Bishop Blake is an ardent advocate of education and academic excellence, who holds multiple academic and honorary degrees, from various educational institutions. Evangelist Goldia Haynes, Elder Utah Smith, Madame Earnestine Washington, and Marion Williams continued COGIC's influence throughout the fifties and sixties. Adjutant General Bishop Dickerson L. S. Wells Sr.. General Supervisor, Department of Women Mother Barbara McCoo Lewis. Chairman of the General Council of Pastors and Elders Superintendent Michael Eaddy. We believe that the Baptism of the Holy Ghost, according to Acts 2:4, is given to believers who ask for it. Vice chairman of the General Council of Pastors and Elders Bishop Marcus Ways. In 1927, the call was made for workers to go to serve the Lord in foreign lands. The following 4 pages are in this category, out of 4 total. [29] The spread of COGIC was due largely to the efforts of its evangelists through crusades and revivals. J. O. Patterson Sr. was the Presiding Bishop at that time. These jurisdictions are then separated into districts, which consist of 5 to 7 churches and are governed by superintendents (ordained elder or pastor). The general assembly is the supreme authority over the church to decide matters of faith and practice. Male as well as female evangelists were instrumental in spreading COGIC throughout the United States as well as around the world. Drew Sheard, Sr. as Presiding Bishop on March 20, 2021. We believe in the Blessed Hope, which is the rapture of the Church of God, which is in Christ, at His return. Bishop Lawrence M. Wooten Second Assistant Presiding Bishop (2021present) and board member (2012present). He was succeeded by Bishop Joe L. Ealy. Drew Sheard is a former public-school teacher. 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. In 2000 at the Ninety-Third International Holy Convocation, the COGIC General Assembly elected Bishop Gilbert Earl Patterson to replace Owens as Presiding Bishop. For a brief period of time, the YPWW Congress was combined with the Sunday School Congress in a joint convention until 1951. . Co Directors of the Men's Department Bishop Michael B. The pair modeled the pastor and wife ministry team in COGIC. 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]. The early pioneers of this newly formed Holiness-Pentecostal body in 1907 were E. R. Driver, J. Bowe, R. R. Booker, R. E. Hart, W. Welsh, A. Nurses Aid Ministry nurses taking their skills to the mission field. [6], In June 1896, Jones held a Holiness convention at Mt. 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. During 19101913, two white ministers, Elder H. A. Goss and Elder Leonard P. Adams, were clergy under the authority of C. H. Mason. Field representative, International Sunday School Department Mother Cleolia Penix. Since 2007, Ebony has recognized Bishop Blake annually, as one of its 100+ most influential African Americans. The Voice of Missions a bimonthly magazine, John Seth Bailey#, general board member, jurisdictional bishop, Michigan Southwest Jurisdiction; pastor, Bailey Cathedral, Detroit, MI, Elmer Elijah Cleveland#, jurisdictional bishop, Northern California Jurisdiction, pastor, Ephesians, Oakland, CA, Bishop David Willard Grayson, Sr#, Jurisdictional Bishop of Maine, Founding Jurisdictional Bishop of Eastern New York Fourth, David Daniels, educator, professor, auxiliary bishop, James Logan Delk#, politician, pastor, First, Hopkinsville, KY, James Louis Felton, auxiliary bishop, pastor, Mount Airy, Philadelphia, PA, James Neaul Haynes#, general board member, jurisdictional bishop, Texas Northeast First Jurisdiction; pastor, Saintsville, Dallas, TX, Roderick Hennings, author, auxiliary bishop, pastor, Zion Dominion Global Ministries, Amherst, NY, William Morgan James#, general board member, jurisdictional bishop, Ohio North First Jurisdiction, pastor, St. James, Toledo, OH and James Temple, Cincinnati, OH, Orzo Thurston Jones Jr.#, general board member, jurisdictional bishop, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Jurisdiction; pastor, Holy Temple, Philadelphia, PA, Otha Miema Kelly#, general board member, jurisdictional bishop, Eastern New York First Jurisdiction; pastor, Kelly Temple, Harlem, NY, Otis Lockett#, church planter, jurisdictional bishop, North Carolina Second Jurisdiction, pastor, Evangel Word Fellowship, Greensboro, NC, George Dallas McKinney#, scholar, general board member, jurisdictional bishop, Southern California Second Jurisdiction; pastor, St. Stephen's Cathedral, San Diego, CA, S.E. Blake has served as Chair of the Executive Committee, member of the Board of Directors of Oral Roberts University, and as a member of the Board of Directors of International Charismatic Bible Ministries. [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. Herndon and her twin sister Leatha were pioneers of the evangelistic work of the Church of God in Christ. He was also a member of the General Board, the twelve head religious and executive leaders and head bishops of the COGIC denomination from 1988 until 2021. These offices are found in every local, district, and jurisdiction to support development and growth of the Sunday School. In 1976, under the leadership of Bishop J.O. The current Presiding Bishop is Bishop John Drew Sheard Sr., who is the Senior Pastor of the Greater Emmanuel Institutional Church of God in Christ of Detroit, Michigan. 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 denomination considers these to be inconsistent with COGIC doctrine and teaching. [27], Several bishops disagreed with the new organizational structure; they severed ties with COGIC to start their own organizations. As COGIC continued to grow, the various departments began the practice of convening annually to conduct the business unique of their ministries. Bishop Brandon B. Porter Secretary to the General Board (2021present) and board member (2012present). During the tenure of Bishop G.E. [9] This Holiness group/fellowship adopted the name Church of God in Christ, and COGIC began to develop congregations throughout the South. Helm Baptist Church in Jackson, Mississippi, attended by Mason and others from several states. Assistant Financial Secretary Bishop David A. Sanders. 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. Mason as General Overseer and Chief Apostle. BISHOP CHARLES E. BLAKE, SR. - Church Of God In Christ [29] She is also the Jurisdictional Supervisor of Women for the South Carolina Jurisdiction. As founder and CEO of Save Africas Children, a program of the Pan African Childrens Fund, he helps to support more than 200,000 children in 400 orphan care programs throughout more than 23 nations on the continent of Africa. [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. 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. A. Drew Sheard is a former public-school teacher. YPWW became a distinctive trademark for COGIC and the principle training institute usually meeting on Sunday night prior to evening worship services. [25], Bishop Ozro Thurston Jones Sr. was pastor of the Holy Temple Church of God in Christ in Philadelphia and the Jurisdictional Bishop of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Jurisdiction. Student Aid a ministry of support to foreign students. It includes not only those who are members of COGIC, but all believers who have placed their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. In 1981, Bishop J.O. Church of God in Christ: COGIC Presiding Bishop Ousted Bishop Carlis Moody immediately began to reorganize the Missions Department, giving new guidelines. Presiding bishop - Wikipedia In the 1920s, Arizona Dranes, a blind Evangelist Missionary became one of the first gospel artists to bring the musical styles of COGIC to the public in her records for Okeh and performances. 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. (19721994). 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. From 1985 to 2009, he maintained the position of Prelate for the First Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of California, where he was responsible for overseeing over 250 churches. The human soul is immortal and will spend eternity either in heaven as the redeemed or in hell as the damned. Mother Rivers also began the "49 and Under" to enlist and focus the younger women of COGIC to remain committed to the doctrine and teachings of the church. Church mothers have historically served as the leader of the women's ministries in the local congregations. 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. [43], COGIC teaches that man was created perfect and sinless in the image of God as a tripartite being having a body, soul, and spirit. As the first elected presiding bishop, Bishop Patterson Sr. established the Charles Harrison Mason Seminary in Atlanta, Georgia. The Church of God in Christ was formed in 1897 by a group of disfellowshipped Baptists, most notably Charles Price Jones (18651949) and Charles Harrison Mason (18641961). 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. 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. "[92], Elder Carter was attempting to address members of COGIC as to sexual misconduct, and specifically, homosexual practices. The rope that holds the shaft together represents Charles Harrison Mason, COGIC's founding father. Overseer E.R. More:J. Throughout the dispute, Elder Carter made allegations against Bishop Blake for impropriety, sexual misconduct, and abuse of power as presiding bishop. 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. 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. (Young People Willing Workers), and Missions and Evangelism. Bishop Sedgwick Daniels Board member (2008present). Patterson, the nephew of the above-mentioned Bishop J.O. 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.