Sin was transmitted to humanity when Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, as a result all men have original sin. Bishop Michael E. Hill Assistant Secretary to the General Board (2021present) and board member (2021present). 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. 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. We believe that the regeneration by the Holy Ghost is absolutely essential for personal salvation. 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. By 1906, the church had grown to nearly 100 congregations in three states. Vice President of COGIC World Missions-Bishop Nate' M. Jefferson. Bishop John Drew Sheard Sr., who had previously been elected to the General Board in 2012 and 2016, was reelected to the General Board and subsequently elected as the current Presiding Bishop on March 20, 2021, in the first-ever virtual online election for the denomination. It teaches that sanctification should precede the baptism with the Holy Spirit. Thereafter, missionaries were sent to Africa and the islands of the Caribbean, Asia, and elsewhere. The General Board is the Executive Branch of the Church of God in Christ government. In addition, the office certifies delegates to the General Assembly, publishes official documents and certificates, maintains the official record of General Assembly proceedings, distributes pertinent information to the constituents of the Church, plays a pivotal role in church: legal matters, collects and reports church statistics, maintains an accurate database of credential holders, officers, churches and jurisdictions, and keeps an archive of historical documents from across the church, including, books, national and jurisdictional records, and photographs and memorabilia of historical value. Secretary of the General Council of Pastors and Elders Superintendent Prince W. Bryant, II. The denomination reports having more than 12,000 churches and over 6.5 million members in the United States. 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. 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. However, the General Assembly vested authority in the executive board composed of the seven bishops selected by Bishop Mason before his death. She served as chairperson of the board of supervisors, member, Executive Board, member, Screening Committee, member, Program Committee General Church, coordinator, Leadership Conference, International Marshall, secretary, and Assistant General Supervisor for the Department of Women. She was the wife and companion of Bishop John Seth Bailey, a trusted adviser of Bishop Mason, and later the first assistant presiding bishop of the church. He was denied such trial in 2016. Rev. He believed that the name, taken from 1 Thessalonians 2:14, was divinely revealed and biblically inspired. They were given the authority through a "gentlemen's agreement" to license ministers and establish churches under the COGIC name. 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. COGIC does not teach that Spirit baptism is the same as salvation. The Elders' Council met and organized the first Missions board of the Church of God in Christ. Patterson, Evangelist Joyce L Rodgers#, Jurisdictional Supervisor, Former Chairlady of Youth Dept., international evangelist, Dr. Lytia R. Howard, Emeritus, President of the Sunshine Band, COGIC Pastor, Mother Leatha Herndon Chapman Tucker#, church organizer, national evangelist, Mother Elizabeth White#, foreign missionary, Dr. Rita Womack, national evangelist, former Elect Lady, Mother Willa Mary Collins#, founding First Lady of Holy Trinity Church of God in Christ in Evansville, Indiana. Bishop Charles H. McClelland Board member (2021present). [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. Today the International Women's Convention/Crusade meets annually in May in different cities throughout the nation drawing thousands of women from around the world. COGIC policies and bylaws have also been established regarding sexual misconduct of COGIC clergy and laymembers for disciplinary purposes. [44], COGIC teaches that salvation is the work of redemption to the sinner and his restoration to divine favor and communion with God. Not everyone in the church were willing to accept "speaking in tongues" as the initial evidence of baptism of the Holy Ghost. 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. The first general secretary of COGIC was Elder William B. Holt, a white minister. The general assembly elects a 12-person general board (presidium) every four years from the college of bishops, who serve functionally as apostles of the church. Bishop Blake also won a defamation lawsuit in 2016 against Earl Carter, who was ordered to remove all defamatory videos and to cease and desist from further conduct disparaging Bishop Blake. The church has a tradition of prayer, fasting, praise, and consecration that was once unique to Holiness or Holiness Pentecostal groups. COGIC believes "that if such a case arises, the mother should pray and seek the wisdom and guidance of God and the Holy Spirit on whether or not they should resort to emergency abortion if it is necessary to save her life," but if not, the Church traditionally encourages expecting mothers to "seek God's guidance for other options and choices regarding their unborn child so that they do not have to choose aborting it, and can safely go through with their pregnancy until childbirth. Hall Sr. Board member (2021present). Bishop Patterson was also to date the youngest person to ever be elected presiding bishop of COGIC at the age of 56; the second youngest was his nephew Gilbert Earl (G.E.) Education was considered key to advancement of the race. Evangelist Goldia Haynes, Elder Utah Smith, Madame Earnestine Washington, and Marion Williams continued COGIC's influence throughout the fifties and sixties. During the tenure of Bishop G.E. For a brief period of time, the YPWW Congress was combined with the Sunday School Congress in a joint convention until 1951. Bishop Carlis Moody immediately began to reorganize the Missions Department, giving new guidelines. 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. After being removed from the office of Senior Bishop, he remained the Jurisdictional Bishop of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania until his death in 1972. In 2015, after more than 40 years of faithful service, Bishop Carlis L. Moody was emeritized as Bishop of Missions. COGIC licensed female evangelists may also serve as chaplains in military, federal, state, and local institutions requiring chaplains. In 2017, Presiding Bishop Charles E. Blake appointed gospel artist and Evangelist Dr. Dorinda Clark Cole of Detroit, Michigan as the Elect Lady. This group of seven bishops became known officially as the executive commission; they took on greater responsibility over church affairs until Mason's death. Then in 1946, the YPWW Department was combined with the Sunday School Department for joint conventions until 1951 when they were separated once again. Bishop Malcolm W. Coby Board member (2021present). Mother Lillian Coffey appointed Mother Reatha Herndon as president of the National Women's Evangelist Board in 1951. Patterson appointed Dr. Edward Lee Battles President of the Department of Evangelism. The Church of God in Christ (COGIC) is a predominantly African-American Pentecostal Christian denomination, headquartered at Mason Temple in Memphis, Tennessee. We believe that there is One God, eternally existent in three persons, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Also send a copy to the General Secretary Bishop Lyle. 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. 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]. He was elected as the denomination's leader on March 27, 2021. 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. In 2014, at the COGIC International Holy Convocation held in St. Louis, Missouri, COGIC minister Elder Earl Carter was selected by the General Board to be the keynote speaker for Saturday night. [47] COGIC regards homosexuality, infidelity, and any other forms of sexual immorality that does not agree with Biblical scripture as sinful. President, International Department of Missions Bishop Vincent Matthews Jr.. 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. He established COGIC Charities which has provided thousands of dollars in college scholarships and disaster relief efforts such as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. 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). COGIC considers any physical, sexual relationship outside of the sanctity of marriage to be outside of the sovereign will of God and unbiblical. Mother Jennie Bell Dancy Jones of Arkansas became the first National Field Representative under Bishop Patrick. 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". A new constitution and official manual of the church were completed in 1973. These departments include: the Women's Department, the Sunday School Department, the Youth Department known as Y.P.W.W. Some of these African-American Baptist pastors in local Southern areas such as Mississippi, Tennessee, and Arkansas considered Jones and Mason to be controversial. Bishop Patterson was the second youngest person to ever be elected Presiding Bishop of COGIC at the age 60 in 2000, second to his uncle, Bishop J. O. Patterson Sr. who was 56 when he was elected Presiding Bishop in 1968. Winbush was selected to serve as the first chairman. The Ecclesiastical Jurisdictional Pastors and Elders Council is the gate way to the COGIC Judicial system. This system HAS BEEN LICENSED FOR USE BY the General Secretary's and Financial Secretary's Offices of the Church Of God In Christ. During World War I, the FBI opened a file on Bishop Mason and conducted surveillance on him because of his pacifism during the war. 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. The general assembly meets biannually each year in April and November while the presidium acts as the executive branch of the church, overseeing the day-to-day operation when the general assembly is not in session. She was greatly interested in the building of Mason Temple and she kept her national building fund drives functioning until she knew the building was ready for dedication. 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. [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. The General Secretary is the official keeper of the COGIC seal, Registered Agent for the Church and signatory on all official documents. Throughout the dispute, Elder Carter made allegations against Bishop Blake for impropriety, sexual misconduct, and abuse of power as presiding bishop. 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. National officers of the church are chosen at the general assembly every four years unless special elections are warranted. 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. Chairman of AIM Bishop Linwood Dillard. Vice Chairman of the General Assembly Bishop Jerry W. Maynard. 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. Many mainline denominations and countless nondenominational churches that once rejected these beliefs and practices have adopted these distinctions in their worship liturgy and lifestyle practices. These elders became the first Pentecostal General Assembly of the Church of God in Christ. Supervisor Irene Oakley#, pastor, supervisor, bishop's wife, Mother Louise Patterson, evangelist, former first lady and wife of G.E. 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