Church of God by Faith

For other uses, see Church of God (disambiguation).

The Church of God by Faith is a Christian denomination in the United States.

History

The Church of God By Faith, Inc. was founded in 1914 in Jacksonville, Florida by Crawford Bright, John Bright, Aaron Matthews, Sr. and Nathaniel Scippio. In 1922 an assembly was held in Alachua, Florida, a charter was drafted, and the name Church of God By Faith, Inc. officially adopted. Since 1987, the annual meetings of the church have been held in Atlanta, Georgia.

Hubert Steadman became the first Executive Secretary and Editor for the Sunday School literature and various inspirational publications.

Our founders created the "Church" (which refers to an assembly of people, not a building) for the expressed purpose of glorifying God in the beauty of "Holiness." Needless to say, this came after the founders themselves were "saved." They had a desire for others, as well, to seek the quality of life and character which is set before Christians as an ideal guide and moral obligation.

Thus, this bonding or coming together and consequent formation of the "Church of God By Faith, Inc." was to serve as a basis whereby "believers" could be encouraged, educated in the word of God, strengthen, sustained, spiritually grow, and be unified in an environment where the Spirit of Christ is truly active.The name itself, (Church of God), gives glory to the Lord, which is due unto His name. And "Faith" was the tool indicative of the trust, confidence, reliability, and steadfastness that they so wholeheartedly placed in the unseen power of God. Hence, the "Church" was materialized from the perceptional thought of foresighted, endeavoring, spiritually led and blessed individuals: diligently acting on one of many promises of the Lord.

The first Assembly Meeting of the Church was held in 1917 at White Springs, Florida; after which, missions were set up in various places. Palatka, FL was known as the "headquarters" of the group in 1919. A General Assembly was held in Alachua, Florida in 1922 where the leading elders drafted a charter, which is now known as the "Church of God By Faith, Inc."

The General Assembly was moved from Alachua, FL to Ocala, FL in December 1941. In 1987, we began going annually to Atlanta, GA where the meetings are still held.

Beliefs

The church stands in the holiness tradition, teaching that entire sanctification is an instantaneous work obtained by faith, but must be preceded through the consecration of the individual. Divine healing is held, but they do not reject the use of medicine and doctors if necessary. The church's articles of faith do not address the issue of speaking in tongues.

Articles of Faith

GOD IS FIRST IN THE GODHEAD - We believe in one eternally existent, infinite God, sovereign of the universe. He only is God, creative and administrative, Holy in nature attributes and purpose. He as God, is first in the Godhead, an essential being, revealed as Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.

JESUS CHRIST- We believe in Jesus Christ, the second person of the God- head. Christ was eternally one with the Father. He became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and was born of the Virgin Mary so that two whole and perfect natures, (the Godhead and manhood) are thus united in one person, very God and very man, the God-man. We believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins and that He truly rose from the dead and took again His body, together with all things appertaining to the perfection of man's nature, wherewith He ascended into Heaven and is there engaged in intercession for us.

THE HOLY SPIRIT- We believe in the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Godhead. The Holy Spirit is ever present and efficiently active in and with the church of Christ, convincing the world of sin, regenerating those who repent and believe, sanctifying believers and guiding them into all truth as it is in Jesus.

HOLY SCRIPTURES- We believe in the plenary inspiration of the Holy Scriptures. By that which we understand, the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments are given by divine inspiration, inertly revealing the will of God concerning us in all things necessary to our salvation, so that whatever is not contained therein is not to be enjoined as an article of faith.

ORIGINAL SIN OF DEPRAVITY- We believe that original sin or depravity is that corruption of the nature of all the off springs of Adam by reason of which everyone is very far gone from original righteousness or the pure state of our first parents at the time of their creation, is averse to God, is without spiritual life and inclined to evil, and that it continues to exist with the new life of the regenerate until eradicated by the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

ATONEMENT - We believe that Jesus Christ, by His suffering, the shedding of His blood, and His meritorious death on the cross, made a full atonement for all human sin. This atonement is the only grounds for salvation and that it is sufficient for every individual of Adam's race.

FREE AGENCY - We believe that man's creation in God's likeness included the ability to choose between right and wrong. Thus, man was made morally responsible and through the fall of Adam he became depraved. So, he can not now turn and prepare himself by his own natural strength and works of faith and calling upon God. But only by the grace of God, through Jesus Christ that is freely bestowed upon all men, enabling all who will to turn from sin to righteousness. We believe on Jesus Christ for pardon and the cleansing from sin. We believe that man, though in possession of the experience of regeneration and entire sanctification, may fall from grace and apostatize, and unless he repents of his sin, he will be hopelessly and eternally lost.

REPENTANCE - We believe that repentance, which is a sincere and thorough change of mind in regard to sin, involving a sense of personal guilt and voluntary turning away from sin is demanded of all who have by act or purpose become sinners against God. The Spirit of God gives to all that will repent the gracious help of penitence of heart and hope of mercy, that they may believe unto pardon and spiritual life.

JUSTIFICATION AND ADOPTION - We believe that justification is that gracious and judicial act of God by which He grants full pardon of all guilt and complete release from the penalty of sins committed and acceptance as righteous to all who believe and receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

We believe that regeneration or the new birth is that gracious work of God whereby the moral nature of the repentant believer is spiritually quickened and given a distinctively spiritual life, capable of faith, love and obedience.

We believe that adoption is that gracious act of God by which the justified and regenerated believer is constituted a "Son of God". Justification, regeneration and adoption are simultaneous in the experience of seekers after God and are obtained upon the condition of faith, preceded by repentance and to this work and state of grace the Holy Spirit bears witness.

ENTIRE SANCTIFICATION - We believe that entire sanctification is the act of God, subsequent to regeneration, by which believers are made free from original sin or depravity, and brought into a state of entire devotement to God and the Holy obedience of love is made perfect. It is wrought by the baptism of the Holy Spirit and comprehends in one experience the cleansing of the heart from sin and the abiding indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, empowering the believer for life and service. Entire sanctification is provided by the blood of Jesus, is wrought instantaneously by faith, preceded by entire consecration.

To this work and the state of grace, the Holy Spirit bears witness. This experience is also known by various terms, representing its different phases such as"Christian Perfection", "Heart Purity", and "The Baptism of the Holy Ghost" and"Christian Holiness."

SECOND COMING OF CHRIST - We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ will come again. We believe that we who are alive at His coming shall not precede them that are asleep in Christ Jesus. But that, if we are abiding in Him, we shall be caught up with the risen saints to meet the Lord in the air, so that we shall ever be with the Lord.

RESURRECTION, JUDGMENT AND DESTINY - We believe in the resurrection of the dead. That the bodies of both the just and the unjust shall be raised to life and united with their spirit (they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation). We believe in future judgment in which every man shall appear before God to be judged according to his deeds in this life.

We believe that a glorious and everlasting life is assured to all that believe in and obediently follow Jesus Christ our Lord and that the final impenitent shall suffer eternally in hell.

DIVINE HEALING - We believe in the Bible doctrine of divine healing and urge our congregates to seek the prayer of faith for the healing of the sick. Medical consultants and agencies when deemed necessary are not condemned.

Organization

National headquarters are located in Jacksonville, Florida. Churches are in the up and down the eastern seaboard United States from New York to Florida – with a few churches in the midwest and in the state of Washington.

== Executive Board ==

Bishop James E. McKnight

Bishop James E. McKnight has served as the spiritual leader of Church Of God By Faith Inc. for more than 20 years.

An ordained minister of the organization since 1957, Bishop McKnight was appointed assistant bishop in 1970. He was named presiding bishop in 1984, and underwent the formal consecration ceremony two years later.

Bishop McKnight is charged with fostering the spiritual and physical growth of more than 200 churches and missions across the country.

He has initiated a half-million dollar project that will involve the construction of an administrative headquarters that church officials say will be more conducive to the volume of business generated by the 90-year-old organization.

National church officials have bought an acre off of Old Middleburg Road, in Jacksonville, Fla., with plans to build an administrative headquarters that will feature a conference room, offices and a library to showcase and preserve historical documents and memorabilia. Bishop McKnight has said he envisions a plaque emblazoned with the names of all of the organization's churches and missions on the wall.

The Gainesville, Fla. native is a veteran of the Korean War. He is married to Mother Jessie Camps McKnight. They have four adult children.

Elder John Robinson Jr.

Elder John Robinson Jr. grew up in Church Of God By Faith. The Ormond Beach, Fla. native was 18 when he gave his life to Christ. Elder Robinson, who has been preaching "The Gospel" since 1954, was appointed to his first church a few years later.

The young pastor wore many hats. He served as the church musician, choir director and lead singer. Elder Robinson was named superintendent of the Florida East Coast District in 1961, and was later appointed as a ruling elder on Church Of God By Faith's Executive Council.

He was the general council's first chaplain, and traveled with then-Bishop Matthews to Texas, Mississippi, Washington and Tennessee to help establish churches for the organization.

Elder Robinson has shared The Gospel outside of the four walls of his churches, through his work as an evangelist as well as his prison outreach and former gospel radio program ministries. In November 1999, Elder Robinson was recommended to Inter-Faith Theological Institute and Seminary to receive an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree.

He serves as treasurer for the executive council. He and Mother Maxine Robinson have been married for 51 years. Seven children were born to their marriage.

Elder David C. Rourk

Elder David C. Rourk is a long-time member of the executive board, and has served the church organization in many capacities. Elder Rourk, who has been the pastor of Adams Street Church Of God By Faith since 1974, was appointed to serve as the district elder of the Northwestern New York District four years later.

He was tapped to serve on the executive board in 1991. He has served as the organization's executive secretary since 2003. His assignments as pastor have included Prayer House Crossroads and Sodus Center COGBF.

Elder Rourk and his wife, Ruth, make their home in Rochester, N.Y. They have four children and several grandchildren and great grandchildren.

In November 1999, Inter-faith Theological Institute and Seminary conferred Elder Rourk with an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree.

He enjoys reading, fishing, walking and bike riding.

Elder James E. McKnight, Jr.

Elder James E. McKnight Jr. shares The Gospel through outreach programs across the Bradford County Community in Florida.

Elder McKnight serves as president of the Bradford County Ministerial Alliance and is the president and founder of Bradford County Faith Community Center, a faith-based organization that serves North Central Florida by providing HIV testing and counseling, a recovery program and prison ministry, food distribution and a family literacy program.

Last year he led an expansion project that included the purchase of more than 21 acres (85,000 m²) to better serve Bradford County and its surrounding areas.

Elder McKnight has been serving the Lord since he was a teenager. The eldest son Bishop James E. and Mother Jessie McKnight, Elder McKnight has been a member of the Executive Council since 2003.

He began his ministry in 1985, holding services inside of an abandoned store in Bradford County, with his wife, DeLois, and their three children as members.

The McKnight's, who have long since moved beyond the walls of their makeshift sanctuary, hold multiple Sunday services in their current church to accommodate their growing congregation.

Elder Horace Nelson Turner, Sr.

Elder Dr. Horace Nelson Turner Sr. is the pastor of Sears Street Church of God by Faith in Douglas, Georgia and COGBF in Nicholls, Georgia.

An ordained minister since 1986, his mission work can be traced back to an old funeral home and storefront.

He is well known for his gospel radio and television broadcasts that have aired in the Coffee County area. The former correctional center chaplain is the founder of Faith Base Pod, a prison ministry. He is the chaplain for the Coffee County Sheriff's Office, chairman of the South Georgia District Christian Board of Education and a member of the Coffee County Ministerial Alliance Association.

Last year, Elder Turner was elected to serve as a national Ruling Elder for the church organization.

He and his wife, Sandra LaFaye, have 6 children and 10 grandchildren.

Membership

In 2004, the Church of God by Faith had 35,000 members in 149 churches.^[1]

External links

• Official Church Web site
• Adherents.com

References

1. ^ "2008 Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches". The National Council of Churches. http://www.thearda.com/Denoms/D_1013.asp. Retrieved 2009-12-15. 

• Encyclopedia of American Religions, J. Gordon Melton, editor
• Handbook of Denominations (10th ed.), by Frank S. Mead and Samuel S. Hill