Chi Alpha | |
---|---|
ΧΑ | |
Founded | 1953 Missouri State University (fmr. Southwest Missouri State College) |
Type | Christian |
Affiliation | Assemblies of God USA |
Status | Active |
Emphasis | Pentecostalism |
Scope | International |
Pillars | Community, Creativity, Diversity, Excellence, Integrity, Servant-Leadership, and Evangelism |
Colors | Black, White, Gray and Red |
Symbol | Christogram |
Flag | |
Philanthropy | Convoy of Hope |
Chapters | 275 |
Nickname | Christ's Ambassadors[1] |
Headquarters | 1445 N. Boonville Ave Springfield, Missouri 65802 United States |
Website | chialpha |
Chi Alpha | ΧΑ (sometimes XA, χα, xa, or SfC - Students for Christ,[2] officially known as Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship), is an international and interdenominational, coeducational Christian fellowship founded in 1953 on the campus of Missouri State University (then known as Southwest Missouri State College) in Springfield, Missouri. Chi Alpha is sponsored by the Assemblies of God USA,[3] a Pentecostal denomination established in 1914.[4][5]
Chi Alpha is sponsored by the Assemblies of God (AG). That means the AG provides each local campus with support, resources and connectivity to a larger worldwide movement. They also work to equip the leaders of each local XA, both the vocational missionaries associated with each group and the student leaders. The sponsorship by the Assemblies of God does not mean that you have to have a history with the AG. You don't have to have any particular denominational connection to be welcomed in our groups.
Mason dreamed of an integrated church and believed that all races were entitled to equal rights and authority. From COGIC's inception, Mason ordained and allowed whites to join his denomination. From 1907 to 1914, Mason ordained hundreds of white ministers. In 1914, a group of whites left COGIC and established the Assemblies of God. Throughout his tenure, Mason continued to integrate COGIC. A white COGIC pastor named Leonard P. Adams pastored Grace and Truth in Memphis, and COGIC's first general secretary was a white man named William B. Holt. Mason also conducted integrated funerals, baptisms, and worship services. At the height of Jim Crow, Mason allowed blacks and whites to sit next to each other in church. In the 1930s, Edward Hull "Boss" Crump told Mason he could not continue to allow blacks and whites to sit together. However, Boss Crump did not stop Mason from holding integrated meetings. Mason used COGIC as a platform to fight against segregation and encouraged blacks and whites to embrace racial unity.