Patterson, who became presiding bishop in 2000 at the age of 60. All rights reserved. She established a high school and gained accreditation for it, and then for the junior college which she founded on campus. [27], Several bishops disagreed with the new organizational structure; they severed ties with COGIC to start their own organizations. Church Of God In Christ, Inc. 2015-23. [39], COGIC is a trinitarian Holiness Pentecostal denomination. Welcome to the Official Church Of God In Christ, Inc Online Store Dismiss. At the time, because many churches disagreed with what they considered its eccentric worship styles and expressions of Pentecostalism, such as the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues and the laying on of hands, many churches distanced themselves from the COGIC for many years. WATCH: COGIC Inaugural Installation, Consecration Service of Rev. J On November 14, 1968, the General Assembly of the COGIC elected the first general board and presiding bishop of the church. They determined to separate from COGIC and form what would eventually become the Worldwide Fellowship of the Assemblies of God. Holy Temple COGIC was the first church to open its doors to the garbage workers. Originally, this gathering of the 'Saints' lasted for twenty days, from November 25 to December 14. 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. On April 3, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I've Been To The Mountaintop" speech, at Mason Temple Church Of God in Christ in Memphis. He was officially installed as the senior pastor of the church the following year in 1970. During the tenure of Bishop J. O. Patterson Sr. as Presiding Bishop in the 1970s and 80s, Bishop Patterson established several interdenominational Christian schools and seminaries, and helped to establish the World Fellowship of Black Pentecostal Churches and gained COGIC membership in the Congress of National Black Churches as well, a national caucus of Black church denominations that represent different denominations and organizations of the Black Church in America. [16], A few years after the Azusa Revival, in 1914, shortly before the United States entered World War I, approximately 300 white ministers, representing a variety of independent churches and networks of churches, including the "Association of Christian Assemblies" of Indiana; and the "Church of God in Christ and in Unity with the Apostolic Faith Movement" from Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Texas; met in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The church started with only 50 members in 1969 when he became pastor. Drew Sheard. 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. Bishop Blake is an ardent advocate of education and academic excellence, who holds multiple academic and honorary degrees, from various educational institutions. Religious Figure, former Presiding Bishop of the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), the fourth largest Protestant denominaton in the world. Three years later on October 12, 1955, he added three more bishops to the hierarchy: Bishop U. E. Miller, Bishop S. M. Crouch, and Bishop O. T. Jones Sr. African-American parents sent their children to this school from across the United States, especially those who had grown up in Mississippi and knew its reputation. In 2010 Superintendent J. [93] Leaders within the COGIC, other denominations and Bishop Blake's own family came to his defense. COGIC has always been traditionally anti-abortion. [26], The parties filed lawsuits in the Chancery Court of Shelby County, Tennessee, to resolve the legitimate authority of the denomination. 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. 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 . 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. 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. Lizzie Woods Robinson (19111945) was the first "General Mother" of the church. 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. 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 . Patterson established protocols of worship, policy and practices. 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. 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. 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". Charles Edward Blake Sr. - Wikipedia Clean White, Jurisdictional Bishop, Bermuda Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction, National Evangelist, Recording Artist, Songwriter, Atlanta, Georgia, This page was last edited on 26 February 2023, at 15:15. Mother Deborah Mason Patterson#, daughter of founder, Bishop Mason and wife of first presiding bishop James O. Patterson Sr. Drew Sheard is a former public-school teacher. 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. On May 19, 1952, he added Bishop J. O. Patterson Sr. In 2015, after more than 40 years of faithful service, Bishop Carlis L. Moody was emeritized as Bishop of Missions. 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. Her predecessor was Evangelist Dr. Rita Womack of Los Angeles, California. For many years, West Angeles has been one of the fastest growing churches in the United States and remains the largest COGIC local congregation with a membership of 25,000. Upon his return to Jackson, Mississippi, Mason faced opposition when he recounted his experience. During the tenure of Bishop G.E. 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. In Chicago, Ford organized voter registration initiatives. [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. Born in Birmingham, Alabama on October 2, 1931, Bishop Owens started preaching as a young child. 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. Each state in the US consists of at least one jurisdiction, and several states have more than one jurisdiction. He was a strong advocate for social justice. 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 Presiding Bishop - Church Of God In Christ In 2017, Presiding Bishop Charles E. Blake appointed gospel artist and Evangelist Dr. Dorinda Clark Cole of Detroit, Michigan as the Elect Lady. These elders became the first Pentecostal General Assembly of the Church of God in Christ. A. Jeter was selected as Overseer of Arkansas. As has been stated, COGIC does not ordain women as elder or bishop, however, COGIC would not have become the largest predominately African-American Pentecostal church in the world, nor have the largest Women's convention of any major denomination without the contributions of women. We believe that the only means of being cleansed from sin is through repentance and faith in the precious Blood of Jesus Christ. Golden Jr. 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. The first convention was held in Los Angeles, California, in 1951. Military chaplains have also been instrumental in spreading COGIC through military installations. According to the press release, The COGIC General Assembly, the legislat Presiding Bishop J. It had a membership of more than 400,000, who supported more than 4,000 churches. [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. B. McEwen, Bishop J. S. Bailey, and Bishop O. M. Kelly as his assistants. This convention brings thousands of COGIC members representing all the major departments including Sunday School, Missions, Evangelism, Music, and Youth together in July and meets in cities around the U.S. 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. Detroit pastor J. Drew Sheard elected COGIC presiding bishop 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. 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 States, from 2007 to 2021. Secretary of the Board of Bishops Bishop William Watson, III. In 1981, Bishop J.O. 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. [33] In 2009, Bishop Blake unveiled an aggressive program known as "Urban Initiatives" to address the plight of America's urban areas. Finding two groups of women in the church, one group praying known as the Prayer Band, the other group studying and teaching the Word known as the Bible Band, she combined the two under the name of the Prayer and Bible Band. We believe the Bible to be the inspired and only infallible written Word of God. 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. [10] After testifying to being sanctified, members of the church referred to themselves as "Saints", believing that they were set apart to live a daily life of Christian Holiness in words and deeds.[11]. Well-known gospel musicians with COGIC roots include; Andrae Crouch and Sandra Crouch, Walter Hawkins and Edwin Hawkins, Tramaine Hawkins, Rubenstein McClure, Yvette Flunder, Sara Jordan Powell, Daryl Coley, BeBe and CeCe Winans, The Winans, "Detroit" Gary Wiggins, John P. Kee, The O'Neal Twins, Vanessa Bell Armstrong, Rance Allen, Rev. 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 . Elect Lady, International Department of Missions Mother Maddaline Norfleet. In 1933, he set apart five overseers to the Office of Bishop in the church, the first five bishops of COGIC. [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. Clinton is the only US president to have addressed a COGIC convocation at Mason Temple. Her life story led many African-Americans into the Holiness movement, including Mason. Elder Carter called for a Church trial before the COGIC General Assembly and Judicial Board according to the Constitution of the COGIC. Dr. Roy L.H. Most recently, Biola University conferred an honorary doctorate upon him on June 12, 2010. He called for an annual gathering of COGIC members, known as the "International Holy Convocation", to be held in Memphis. Bishop Blake said, "The Church of God in Christ does not compromise its stance against homosexuality as the Word of God condemns it as sin, but "this preacher's" (referring to Earl Carter) comments were unacceptably offensive and uncalled for, and will not be tolerated by the Church of God in Christ or its leadership.
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