THE CHURCH OF GOD IN CHRIST 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, as being essential to the salvation of mankind.THE CHURCH OF GOD IN CHRIST is commonly known as being Holiness or Pentecostal in nature because of the importance ascribed to the events which occurred on the Day of Pentecost, the 50* day after the Passover, or Easter as being necessary for all believers in Christ Jesus to experience. THE CHURCH OF GOD IN CHRIST is also 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, founder, and organizer of THE CHURCH OF GOD IN CHRIST, was born September 8, 1866, on the Prior farm near Memphis, Tennessee. Mason was a license Baptist Minister in Mississippi in the 1890's who was disfellowshipped by the local Baptist association for preaching the doctrine of Christian perfection also knowns as" Holiness." He became one of the early African American leaders of the Holiness Movement in the late 19th century.

 

After his expulsion from the local Baptist association in 1897, C.H. Mason was a part of a group originally known simply as the "Church of God". But in the same year, Mason believed that God had given him the distinctive name for the group, the, "CHURCH OF GOD IN CHRIST" (COGIC). Mason believed that the name is taken from 1 Thessalonians 2:14 was divinely revealed and biblically inspired. The group adopted the name and COGIC began to grow throughout the south.

 

At the turn of the Twentieth Century, a new doctrine about the "Baptism of the Holy Ghost" was being taught in many holiness Churches. The proponents of the new doctrine taught that when one received the Baptism of the Holy Ghost, the recipient would "speak in tongues" as the early Christians did as recorded o the book of Acts. Soon a great revival began in Los Angeles. CA where people were experiencing the phenomenon. In 1906, Mason amended this great revival Los Angeles, CA, that was being led by the itinerant preacher, William I. Seymour. Mason's visit to what was known as the Azusa Street Revival changed the direction of the newly formed Holiness Church.

 

In 1907, Mason called a meeting in Memphis, Tennessee, and reorganized the CHRUCH OF GOD IN CHRIST (COGIC) as a Pentecostal-Holiness body. Thus, COGIC became the first legally chartered Pentecostal body incorporated in the United States. The church has experienced phenomenal growth since its inception in 1907 with ten churches to the largest Pentecostal group in America. At the time of Bishop Mason's death in 1961, COGIC has spread to every state in the union and to many foreign countries with a membership of more than 400,000 and more than 4000 churches. As of 1997, the COGIC has grown to an estimated 5.2 million.Churches under the parent body in Memphis, Tennessee, are now established throughout the United States, on every continent, and in many of the islands of the sea.