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. In 1981, Bishop J.O. Pages in category "Presiding Bishops of the Church of God in Christ". Second Vice Chairman of the National Board of Trustees Attorney Amos Smith. Presiding Bishop Emeritus of the Church of God in Christ, Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches of North America, "COGIC Re-Elects Presiding Bishop Charles E. Blake Sr. as Leader - Afro", "PRESS RELEASE: Presiding Bishop Charles E. Blake, Sr. Will Not Seek Reelection", "Why the Power of the Black Church Matters This Election", "Whitehouse.gov - Inaugural Advisory Council: Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships", Succession of Church of God in Christ Leaders, Historically African-American Christian denominations, First African Baptist Church (Richmond, Virginia), First African Baptist Church (Savannah, Georgia). B. McEwen made conflicting administrative and executive decisions. Military chaplains have also been instrumental in spreading COGIC through military installations. As the church continued to grow, she created women auxiliaries including the Purity Class and the Sunshine Band. During 19101913, two white ministers, Elder H. A. Goss and Elder Leonard P. Adams, were clergy under the authority of C. H. Mason. Historically, women in ministry in COGIC are known as "Missionaries" and are designated in two categories: Deaconess Missionary, and Evangelist Missionary. Divorce is considered inconsistent with biblical teachings and is highly discouraged as well, but exceptions are made for special circumstances. Co Directors of the Men's Department Bishop Michael B. This group of seven bishops became known officially as the executive commission; they took on greater responsibility over church affairs until Mason's death. Chairman of the National Judiciary Board Bishop Martin Luther Johnson. Bishop O. T. Jones Sr, however, did not leave the COGIC. It was destroyed by fire in 1936. [58], Her successor, Lillian Brooks Coffey (19451964) was the organizer of the Women's International Convention to support the work of foreign missionaries. [12] Mason stayed in Los Angeles for five weeks and his visit to the Azusa Street Revival changed the direction of the newly formed holiness church. The international headquarters is in Memphis, Tennessee. Nevertheless, women are licensed in COGIC to proclaim the gospel as evangelists. We believe that there is One God, eternally existent in three persons, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. [1] [2] Early life [ edit] Bishop Blake is married to Mae Lawrence Blake, a native of Michigan, and they have three children together, Charles Blake II (Jr.), Lawrence Blake, and Kimberly Blake, and they have eight grandchildren.[6]. At the 1907 COGIC Convocation held in Jackson, a separation occurred among Jones and other leaders in the church because of such disagreements. [37] The National Council of Churches ranks it as the fifth largest Christian denomination in the U.S.[38] COGIC is a HolinessPentecostal Christian denomination,[2][4] with a predominantly African-American membership. [45] It teaches that salvation is a work of grace brought about through faith in Jesus Christ; it does not promulgate nor encourage the doctrine of eternal security, also known as "once saved, always saved. James Moore, Thomas Whitfield (singer), Deniece Williams, Hubert Powell, Donnie McClurkin, LaShun Pace, The Anointed Pace Sisters, Dr. Bettye Ransom Nelson, Bishop Richard "Mr. Clean" White, Bishop Paul S. Morton, The Clark Sisters: (Jacky Clark-Chisholm, Elbernita "Twinkie" Clark, Dorinda Clark-Cole and Karen Clark-Sheard). Presiding Bishop J. 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. 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 public education was segregated and underfunded by white officials in the South through most of the tenure of the first major leader, this school became a destination for parents wanting their children to have high-quality education. In Chicago, Ford organized voter registration initiatives. Evangelist Goldia Haynes, Elder Utah Smith, Madame Earnestine Washington, and Marion Williams continued COGIC's influence throughout the fifties and sixties. 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. In 1988, after a thirteen-year exodus from COGIC, Bishop G. E. Patterson returned as the founding Prelate of the newly formed Tennessee Fourth Jurisdiction. 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. Patterson in March 2007. [55], A 2014 statistical study from the Pew Research Center Forum on Religion & Public Life, reported that most members of COGIC usually got married between the ages of 25 and 30, and that over 42% of COGIC members between the ages of 25 and 65+ were married, at least 19% were divorced or separated, 32% were never married, and at least 5% were widowed. Bishop Prince E. W. Bryant Sr. Board member (2021present). Lizzie Woods Robinson (19111945) was the first "General Mother" of the church. Some pastor's wives have served as pastor of congregations usually after the death of a pastor sometimes serving under the title of "shepherdess, shepherd mother, or church administrator. Secretary of the Board of Bishops Bishop William Watson, III. In 1916, a few white churches were organized as a white branch of COGIC. We believe that the Baptism of the Holy Ghost, according to Acts 2:4, is given to believers who ask for it. 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. On June 5, 1951, he selected Bishop A. 1st Assistant Presiding Bishop Bishop Jerry W. Macklin. This list may not reflect recent changes . Elder L. C. Patrick was added to the National Sunday School. 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 Owens led the COGIC in its centennial celebration in 1997 with the theme, "Holiness, a Proven Foundation for a Promising Future!" 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. C. P. Jones and those Holiness leaders who did not embrace the Azusa Revival experience continued as Holiness churches. 2nd Assistant Presiding Bishop Bishop Lawrence M. Wooten. The following 4 pages are in this category, out of 4 total. Religious Figure, former Presiding Bishop of the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), the fourth largest Protestant denominaton in the world. Holy Temple COGIC was the first church to open its doors to the garbage workers. [61] Finally, she changed the visible presence of women in ministry with the introduction of the ministry "habit". The school and college remain closed at present.[29]. Women in COGIC have been influential in the leadership and organization of the church since its inception. Bishop Brandon B. Porter Secretary to the General Board (2021present) and board member (2012present). 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. Overseer E.R. [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. Drew Sheard was born on January 1, 1959, in Detroit, Michigan, to Bishop and Mrs. John Henry Sheard. The Elders' Council met and organized the first Missions board of the Church of God in Christ. The church believes that women are gifted and called to ministry; it does not, however, officially ordain women to the office of elder, pastor, or bishop. Remarriage is usually highly discouraged, except in the case of the death of a spouse or former spouse. He believed that the name, taken from 1 Thessalonians 2:14, was divinely revealed and biblically inspired. In November 2012, Bishop Blake was re-elected again to serve a four-year term as the Presiding Bishop. 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. COGIC members gathered for praying, fasting, teaching, preaching, fellowship and conducting business related to the national COGIC organization. COGIC teaches the deity of Jesus Christ, his virgin birth, sinless life, physical death, burial, resurrection, ascension and visible return to the earth. Her predecessor was Evangelist Dr. Rita Womack of Los Angeles, California. Mason Theological Seminary to train its ministers and ministry leaders. He consecrated and appointed more than 100 bishops during his twenty-one years of leadership. 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. The church started with only 50 members in 1969 when he became pastor. 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. He also served as the Presiding Prelate of the New Jersey Garden State Jurisdiction and the Central Georgia Jurisdiction. "Bishop Mason was one who lifted African Americans who were former slaves and the children of slaves, lifted them up from the degradation of slavery, ex-slavery, the brokenness of poverty,". 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. "[91] Bishop Blake apologized to a young man (Andrew C. Caldwell) who, following Superintendent Carter's message, came forward to proclaim that he had been delivered from homosexuality. The first Sunday School Superintendent was Professor L. W. Lee (19081916). To be consistent with progressive measures and modernization, in the Nineties, the international church along with many local COGIC churches began to use the term "youth department" instead of "YPWW. " As African Americans migrated north and west to industrial cities during the Great Migration, he began to establish COGIC churches in the north and, especially after 1940, in the west. 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. He also instituted the Annual Prayer Breakfast, conducted Evangelistic Crusades across the country and developed the Church of God in Christ National Evangelist Registry. He is credited with helping to secure the steel needed to construct Mason Temple which was virtually impossible during World War II.[52]. Bishop Sheard is a former mathematics teacher and . Patterson, former presiding bishop 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. During World War I, the FBI opened a file on Bishop Mason and conducted surveillance on him because of his pacifism during the war. Among those who died after reportedly contracting the virus were: First Assistant Presiding Bishop Phillip A. Brooks, a preacher, and leader from Detroit who was No. The first convention was held in Los Angeles, California, in 1951. Green. Dr. Mattie McGlothen (19751994) the fourth General Supervisor, was a tremendous organizer with great impact on the development of the Women's Department. She revolutionized and reorganized the music ministry to become a leading department in the church. Bishop Mason appointed her as a young woman to be head of the small school in 1926, after she had been teaching there. Hall Sr. Board member (2021present). 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 . There are more than 200 ecclesiastical jurisdictions around the world, with 170 in the United States. Vice Chairman of the Board of Bishops Bishop Roger L. Jones. We believe in the Blessed Hope, which is the rapture of the Church of God, which is in Christ, at His return. Drew Sheard is a former public-school teacher. A. Blake, Jr., who is also a bishop and pastor in the COGIC denomination in San Diego, California. She was the Jurisdictional Supervisor of Women for California Northern First Jurisdiction. Drew Sheard. 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. Some of these African-American Baptist pastors in local Southern areas such as Mississippi, Tennessee, and Arkansas considered Jones and Mason to be controversial. 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. There seemed no prospect of an integrated Pentecostal movement under the leadership of an African-American such as C. H. 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. He became nationally recognized in 1955 for officiating at the funeral of 15-year-old Emmett Till, who was brutally murdered in Mississippi. As COGIC continued to grow, the various departments began the practice of convening annually to conduct the business unique of their ministries. These offices are found in every local, district, and jurisdiction to support development and growth of the Sunday School. Together he and his wife, Karen, founded Karew Records, a faith-based record label focusing on various forms of Gospel, Christian and Inspirational music. Mason as General Overseer and Chief Apostle. A.) Assistant Elect Lady, COGIC World Missions-Supervisor Lee E.Van Zandt. After being removed from the office of Senior Bishop, he remained the Jurisdictional Bishop of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania until his death in 1972. [44], COGIC teaches that salvation is the work of redemption to the sinner and his restoration to divine favor and communion with God. Salvation is an operation of the Holy Spirit upon sinners brought about by repentance toward God, which brings about conversion, faith, justification, and regeneration. The current chairman of AIM is Bishop Linwood E. Dillard of Memphis, TN.[62]. Bishop Blake is an ardent advocate of education and academic excellence, who holds multiple academic and honorary degrees, from various educational institutions. 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. [49] The church does not practice infant baptisms or christenings, but does conduct baby dedications in formal ceremonies. Jurisdictions are set up similar to the national church in terms of composition, polity, and procedure. 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]. 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. Bishop Sheard was inducted into the prestigious Morehouse College Martin Luther King, Jr. Board of Preachers. In November 1975, at the National Holy Convocation in Memphis, TN., with the consent of the General Board, Bishop Carlis Moody Sr. of Evanston, Illinois, was appointed by Bishop J. O. Patterson to be president of the Department of Home and Foreign Missions. 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 . Save Africa's Children, a program of PACF, currently provides support to over 220 charity missions and orphanages throughout sub-Saharan Africa. He re-ignited the church to be a flagship Pentecostal denomination. It was reopened in the early 1990s under the administration of Bishop L.H. After graduating from high school, he matriculated to Wayne State. Mother Willie Mae Rivers (19972017) of Goose Creek, South Carolina, succeeded Mother Crouch. 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. [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. 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 the 1990's and early 2000's, Blake also penned articles for Ebony and Christianity Today noting the importance of the Black Church's influence on presidential elections and American politics and society in general. The church has more than 3,000 churches in Asia, and 2,000 churches in the Caribbean and South America. 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. Jurisdictions range in size between 30 and 100 churches. [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. [96][97][98][99], This article is about the Holiness Pentecostal denomination. He was a noted evangelist who had pastored several churches, including: Bostick Temple in St. Louis, Missouri; Well's Cathedral COGIC in Newark, New Jersey; and Greater Community COGIC in Marietta, Georgia. Missions work in COGIC began under Elder Searcy in 1925. [32], Bishop Chandler David Owens Sr. was elected Presiding Bishop after the death of Bishop Ford in 1995. Adjutant General Bishop Dickerson L. S. Wells Sr.. General Supervisor, Department of Women Mother Barbara McCoo Lewis. 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. [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. [12] On November 15, 2016, Bishop Blake was reelected as the Presiding Bishop of the Church of God in Christ during the 2016 COGIC Election held by the COGIC General Assembly to a third four-year term. Over time, the ministers and churches under Leonard P. Adams also separated from COGIC; they assimilated into other white Pentecostal groups or organizations. She began women's work on the state level and appointed the first state mothers. He was elected as the denomination's leader on March 27, 2021. He self-identifies as Bishop/CEO of his newly organized fellowship called the 7000 Club (not to be confused with The 700 Club from Pat Robertson). These elders became the first Pentecostal General Assembly of the Church of God in Christ. Although headquartered in Memphis, COGIC's leaders . When she died in 1945, she had laid an impressive foundation for the women's ministry in COGIC. The ordinances of the church are water baptism by immersion, the Lord's Supper and foot washing. In 1982, Patterson led COGIC in its Diamond Jubilee, in a celebration of the International Holy Convocation. [35], In 2016, the Church had 5.5 million members in 60 countries around the world. Secretary of the General Council of Pastors and Elders Superintendent Prince W. Bryant, II. The current General Supervisor of Women is Dr. Barbara McCoo Lewis of Los Angeles, California. [48] COGIC clergy are also encouraged to have a certain degree of training in marriage counseling as well. 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. Mitchell#, national evangelist, pastor, St. Andrew, Denton, TX, Carlis L. Moody#, foreign missionary, jurisdictional bishop emeritus, Germany Jurisdiction; pastor, Faith Temple, Evanston, IL, Eugene Franklin Rivers, political activist, pastor, Azusa Christian Community, Boston, MA, William Roberts#, jurisdictional bishop, Illinois First Jurisdiction, pastor, Robert's Temple, Chicago, IL, John Drew Sheard, general board member, jurisdictional bishop, Michigan North Central Jurisdiction; pastor, Greater Emmanuel Institutional, Detroit, MI, Nathan Simmons#, national evangelist, pastor, Citadel of Hope Evangelistic, Atlanta, GA, Robert James Ward#, jurisdictional bishop, Eastern Missouri First Jurisdiction; pastor, Historic Kennerly Temple, St. Louis, MO, Wyoming Wells#, jurisdictional bishop, Greater North Carolina Jurisdiction; pastor, Well's Memorial, Greensboro, NC; Well's Chapel, Greenville, NC, Frank Otha White#, General Board Member, Jurisdictional Bishop, New York Eastern Third Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction; Pastor, Zion Cathedral, Freeport, NY, David Lawrence Williams Sr.#, general board member, jurisdictional bishop, Virginia Second Jurisdiction; pastor, Mason Memorial, Norfolk, VA, Levi Edgar Willis#, radio and television personality, jurisdictional bishop, Virginia Third Jurisdiction; pastor, Garden of Prayer Temple, Norfolk, VA, Roy Lawrence Hailey Winbush#, general board member, jurisdictional bishop, Louisiana First Jurisdiction; pastor, Gethsemane, Lafayette, LA, Bishop Richard Mr. [33] C. E. Blake served as the Presiding Prelate of the First Jurisdiction of Southern California. As the International Holy Convocation grew to thousands, COGIC leaders had to negotiate with city officials to provide hotel accommodations for the saints. It can be spoken of as the individual and the collective, physical and spiritual. Bishop Jerry W. Macklin First Assistant Presiding Bishop (2021present) and board member (2004present). 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). The denomination considers these to be inconsistent with COGIC doctrine and teaching.