Bishop John Drew Sheard is Presiding Bishop and Chief Apostle of the Church of God in Christ, Inc., one of the largest African American Pentecostal denominations in the United States with 12,000 churches in over 112 countries. Bishop Sheard is a former mathematics teacher and . Later in 1897, while in Little Rock, Arkansas, C. H. Mason stated that God had given him such a name for the group, the "Church of God in Christ". The current chairman of AIM is Bishop Linwood E. Dillard of Memphis, TN.[62]. [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. Detroit pastor J. Drew Sheard elected COGIC presiding bishop As Senior Pastor of the 26,000 member, West Angeles Church of God In Christ in Los Angeles, California, Bishop Blakes leadership is positively impacting lives and enhancing the community through the work of the many ministries offered. Bishop Chandler David Owens (1931-2011) - Find a It includes not only those who are members of COGIC, but all believers who have placed their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. 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]. Nigeria alone has 19 bishops and more than 2000 churches. COGIC licensed female evangelists may also serve as chaplains in military, federal, state, and local institutions requiring chaplains. Bishop Blake led COGIC through the death of G. E. Patterson while preparing the church for its 100th Holy Convocation; an important milestone for the church. 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. 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. Patterson in March 2007. 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. Hall Sr. Board member (2021present). In 1933, he set apart five overseers to the Office of Bishop in the church, the first five bishops of COGIC. They rejected denominational names such as Baptist, Methodist, or Episcopal. From 1985 until 2009, he was the Jurisdictional Prelate of the First Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of Southern California, overseeing more than 250 churches that compose the jurisdiction. The first meeting was held in Memphis, Tennessee around 1937. Coffey also began the use of the title "Jurisdictional Supervisor" for state mothers as more jurisdictions were forming in each state.[59]. 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. Mallory retired in 1976 after fifty years of service; and she had a national reputation. Vice President of COGIC World Missions-Bishop Nate' M. Jefferson. Bishop Brandon B. Porter Secretary to the General Board (2021present) and board member (2012present). 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. Jesse Jackson was invited to speak during the COGIC International Holy Convocation when he was running for the presidency. The constitutional convention drafted and approved a new constitution which dissolved both the office of the Senior Bishop and the executive board; it also established the General Assembly, which meets biannually, as the supreme authority over the church to decide matters of faith and practice. Pastor Dennis Martin and Superintendent Willie James Campbell succeeded Bishop White as presidents. 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. They have two children, Kierra Kelly and John Drew Sheard, II, one son-in-love, Jordan Kelly, and two grandchildren. During the 1950s and 60s, during the height of the civil rights movement, COGIC ministers and congregations played host to many significant events. In 1955, Emmett Till's funeral was held at Robert's Temple Church Of God in Christ in Chicago, Illinois. Youth on a Mission (YOAM) a ministry of young people visiting the mission field to serve each summer. Under her leadership, the Women's International Convention added the term "and Crusade" to highlight and promote the evangelistic approach of the convention. A visionary, she spearheaded the establishment of the multi-million dollar Hale Morris Lewis Manor, a senior citizen complex in Los Angeles, CA. 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. The COGIC emphasized the use of the choir as an integral part of the worship experience. B. McEwen, came to a head and was addressed at the 57th Holy Convocation. Bishop Blake is the senior pastor of the West Angeles Cathedral COGIC in Los Angeles. These offices are found in every local, district, and jurisdiction to support development and growth of the Sunday School. 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. Assistant Financial Secretary Bishop David A. Sanders. The rain in the background represents the, Members of the General Board (2021present), General supervisors for the Department of Women, Young People Willing Workers (YPWW) International Youth Department (IYD), United National Auxiliary Conference (UNAC) and Auxiliaries in Ministry (AIM), Last edited on 26 February 2023, at 15:15, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Worldwide Fellowship of the Assemblies of God, Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches of North America, List of jurisdictions of the Church of God in Christ, "Bishop Mason built COGIC out of revival, the faith of former slaves", "A Brief Historical Sketch of the Church of God in Christ, International (Arkansas)", "PRESS RELEASE: Presiding Bishop Charles E. Blake Sr. Will Not Seek Reelection", "Catholics, Mormons, Assemblies of God growing; Mainline churches report a continuing decline", "The most and least racially diverse U.S. religious groups", "Human Coalition Launches Three-year Initiative with Church of God in Christ", "Proclamation on Marriage | COGIC General Assembly", "Racial and ethnic composition among members of the Church of God in Christ", https://mccormick.edu/content/daniels-david-ii, "RootsWeb's WorldConnect Project: York's Fentress County Tennessee", http://www.mtairycogic.com/index.php/about-us/243-drlouisfelton, "James Haynes Obituary (19312015) Dallas, TX Dallas Morning News", "Ohio North First Jurisdiction COGIC | About Us", "Senior Pastor | St. Stephen's Cathedral Church Of God in Christ", "Chicago's Historic Roberts Temple COGIC Receives Landmark Status", "Our Pastor GREATER EMMANUEL INSTITUTIONAL CHURCH OF GOD IN CHRIST", "Nathaniel Simmons Obituary (2006) Atlanta, GA Atlanta Journal-Constitution", "Barnett Thoroughgood Obituary (2012) Norfolk, VA The Virginian-Pilot", "Wells Memorial Church of God in Christ About Us", "Influential Hampton Roads Bishop Levi E. Willis Sr. dies", "Bishop Roy L.H. J. O. Patterson Sr. was the Presiding Bishop at that time. 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. Vice Chairman of the General Assembly Bishop Jerry W. Maynard. Military chaplains have also been instrumental in spreading COGIC through military installations. However, after a meeting in Hot Springs, Arkansas that led to the founding of the Assemblies of God, the white constituency of COGIC continued to decline, until it was almost nonexistent by the 1930s. Mother Willie Mae Rivers served faithfully for 20 years as General Mother until 2017 and the age of 91. A. Jeter was selected as Overseer of Arkansas. She built a home for missionaries in the Bahamas, a pavilion for senior citizens and unwed mothers in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He has also been awarded the Salvation Army's William Booth Award, the Greenlining Institute's Big Heart Award, and was the designated recipient of the L.A. Urban League's Whitney M. Young Award for the year 2000. 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. ", Elder Carter said that such public rebuke and condemnation were unwarranted, as he was not given a chance to say why he had made such statements. 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. They are the largest department in the COGIC. "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,". Pages in category "Presiding Bishops of the Church of God in Christ". [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.