THE HISTORY OF

THE CHURCH OF GOD IN CHRIST

The Church of God in Christ (COGIC), Inc. is a Pentecostal Holiness Christian denomination with nearly five million members in the United States and over 13,000 congregations. It is the largest Pentecostal church and the fifth largest Christian church in the U.S. Internationally, COGIC can be found in more than 60 nations. Its worldwide membership is estimated to be between six and eight million members.

COGIC, Inc. is a Church of the Lord Jesus Christ in which the word of God is preached, ordinances are administered and the doctrine of sanctification or holiness is emphasized. It is currently under the leadership of Presiding Bishop Charles E. Blake.

COGIC is considered to be a member of the great Protestant body though it did not directly evolve from the European or English Reformation but had its origin within the General Association to the Baptist Church.

Elder Charles Harrison Mason, the founder and organizer of the Church of God in Christ, was born September 8, 1866, on the Prior Farm near Memphis, Tennessee. His father and mother, Jerry and Eliza Mason, were members of a Missionary Baptist Church, having been converted during the dark crises of American Slavery. Elder C. H. Mason founded the Church of God in Christ in 1907 and was installed as the denomination’s first bishop. The name “CHURCH OF GOD IN CHRIST” is supported by I Thessalonians 2:14.