Church of God Executive Council Meets for First Session of 2013
Cleveland, TN–Members of the Executive Council of the Church of God gathered this week at the International Offices, the first of three regularly-scheduled meetings of the body this year.
General Overseer Mark Williams opened the session with a greeting and the latest statistics of the Church of God worldwide. He reported there are currently 36, 940 Church of God congregations in 178 countries of the world. Membership is nearly 7 million (6,949,344) with an estimated 15 million total constituents that attend Church of God churches weekly.
“During the first three months of this fiscal year (September-November), more than 78,000 people accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior,” Williams told the Council, “and nearly 15,000 received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. With more than 38,000 ministers (38, 332) and 607 missionaries a new church is planted somewhere in the world every six hours. One hundred twenty-eight educational institutions are training 33,356 students for life and calling. The bottom line – the Church of God is on mission.”
Williams then reported on the five points of emphasis that the Church will give attention to over the next four years. These include scripture, students, shepherds, cities and social justice. He spent several minutes on the success of the recently implemented R.E.A.D. initiative, a program to read the Bible through in one year. To date, over 127,000 have signed up to do so.
Following Williams’ report the Council was presented with a review of the financials of the denominations, including the annual audit. The Church of God is a member of ECFA, an agency which provides accreditation to leading Christian nonprofit organizations that faithfully demonstrate compliance with established standards for financial accountability, fundraising and board governance. Members include Christian ministries, denominations, churches, educational institutions, and other tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organizations.
2012-2014 Executive Council: First row, l-r: Victor Pagan, Mike Baker, Dwight Allen, David Cooper. Second row: Mitch Maloney, Ishmael Charles, Oliver McMahan, Gerald McGinnis, J. Martin Taylor, Daniel Vassell, Niko Njotorahardjo. Back Row: Chris Moody, Kevin Wallace, David Ramirez, M. Thomas Propes, J. David Stephens, Mark Williams, David Griffis, Wallace Sibley, Jerry Chitwood, T. Bryan Cutshall, Thomas Madden. Not pictured: William Isaacs, Anton Von Deventer
The Council then heard a report on the Global/Urban Church Planting initiative which is being administered through World Missions. Due to travels to India, Director Tim Hill provided a video greeting to the Council with the report given by Assistant Director John Childers. Childers updated the Council on the implementation strategy and action items completed of the program which was passed at the last General Assembly. The initiative adds a sixth region to the church planting strategy, comprised of the United States and Canada.
Another item passed at the last General Assembly was approval of a new church affiliations strategy. The Council heard an updated report on the progress of the strategy, which included clear definitions of “amalgamation,” “association,” and “affiliation,” with stated differences between congregations that affiliate or amalgamate with the Church of God. Proposed guidelines and checklists for administrative bishops were provided for the Council’s perusal and subsequent debate.
Other items on the Executive Council agenda included reports on church loan underwriting, delinquent church reports, a report on issues of ministerial discipline and reinstatement, and a study commission report on a Constitutional Convention.
A final piece of business was a resolution of commendation adopted congratulating Lee University on representation at the Inauguration of the president of the United States on January 21, 2013. A festival choir comprised of the seven musical groups from Lee traveled to Washington, D.C. where they sang several songs on the Inaugural stage. Below is the resolution passed unanimously by the Council:
RESOLUTION OF COMMENDATION
WHEREAS, the Lee University Festival Choir has thrilled audiences with their anointed and talented voices at the nation’s capital, in the Lee University auditoriums, and around the world on television, radio, and the Internet; and,
WHEREAS, the professional and heartfelt musical presentation of these dedicated young people at the 2013 Presidential Inauguration made us all beam with pride to have the Church of God and its educational institutions represented with distinction on this historic occasion; and,
WHEREAS, the local media (television, radio, and newspapers) gave significant coverage of the event and expressed their commendations of Lee as a local university representing the entire community and the state of Tennessee in an outstanding manner;
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Church of God Executive Council adds its sincere commendations and appreciation to Lee University President Dr. Paul Conn, Choir Director Dr. Bill Green, the 204 members of the Festival Choir, and all who assisted in making this musical presentation at the Inauguration of the President of the United States of America on January 21, 2013, an event to remember.
