| Church of God in Christ | |
|---|---|
 The official seal of the COGIC features a sheaf of wheat representing the members of the COGIC. The rope that holds the shaft together represents Charles Harrison Mason, COGIC's founding father. The rain in the background represents the Latter Rain revivals that gave birth to the Pentecostal movement.[1] | |
| Classification | Protestant |
| Orientation | Pentecostal[2] Evangelical |
| Theology | Holiness Pentecostal |
| Polity | Episcopal |
| Presiding Bishop | John Drew Sheard Sr. |
| Associations | Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches of North America |
| Region | Worldwide |
| Headquarters | Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Founder | Charles Harrison Mason |
| Origin | 1897 (founded) 1907 (incorporated) Memphis, Tennessee |
| Separations | Church of Christ (Holiness) U.S.A. (separated 1907), General Council of the Assemblies of God (separated 1914), Church of God in Christ, International (separated 1969) |
| Members | 6.5 million[3] |
| Official website | www |
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The Church of God in Christ (COGIC) is an international Holiness–Pentecostal Christian denomination,[2][4] and a large Pentecostal denomination in the United States.[5] Although an international and multi-ethnic religious organization, it has a predominantly African-American membership based within the United States. The international headquarters is in Memphis, Tennessee. 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. He was elected as the denomination's leader on March 27, 2021. On November 12, 2024, Bishop Sheard was re-elected by acclamation to serve another four-year term as the presiding bishop and chief apostle of the denomination.
- ^ "Our COGIC Seal" Archived November 10, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. Accessed December 8, 2012.
- ^ a b Courey, David J. (February 26, 2015). What Has Wittenberg to Do with Azusa?: Luther's Theology of the Cross and Pentecostal Triumphalism. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 227. ISBN 978-0-567-65631-5.
The controversy led to the emergence of three-step Holiness Pentecostal denominations (the Church of God, Cleveland, TN; the Pentecostal Holiness Church and the Church of God in Christ) and two-step, Finished Work denominations (the Assemblies of God and the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada).
- ^ "Our Founder". January 2014.
- ^ Anderson, Allan (May 13, 2004). An Introduction to Pentecostalism: Global Charismatic Christianity. Cambridge University Press. p. 47. ISBN 978-0-521-53280-8.
Those who resisted Durham's teaching and remained in the 'three-stage' camp were Seymour, Crawford and Parham, and Bishops Charles H. Mason, Alvin J Twine and J.H. King, respectively leaders of the Church of God in Christ, the Church of God (Cleveland) and the Pentecostal Holiness Church. Tomlinson and King each issued tirades against the 'finished work' doctrine in their periodicals, but by 1914 some 60 percent of all North American Pentecostals had embraced Durham's position. ... The 'Finished Work' controversy was only the first of many subsequent divisions in North American Pentecostalism. Not only did Pentecostal churches split over the question of sanctification as a distinct experience, but a more fundamental and acrimonious split erupted in 1916 over the doctrine of the Trinity. ... The 'New Issue' was a schism in the ranks of the 'Finished Work' Pentecostals that began as a teaching that the correct formula for baptism is 'in the name of Jesus' and developed into a dispute about the Trinity. It confirmed for Holiness Pentecostals that they should have no further fellowship with the 'Finished Work' Pentecostals, who were in 'heresy'.
- ^ Kurian, George Thomas; Lamport, Mark A. (November 10, 2016). Encyclopedia of Christianity in the United States. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 1427. ISBN 978-1-4422-4432-0.
Charles Harrison Mason was the charismatic holiness preacher, prophet, and founding father of the largest Holiness-Pentecostal body in the United States—the Church of God in Christ.