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. He was one of the nine members of the strategy committee that organized the sanitation strike in Memphis. He is also known for his aggressive initiative, "Save Africa's Children" which supports hundreds of African children who have been affected by HIV/AIDS in orphanages in several countries in Africa. Dr. Mattie McGlothen (19751994) the fourth General Supervisor, was a tremendous organizer with great impact on the development of the Women's Department. General Treasurer Bishop Charles Harrison Mason Patterson Sr.. Financial Secretary Bishop Frank A. The most notable rift occurred in 1969, when fourteen bishops met in Evanston, Illinois, to form the Church of God in Christ, International. Succession of Church of God in Christ Leaders. He was elected four times uncontested as presiding bishop. [32], Bishop Chandler David Owens Sr. was elected Presiding Bishop after the death of Bishop Ford in 1995. Drew Sheard elected as COGIC's new presiding bishop; two Memphis bishops elected to general board Sheard, 62, was elected in late March to lead the predominantly African American . "[92], Elder Carter was attempting to address members of COGIC as to sexual misconduct, and specifically, homosexual practices. [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. Chairman of the National Board of Trustees Bishop Dwight E. Walls Sr.. First Vice Chairman of the National Board of Trustees Superintendent Melton Timmons. Blake was the fifth Presiding Bishop (and seventh leader) of the historically African-American denomination from 2007 to 2021. During his administration, Battles organized Regions to oversee evangelistic ministry in various regional areas across the country. Mother Jennie Bell Dancy Jones of Arkansas became the first National Field Representative under Bishop Patrick. [20], The first national tabernacle was built and completed in 1925. 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. 2nd Assistant Presiding Bishop Bishop Lawrence M. Wooten. In 2010, Bishop Blake led more than 50,000 delegates to the 103rd International Holy Convocation to St. Louis, Missouri. Bishop Sheard has over 30 years of leadership in the Church of God in Christ. Divorce is considered inconsistent with biblical teachings and is highly discouraged as well, but exceptions are made for special circumstances. (19721994). World headquarters are in Memphis, Tennessee at Mason Temple. According to Alex Haley, "He and his wife then received bomb threats at home and at church." 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. Chairman of the General Council of Pastors and Elders Superintendent Michael Eaddy. By 1906, the church had grown to nearly 100 congregations in three states. All rights reserved. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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. Dr. Valerie Daniels Carter, entrepreneur, Jurisdictional Supervisor, Dr. Dorinda Clark Cole, International Elect Lady of Evangelism Dept., international evangelist. The three-year-initiative with The Human Coalition was also supposed to encourage local COGIC clergy leaders across the United States, both male and female, to partner up with other anti-abortion advocacy groups and Christian ministries to lobby for more anti-abortion restrictions throughout local states.[51]. He continued to build on the department through expansion of the Regional Administration into 10 geographical locations across the country. Student Aid a ministry of support to foreign students. He also established the COGIC national headquarters there. 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. 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). They exist today as adversaries to the kingdom, purpose and will of God. 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. 2 in the denomination and whose death was reported by The Detroit News; Bishop Timothy Scott, a leader for nearly 50 years of the denomination in Mississippi whose death was reported [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]. Together they traveled across the country proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In 2010 Superintendent J. The Holy Spirit is the agent that equips, empowers, leads, and guides the church until the return of Christ. 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. The pair modeled the pastor and wife ministry team in COGIC. As a compassionate advocate for the advancement of Gods Kingdom, he is committed to accomplishing Gods agenda as both a leader and a laborer, reaping a harvest of souls. Co Directors of the Men's Department Bishop Michael B. She also established the Mattie McGlothen Library and Museum in Richmond, California, as a resource for COGIC historical facts and memorabilia. B. McEwen, came to a head and was addressed at the 57th Holy Convocation. [15], COGIC originated among African Americans in the Southern states of Mississippi, Arkansas, and Tennessee. A. Jeter was selected as Overseer of Arkansas. During World War I, the FBI opened a file on Bishop Mason and conducted surveillance on him because of his pacifism during the war. (Young People Willing Workers), and Missions and Evangelism. Upon his return to Jackson, Mississippi, Mason faced opposition when he recounted his experience. COGIC teaches that the Holy Spirit is alive and active in the world. She organized the sewing circle and after meeting Elder Searcy, she encouraged the women to support mission work through the Home and Foreign Mission bands. 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. In April 2018, Presiding Bishop Charles Blake along with Lee Saunders, Andrew Young, DeMaurice Smith, and Brian Dunn coordinated the "I AM 2018 Mountaintop Conference" at the historic Mason Temple in Memphis to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. COGIC believes marriage is a monogamous sacred, civil, and legal union between a husband and wife that is recognized as a covenant between them and God for the purpose of the couple being a helpmate to each other and raising a family together. [94][95], After the November 2016 COGIC Holy Convocation, Carter left the COGIC denomination because Blake had been re-elected as the Presiding Bishop. 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. Jurisdictions range in size between 30 and 100 churches. Adelle M. Banks. The following 4 pages are in this category, out of 4 total. There are more than 200 ecclesiastical jurisdictions around the world, with 170 in the United States. Patterson in March 2007. He consecrated and appointed more than 100 bishops during his twenty-one years of leadership. At the 1907 COGIC Convocation held in Jackson, a separation occurred among Jones and other leaders in the church because of such disagreements. 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. [8][9] In 1984, after the death of his father, he was ordained and consecrated as a jurisdictional bishop of the First Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of Southern California for the COGIC denomination, and remained in that position until 2009 when he stepped down from the position to dedicate himself fully to the duties of the Office of the Presiding Bishop. COGIC does not teach that Spirit baptism is the same as salvation. Mason was given authority to lead the new denomination. Helm Baptist Church in Jackson, Mississippi, attended by Mason and others from several states. 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 . Together he and his wife, Karen, founded Karew Records, a faith-based record label focusing on various forms of Gospel, Christian and Inspirational music. 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. After being ejected for accepting these new Pentecostal teachings, Mason called a meeting in Memphis later in the year and reorganized the Church of God in Christ as a Holiness-Pentecostal body. Mother Dorothy Exume#, foreign missionary, Evangelist Reatha D. Herndon#, first and longest-serving elect Lady, church organizer, national evangelist, Supervisor Deola Wells Johnson, national evangelist, jurisdictional supervisor, Evangelist Maria Gardner Langston, COGIC pastor, national evangelist, former Elect Lady, Mother Elsie Washington Mason#, third and final wife of Bishop Mason, Mother Lelia Washington Mason#, second wife of Bishop Mason. Demons exist as manifestation of evil or unclean spirits. Bishop Malcolm W. Coby Board member (2021present). White. During the formative stages of COGIC, Bishop Mason organized departments to further support the work of the church as it continued to grow and expand. Mother Deborah Mason Patterson#, daughter of founder, Bishop Mason and wife of first presiding bishop James O. Patterson Sr. 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. It also increasingly stressed high academic standards so that its graduates could go to normal school or college, especially to teach other African Americans. He is known to many as being an eloquent, compassionate and practical leader, as well as a humanitarian and an advocate with a God-given gift for ministering to the whole man. In 2021 he was again re-elected Bishop as a member of the Presidium (General Board) of the Church of God in Christ, Inc., at that time he was also subsequently elected to the Office of the Presiding Bishop as Chief Apostle. COGIC became a staple of gospel music under the guidance and leadership of Dr. Mattie Moss Clark. He gave the eulogy for Till at Robert's Temple COGIC in 1955. In 2017, Presiding Bishop Charles E. Blake appointed gospel artist and Evangelist Dr. Dorinda Clark Cole of Detroit, Michigan as the Elect Lady. The ordinances of the church are water baptism by immersion, the Lord's Supper and foot washing. In 1981, Bishop J.O. President, International Department of Missions Bishop Vincent Matthews Jr.. This seasonal period was selected because most of the COGIC members were farmers and were finished harvesting their crops around this time. 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. At its first convocation held in 1897, the group identified simply as the "Church of God." In 2009 he was appointed as a member of Barack Obama's Inaugural Advisory Council of the Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships where he served for one year on the council. A. Blake, Jr., who is also a bishop and pastor in the COGIC denomination in San Diego, California. [26], The parties filed lawsuits in the Chancery Court of Shelby County, Tennessee, to resolve the legitimate authority of the denomination. Gilbert. Save Africa's Children, a program of PACF, currently provides support to over 220 charity missions and orphanages throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Welcome to the Official Church Of God In Christ, Inc Online Store Dismiss. [29] In 1926, upon the recommendation of Mother Lizzie Roberson, Elder C. G. Brown of Kansas City Missouri, was appointed the first Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Home and Foreign Missions Department by Bishop C. H. Mason. Other leaders of the Youth Department who leader became influential leaders of the church included: Bishop F.D. [5] Although an international and multi-ethnic religious organization, it has a predominantly African-American membership based within the United States. G. E. Patterson established the Temple of Deliverance, the Cathedral of Bountiful Blessing which grew to become the largest Pentecostal church in Memphis with over 14,000 members. Elder L. C. Patrick was added to the National Sunday School. During the tenure of Bishop L. H. Ford as Presiding Bishop in the 1990s, he helped gain COGIC membership into the Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches of North America, a more diverse, international caucus of different Pentecostal church denominations and organizations that sought to heal the racial divides in the North American Pentecostal movement.[57]. Superintendent, International Sunday School Department Superintendent Mark Ellis. All officers are elected by the General Assembly. After graduating from high school, he matriculated to Wayne State. He is credited with systematically restructuring church departments and ministries, expanding the church in Asia, primarily India and the Philippines, and placing the COGIC on a solid financial status. They were also instrumental in establishing 75 churches across the nation. Bishop Michael E. Hill Assistant Secretary to the General Board (2021present) and board member (2021present). 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. Mallory retired in 1976 after fifty years of service; and she had a national reputation. After the death of Bishop Mason, he assumed leadership as the Senior Bishop of the Church of God in Christ. [11] In 2016, Bishop Blake was appointed as the Co-Chairperson to the leadership council of the Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches of North America. It was also around this time, that he married his wife, Mae Lawrence Blake, a native of Michigan and daughter of another COGIC bishop and pastor, and they had three children together, Charles Blake, Jr., Lawrence "Larry" Blake, and Kimberly Blake. [96][97][98][99], This article is about the Holiness Pentecostal denomination. He is an example of servant leadership and has become a voice to the nations to uphold the standards of holiness. Mason Theological Seminary to train its ministers and ministry leaders. She established new auxiliaries including the International Hospitality Unit, the Educational and Bishop's Wives Scholarship funds, WE-12 and Lavender Ladies. In 1988, he was installed as Pastor of Greater Emmanuel Church. Church Of God In Christ, Inc. 2015-23. His passion for meeting the needs of the whole man reaches globally through his humanitarian efforts. Thereafter, missionaries were sent to Africa and the islands of the Caribbean, Asia, and elsewhere. Secretary of the General Council of Pastors and Elders Superintendent Prince W. Bryant, II. We believe in the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit, by whose indwelling a Christian is enabled to live a holy and separated life in the present world. During the 1940s and 50s, Bishop Mason often invited the white elected officials of the city of Memphis to the International Holy Convocation on Civic Night. She served as the jurisdictional supervisor of several states including Maryland and New Jersey helping to establish and stabilize struggling jurisdictions. 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). They exist primarily in the spiritual realm and are organized according to duty and function. [31], Bishop Ford also renovated several COGIC structures in Memphis, including Mason Temple. They determined to separate from COGIC and form what would eventually become the Worldwide Fellowship of the Assemblies of God. 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. [29] She is also the Jurisdictional Supervisor of Women for the South Carolina Jurisdiction. Bishop Prince E. W. Bryant Sr. Board member (2021present). Sister Church Support Ministry a church in the USA giving support to a church on the mission field. Supervisor Irene Oakley#, pastor, supervisor, bishop's wife, Mother Louise Patterson, evangelist, former first lady and wife of G.E. The international membership of COGIC is estimated be between one and three million adherents. In 1984 and 1988 respectively, Rev. During 19101913, two white ministers, Elder H. A. Goss and Elder Leonard P. Adams, were clergy under the authority of C. H. Mason. In 1916, a few white churches were organized as a white branch of COGIC. The denomination considers these to be inconsistent with COGIC doctrine and teaching. 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. They unanimously chose C.H. By. It was reopened in the early 1990s under the administration of Bishop L.H. Not everyone in the church were willing to accept "speaking in tongues" as the initial evidence of baptism of the Holy Ghost. YPWW became a distinctive trademark for COGIC and the principle training institute usually meeting on Sunday night prior to evening worship services. The school closed in 1977 after her death, as it struggled financially in a period when some families were choosing integrated schools for their children. Bishop Brandon B. Porter Secretary to the General Board (2021present) and board member (2012present). Bishop O. T. Jones Sr, however, did not leave the COGIC. 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. In November 2008, Bishop Blake was re-elected to serve a four-year term as Presiding Bishop. 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. [21], In 1907, there were ten COGIC churches, but by the time of Bishop Mason's death in 1961, COGIC had spread to every state in the United States and to many foreign countries. He established the World Fellowship of Black Pentecostal Churches and gained COGIC membership in the Congress of National Black Churches. This list may not reflect recent changes . Robinson was a staunch advocate for holiness and taught strict guidelines for the women with regard to dress and worldliness. She began women's work on the state level and appointed the first state mothers. 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. 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. Originally, this gathering of the 'Saints' lasted for twenty days, from November 25 to December 14. In 1982, he was selected by Ebony magazine as one of the 15 "Greatest Preachers in America". Bishop J. As the first elected presiding bishop, Bishop Patterson Sr. established the Charles Harrison Mason Seminary in Atlanta, Georgia. 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.
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