Bishop Brandon B. Porter Secretary to the General Board (2021present) and board member (2012present). Assistant General Treasurer Bishop Kendall Anderson. Supervisor Irene Oakley#, pastor, supervisor, bishop's wife, Mother Louise Patterson, evangelist, former first lady and wife of G.E. She is also the Jurisdictional Supervisor for the First Jurisdiction, Southern California. Born in Birmingham, Alabama on October 2, 1931, Bishop Owens started preaching as a young child. After the death of Bishop Mason, he assumed leadership as the Senior Bishop of the Church of God in Christ. Secretary of the Board of Bishops Bishop William Watson, III. She led its expansion and emphasized high academic standards, disciplined behavior, and prayer. His dream was to establish an international ministry complex known as "Saints Center" and an accredited institution known as "All Saints University". 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. [29] The spread of COGIC was due largely to the efforts of its evangelists through crusades and revivals. 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. Bishop Jerry W. Macklin First Assistant Presiding Bishop (2021present) and board member (2004present). [5] He officially retired on March 19, 2021, and was succeeded by Bishop J. In 1895, C.P. Jones and C.H. Mason were licensed Baptist ministers in Mississippi who began teaching and preaching a Wesleyan doctrine of Christian perfection or entire sanctification as a second work of grace to their Baptist congregations. Music Dept. [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. He continued to build on the department through expansion of the Regional Administration into 10 geographical locations across the country. Protestant doctrinal debates about Calvinism and Wesleyan Perfectionism affected how even local African-American Baptist pastors responded to new Christian movements at the time. Bishop Blake is an ardent advocate of education and academic excellence, who holds multiple academic and honorary degrees, from various educational institutions. Bishop Michael E. Hill Assistant Secretary to the General Board (2021present) and board member (2021present). The first convention was held in Los Angeles, California, in 1951. His decision means that the Feb. 23 Quadrennial Election will vote-in a new Presiding Bishop. Assistant Elect Lady, COGIC World Missions-Supervisor Lee E.Van Zandt. Save Africa's Children, a program of PACF, currently provides support to over 220 charity missions and orphanages throughout sub-Saharan Africa. 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. 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. A. Blackwell, E. M. Blackwell, E. M. Page, R. H. I. Clark, D. J. Bishop Mason appointed her as a young woman to be head of the small school in 1926, after she had been teaching there. New COGIC leader J. Drew Sheard seeks to be a 'unifier' in Memphis Church of God in Christ: COGIC Presiding Bishop Ousted In November 2008, Bishop Blake was re-elected to serve a four-year term as Presiding Bishop. Religious Figure, former Presiding Bishop of the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), the fourth largest Protestant denominaton in the world. Chairman of the National Judiciary Board Bishop Martin Luther Johnson. Pentecostals have been criticized because of their noticeable absence from the official record of activism that has been largely overshadowed by black ministers of other denominations such as Baptists and Methodists; however, there is evidence to verify and document the role and response of COGIC ministers and other Pentecostal denominations to the cause and struggle for Civil Rights in the United States during the 20th Century. [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. The first Sunday School Superintendent was Professor L. W. Lee (19081916). Student Aid a ministry of support to foreign students. Church of God in Christ Elects J. Drew Sheard as New Presiding Bishop Robinson was a staunch advocate for holiness and taught strict guidelines for the women with regard to dress and worldliness. In 1982 he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in . 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. Lizzie Woods Robinson (19111945) was the first "General Mother" of the church. President Moody also added these ministries to the Missions Department:[62]. Porter pointed out that he is based in Memphis. The ordinances of the church are water baptism by immersion, the Lord's Supper and foot washing. [94][95], After the November 2016 COGIC Holy Convocation, Carter left the COGIC denomination because Blake had been re-elected as the Presiding Bishop. [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. Elder Carter called for a Church trial before the COGIC General Assembly and Judicial Board according to the Constitution of the COGIC. 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 Holy Spirit is the agent that equips, empowers, leads, and guides the church until the return of Christ. [5] He officially retired on March 19, 2021, and was succeeded by Bishop J. The general assembly is the supreme authority over the church to decide matters of faith and practice. A visionary, she spearheaded the establishment of the multi-million dollar Hale Morris Lewis Manor, a senior citizen complex in Los Angeles, CA. B. McEwen, Bishop J. S. Bailey, and Bishop O. M. Kelly as his assistants. He is credited with helping to secure the steel needed to construct Mason Temple which was virtually impossible during World War II.[52]. In Chicago, Ford organized voter registration initiatives. The Five Presiding Bishops of the Church Of God In Christ [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. Elder L. C. Patrick was added to the National Sunday School. Bishop L. H. Ford (Former Presiding Bishop COGIC) - Man of God / Man of the People Yuko Ichioka 396 subscribers Subscribe 360 Share 22K views 8 years ago If he were alive, my grandfatherLouis. Drew Sheard, Sr. as Presiding Bishop on March 20, 2021. [49] The church does not practice infant baptisms or christenings, but does conduct baby dedications in formal ceremonies. It teaches that sanctification should precede the baptism with the Holy Spirit. Green. They are fallen angels who joined Satan in his failed attempt to usurp power in Heaven. COGIC believes in divine healing, however, it does not advocate the exclusion of medical supervision. His sons Reverend Charles Blake, Jr. and Reverend Lawrence Blake were officially appointed as the senior pastor and assistant pastor of the church in October of 2022.[13]. F or the first time, the nation's largest Pentecostal and African-American denomination, the 5.5 million-member Church of God in Christ (COGIC), has voted out its presiding bishop. As a Pentecostal church, COGIC teaches that when one is baptized in the Holy Spirit, the believer will experience an initial evidence of speaking in tongues (glossolalia) by the will of God. Page in 1927. A new constitution and official manual of the church were completed in 1973. The study also found that over 70% of COGIC members overwhelmingly opposed the legalizing of same-sex marriage, and considered relationships from infidelity, polygamy, polyamory, and sex outside of marriage as sinful and unbiblical as well.[56]. He has one older brother, J. The presiding bishop and all twelve members of the general board are to be elected every four years and preside over the church when the General Assembly is not in session. The presidium includes a separately elected international presiding bishop by the general assembly who serves a term of four years, who, then appoints two assistant presiding bishops. Welcome to the Official Church Of God In Christ, Inc Online Store Dismiss. 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 . Bishop Carlis Moody immediately began to reorganize the Missions Department, giving new guidelines. The denomination teaches that God gives life to human beings, biologically and spiritually, through the moment of conception in the womb of the mother, using Jeremiah 1:5, Genesis 1:2627, and Psalms 139:1316 as their scriptural basis for this belief. COGIC teaches that the Holy Spirit is alive and active in the world. She also established a musical program. The first youth leader on a national level was Elder M.C. The court ordered the church to convene a constitutional convention in February 1968. The international headquarters is in Memphis, Tennessee. As a result, many local congregations, foreign missions, and schools were established through the leadership and efforts of women in COGIC. [8], In 1897, Elder Mason founded the St. Paul Church in Lexington, Mississippi, as the first church of the new movement. The YPWW department began in 1928 with the convening of its first Youth Congress. These departments include: the Women's Department, the Sunday School Department, the Youth Department known as Y.P.W.W. All rights reserved. B. McEwen made conflicting administrative and executive decisions. They disagreed in having an electoral process to select the presiding bishop.[28]. Bishop David A. 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. Bishop Sheard was inducted into the prestigious Morehouse College Martin Luther King, Jr. Board of Preachers. The three-year initiative would also help encourage COGIC clergy to use their missions and charity ministries in local churches to help offer aid and assistance to African-Americans and people of other ethnic minorities, and people of low incomes in local communities who are considering and contemplating abortion and offer aid and assistance to people dealing with economic and medical issues from pregnancy. COGIC believes, though, that even then in the case of saving the life of the mother, that abortion should still only be considered as a last resort, if all other options to help the mother and the unborn fetus have been thoroughly exhausted. In 1946, the National Sunday School Congress began to meet with the Young People's Willing Workers (YPWW) Congress. Drew Sheard was consecrated as Jurisdictional Bishop, succeeding Bishop Herbert J. Williams, Sr., the founding prelate of North Central Michigan Jurisdiction. However, in 1996, the umbrella format was revised under the administration of Bishop C.D. Young, James Brewer, Daniel Spearman, and J. H. Boone. These women have been listed for their significant contributions and impact to the church. Herndon and her twin sister Leatha were pioneers of the evangelistic work of the Church of God in Christ. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Vice Chairman of the National Judiciary Board Bishop Enoch Perry. [39], COGIC is a trinitarian Holiness Pentecostal denomination. Blake was the fifth Presiding Bishop (and seventh leader) of the historically African-American denomination from 2007 to 2021. Secretary of the National Board of Trustees Dr. T. Lynn Smith. Church of God in Christ names Detroit's Bishop J. Drew Sheard new According to its 1973 Constitution, the church has two structures to govern the church: civil and ecclesiastical. This office is reserved for a woman who serves as counterpart to the Sunday School Superintendent. Drew Sheard was born on January 1, 1959, in Detroit, Michigan, to Bishop and Mrs. John Henry Sheard. As the International Holy Convocation grew to thousands, COGIC leaders had to negotiate with city officials to provide hotel accommodations for the saints. The Church of God in Christ elects Bishop J. Drew Sheard as its new National Baptist Convention of America, Inc. National Missionary Baptist Convention of America, Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith, Church of Universal Triumph, Dominion of God, Fire Baptized Holiness Church of God of the Americas, Triumph the Church and Kingdom of God in Christ, United Pentecostal Council of the Assemblies of God, Incorporated, Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America, Imani Temple African-American Catholic Congregation, Israelite School of Universal Practical Knowledge, Original Church of God or Sanctified Church, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Charles_Edward_Blake_Sr.&oldid=1138808010, People from Los Angeles County, California, Presiding Bishops of the Church of God in Christ, African-American television personalities, Interdenominational Theological Center alumni, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, April, 2007, November 2008, November 2012, November 2016, This page was last edited on 11 February 2023, at 19:00. He consecrated and appointed more than 100 bishops during his twenty-one years of leadership. Organized in the South and having a predominately African-American membership, COGIC has had a long history in advancing civil rights. [6], In June 1896, Jones held a Holiness convention at Mt. 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. 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. C. P. Jones and those Holiness leaders who did not embrace the Azusa Revival experience continued as Holiness churches. Under her leadership and tenure, COGIC choirs and individual singers came to dominate gospel music producing a number of recordings and gospel hits. The early conventions of the Evangelist Board were basically crusades led by Page and a few other Evangelists from across the country. The first general secretary of COGIC was Elder William B. Holt, a white minister. In 1951, the first separate National Sunday School Convention convened in Kansas City, Missouri. [18], The H. A. Goss faction left COGIC to join the Assemblies of God USA. Chandler David Owens Sr. - Wikipedia 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. In 1951, when Bishop Mason was approaching 85 years of age, he set up a "special commission" to help with the administration and oversight of the church.