of the tenure of the first major leader, this school became a destination for parents wanting their children to have high-quality education. Bishop Malcolm W. Coby Board member (2021present). 1st Assistant Presiding Bishop Bishop Jerry W. Macklin. Under her leadership and tenure, COGIC choirs and individual singers came to dominate gospel music producing a number of recordings and gospel hits.