Church of God in Christ New Religious Movement

By mleamoahmensah

  • Holiness convention

    Jones held a Holiness convention in June 1896 at Mt. Helm Baptist Church in Jackson, Mississippi, which Mason and others from numerous states attended. Even local African-American Baptist pastors' responses to new Christian movements were influenced by Protestant doctrinal arguments regarding Calvinism and Wesleyan Perfectionism at the time.

  • Convocation

    Elder Mason established the St. Paul Church in Lexington, Mississippi, as the new movement's first church in 1897. The congregation was known simply as the "Church of God" at its first convocation in 1897. Many of the Holiness Christian groups and fellowships that were established during the period desired scriptural names for their local churches and fellowships, Baptist, Methodist, and Episcopal were among the denominational designations they rejected.
  • Period: to

    Church Of God in Christ

    COGIC believes the Bible is God's Word and it includes a single, coherent, and sufficient system of doctrine. They think that God's Word is completely inspired. They also believe that God's Word is the final authority in all matters and that no doctrine can be accurate or essential unless it is found in it. The Church of God in Christ believes in God, the Almighty Father, the Author, and Creator of everything. Some ordinances of the church include Holy Communion, Feet Washing, and Water Baptism.

  • Growth

    By 1906, the church had grown to nearly 100 congregations in three states

  • Legally recognized

    The Church of God in Christ became the first legally recognized Pentecostal group in the United States in 1907, with 10 congregations.

  • Church Splits

    C. P. Jones and other Holiness leaders who did not join the Azusa Revival remained in their own churches. After years of court battles over the name of the organization and the usage of the name "Church of God in Christ" by the two parties, Mason's group was allowed the use of the name in 1915, and Jones' group founded the Church of Christ (Holiness) U.S.A., a legally chartered Holiness organization.

  • Bishop C. H. Mason era (1897–1961)

    Bishop Mason started a local church called Temple COGIC after relocating to Memphis, Tennessee, he created the national headquarters of COGIC there. He proposed holding the "International Holy Convocation," an annual assembly of COGIC members, in Memphis. Mason signed the church's constitution in 1926, which outlined the church's bylaws, rules, and regulations. In 1933, he appointed the first five bishops of COGIC, five overseers to the office of bishop in the church.

  • Bishop Masons Death

    In 1933, he appointed the first five bishops of COGIC, five overseers to the office of bishop in the church. COGIC had extended to every state in the US and to many international nations by the time Bishop Mason died in 1961. It had a membership of over 400,000 people who contributed to almost 4,000 congregations.

  • Bishop O.T. Jones Sr. era (1962–1968)

    1962–1968 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. In 1964 however, disagreement between the authority of the Senior Bishop and the executive board, led by Bishop A. B. McEwen, came to a head and was addressed at the 57th Holy Convocation.

  • First general board 1968–1972

    Bishop J. O. Patterson, Sr. – presiding bishop
    Bishop J. S. Bailey – first assistant presiding bishop
    Bishop S. M. Crouch – second assistant presiding bishop
    Bishop W. N. Wells
    Bishop L. H. Ford
    Bishop O. M. Kelly
    Bishop C. E. Bennett
    Bishop J. A. Blake
    Bishop J. W. White
    Bishop D. L. Williams
    Bishop F. D. Washington
    Bishop J. D. Husband

  • Bishop J. O. Patterson era (1968–1989)

    Bishop James Oglethorpe Patterson, Sr., was elected in November 1968 as the first presiding bishop of the church by the General Assembly at the Sixty-First Holy Convocation of the church. His initiatives contributed to the church's growth; by his death in 1989, it had a membership exceeding four million in the United States, was established in 47 foreign countries, and had 10,000 churches.

  • Bishop L. H. Ford era (1990–1995)

    Bishop Louis Henry Ford of Chicago, Illinois, was elected after the death of J.O. Patterson Sr. in 1989. Ford was pastor of the St. Paul COGIC in Chicago and was Presiding Prelate of the Historic Illinois First Jurisdiction. During the 1990s and Bishop Ford's administration, the Pentecostal denominations in the United States began to work to heal the racial divide among the churches.

  • Bishop C. D. Owens era (1995–2000)

    Bishop Chandler David Owens, Sr. was elected Presiding Bishop after the death of Bishop Ford in 1995. C. D. Owens had gained national attention in the church as the president of the Youth Department 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.

  • Bishop C. D. Owens era (1995–2000)

    Bishop Chandler David Owens, Sr. was elected Presiding Bishop after the death of Bishop Ford in 1995. C. D. Owens had gained national attention in the church as the president of the Youth Department 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.

  • Bishop G. E. Patterson era (2000–2007)

    Bishop Gilbert Earl (G. E.) Patterson began his ministry as co-pastor of the Holy Temple COGIC with his father, Bishop W. A. Patterson. He re-ignited the church to be a flagship Pentecostal denomination. He was able to bridge denominational barriers and encourage non-COGIC ministries to work collaboratively with the COGIC denomination.

  • Bishop C. E. Blake Era (2007–2021)

    Bishop Charles E. Blake assumed leadership and was elected Presiding Bishop of the church after the death of Bishop G.E. Patterson in March 2007. 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

  • Bishop J. D. Sheard era (2021–present)

    Bishop John Drew Sheard, Sr., who had previously been elected to the General Board in 2012 and 2016, was re-elected 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. He is the son of Bishop John Henry Sheard, the former chairman of the Board of Bishops of COGIC.