In her brief tenure, she encouraged the women to stay focused and supportive to the leadership of the church. In 1916, a few white churches were organized as a white branch of COGIC. 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. Mason was influenced by the testimony of the African-American Methodist evangelist Amanda Berry Smith, one of the most widely respected African-American holiness evangelists of the nineteenth century. Mason. 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. 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). He established the World Fellowship of Black Pentecostal Churches and gained COGIC membership in the Congress of National Black Churches. After the death of Mother McGlothen, Mother Emma F. Crouch (19941997) of Dallas, Texas, served as the fifth General Supervisor. 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. The Five Presiding Bishops of the Church Of God In Christ Jonathan DesVerney Gospel Channel 349K subscribers 740 65K views 5 years ago I created this video a long time ago, this is just the. A.) Dr. Valerie Daniels Carter, entrepreneur, Jurisdictional Supervisor, Dr. Dorinda Clark Cole, International Elect Lady of Evangelism Dept., international evangelist. 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. Ford, as Saints' Academy, a private co-educational grade school. He was elected as the denomination's leader on March 27, 2021. Although headquartered in Memphis, COGIC's leaders . J. O. Patterson Sr. was the Presiding Bishop at that time. (19721994). Bishop Blake has several academic and honorary degrees, including a Doctor of Divinity from California Graduate School of Theology, a Doctor of Law degree from Oral Roberts University and an honorary doctorate from California State University, Los Angeles. The COGIC has always had a long history with Christian ecumenism, partnering up with and collaborating with other Christian churches and denominations for the purposes of advancing ministry and charity efforts, both in the United States, and globally in foreign countries as well. 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. 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. [18], The H. A. Goss faction left COGIC to join the Assemblies of God USA. 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. 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. 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. 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. The Church of God in Christ will host the installation service of Rev. The Elders' Council met and organized the first Missions board of the Church of God in Christ. 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 . Clinton is the only US president to have addressed a COGIC convocation at Mason Temple. C. D. Owens had gained national attention in the church as the president of the Youth Department. In 1945, Mason dedicated Mason Temple in Memphis as the church's national meeting site. Battles served as president until his death in December 1996. For a brief period of time, the YPWW Congress was combined with the Sunday School Congress in a joint convention until 1951. Then in 1946, the YPWW Department was combined with the Sunday School Department for joint conventions until 1951 when they were separated once again. [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. [53], In 1965, during the March to Selma, a young COGIC minister Charles E. Blake, (previous COGIC Presiding Bishop) was studying at the Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC) in Atlanta, GA. The early conventions of the Evangelist Board were basically crusades led by Page and a few other Evangelists from across the country. [citation needed] Bishop Ford is credited with inviting President Bill Clinton, a personal friend, to speak to the Eighty-Sixth International Holy Convocation on November 13, 1993. 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. 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. 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. Dr. Mattie McGlothen (19751994) the fourth General Supervisor, was a tremendous organizer with great impact on the development of the Women's Department. COGIC became a staple of gospel music under the guidance and leadership of Dr. Mattie Moss Clark. [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. B. McEwen was elected chairman of the executive board, and O.T. President Clinton gave speeches at COGIC meetings including the International Holy Convocation at Mason Temple and the Women's International Convention. It teaches that sanctification should precede the baptism with the Holy Spirit. Bishop Mason taught COGIC members against going to war, but more so he was against African-American men being called to fight a war overseas for freedom and then coming home and being treated as second-class citizens and being lynched, even in their uniforms, because of racism. 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. 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]. During his administration, Battles organized Regions to oversee evangelistic ministry in various regional areas across the country. 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. Bishop Darrell L. Hines Board member (2016present). Young were appointed as a committee by C. P. Jones to investigate reports of a revival in Los Angeles, California that was being led by an itinerant preacher named William J. Seymour. [29], Bishop Gilbert Earl (G. E.) Patterson began his ministry as co-pastor of the Holy Temple COGIC with his father, Bishop W. A. Patterson. It is one of the largest gathering of Christian women from any major denomination and religious organization. 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. During the 1990s, President Bill Clinton was invited by then COGIC Presiding Bishop, Louis Henry Ford to attend the International Holy Convocation. Assistant Secretary of the Board of Bishops Bishop Adrian Williams. Vice Chairman of the General Assembly Bishop Jerry W. Maynard. They are the largest department in the COGIC. [29], Bishop Louis Henry Ford of Chicago, Illinois, was elected after the death of J.O. In 1927, the call was made for workers to go to serve the Lord in foreign lands. 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. Drew Sheard who was elected in 2021. [15], COGIC originated among African Americans in the Southern states of Mississippi, Arkansas, and Tennessee. President, International Youth Department Superintendent Nathaniel Green. They determined to separate from COGIC and form what would eventually become the Worldwide Fellowship of the Assemblies of God. Driver, who was the overseer of California and pastor of the Saints Home COGIC led an interracial congregation made up of many Blacks, Whites, and Latinos, for many years. Divorce is considered inconsistent with biblical teachings and is highly discouraged as well, but exceptions are made for special circumstances. Al Sharpton, a noted civil rights activist, began his ministerial career as a minister in COGIC. 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. However, after a meeting in Hot Springs, Arkansas that led to the founding of the Assemblies of God, the white constituency of COGIC continued to decline, until it was almost nonexistent by the 1930s. 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. ", Elder Carter said that such public rebuke and condemnation were unwarranted, as he was not given a chance to say why he had made such statements. Known for the achievements of her students and school alumni, she had also served during these years, by invitation and appointment, on national federal commissions and with noted African-American women's groups. COGIC considers any physical, sexual relationship outside of the sanctity of marriage to be outside of the sovereign will of God and unbiblical. [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. [47] COGIC regards homosexuality, infidelity, and any other forms of sexual immorality that does not agree with Biblical scripture as sinful. Bishop Blake is the senior pastor of the West Angeles Cathedral COGIC in Los Angeles. Protestant doctrinal debates about Calvinism and Wesleyan Perfectionism affected how even local African-American Baptist pastors responded to new Christian movements at the time. The Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is the chief ecumenical officer of the church, and the leader and caretaker for the bishops of the synods. 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". [35], In 2016, the Church had 5.5 million members in 60 countries around the world. 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. 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 . It had a membership of more than 400,000, who supported more than 4,000 churches. Here are the other 11 members elected to COGIC's general board, its highest executive board: Bishop Prince Bryant Sr., pastor of The Island of Hope Church of God in Christ and Buck Street Memorial . 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]. There seemed no prospect of an integrated Pentecostal movement under the leadership of an African-American such as C. H. Bishop Blake is an ardent advocate of education and academic excellence, who holds multiple academic and honorary degrees, from various educational institutions. Golden Jr. 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. 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. General Treasurer Bishop Charles Harrison Mason Patterson Sr.. Financial Secretary Bishop Frank A. It believes that the gifts of the Spirit are given to believers and are active in the church today. However, his out-spoken criticism of the racial prejudice and discrimination of whites led most, if not all of them, to leave his church for other ministries where the message against racism was not so obvious and offensive to them. Secretary of the National Judiciary Board Attorney Peter Davis. The current chairman of AIM is Bishop Linwood E. Dillard of Memphis, TN.[62]. Owens continued to serve as a jurisdictional bishop and member of the General Board until his death in 2011. The seminary is accredited by the Association of Theological Schools (ATS) and is part of a consortium of the Interdenominational Theological Center. Drew Sheard was appointed Superintendent of the Emmanuel District, by Bishop Herbert J. Williams, Sr., Prelate of the North Central Michigan Jurisdiction. 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. As a result, the general board exercises great authority over the church. She also established a musical program. 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. Each state in the US consists of at least one jurisdiction, and several states have more than one jurisdiction. [31], Bishop Ford also renovated several COGIC structures in Memphis, including Mason Temple. Drew Sheard, Sr. as Presiding Bishop on March 20, 2021. He was a lifelong member of the. They exist primarily in the spiritual realm and are organized according to duty and function. Christ is the Head of the church, and He is the only mediator between God and humanity, and there is no salvation in any other. The first general secretary of COGIC was Elder William B. Holt, a white minister. In 1976, under the leadership of Bishop J.O. 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. After graduating from high school, he matriculated to Wayne State University, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in education and a Master of Education degree in mathematics. He was succeeded by Bishop Joe L. Ealy. Later, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, ironically known as the "godmother of Rock and Roll," expanded and highlighted the COGIC sound to the greater American public in the 1930s and 1940s.