Priority Report Released on Assembly Postponement
The Church of God Executive Committee has released a comprehensive report entitled “COVID-19 and the Church of God International General Assembly of 2020; a priority report on the postponement of the 78th International General Assembly from 2020 to 2022.”
The Assembly was originally scheduled for last week, July 21-24, 2020 at the Indianapolis Convention Center.
“The COVID-19 pandemic we have been going through, and that we continue to go through, has created some unique and interesting challenges for the Church of God,” stated General Overseer Tim Hill. “One of the greatest challenges we have faced during this crisis, outside of those who have suffered and even lost their lives because of this virus, has been what to do about the General Assembly. Because of health concerns and our efforts to try to protect the well-being of our delegates, the International Executive Council made the decision earlier in the year to postpone the 2020 General Assembly, and not reconvene until 2022.”
The 28-page report provides a historical and succinct account of the process and the decisions made. It includes historical precedence, excerpts from the Minutes, and resolutions passed by the Council.
“As you can imagine, this decision greatly impacted our denomination and how we normally do business,” Hill continued. “Because of the magnitude of such, I felt it was important to put together a document that recorded the decision-making process and provided information on how the decisions were reached. It is a compilation of stories and information that were presented to the Executive Council, and a recording of all the information taken under advisement during this difficult time for our world.”
An electronic version of the report will be accessible on the Minister’s reporting portal, Church of God social media sites and at www.churchofgodcommunications.com/priorityreport Hard copies of the document will be mailed to retired ministers, as well as state and regional leadership teams. State and regional overseers have been made aware that the printed version will be available if they would like to distribute them at upcoming ministers’ meetings.
“Regrettably, we are still not through the COVID-19 crisis,” Hill continued, however, the Church of God continues to look towards the harvest field that the Lord has placed before us. I assure you we are focused on the future and we will continue to keep our focus on fulfilling and FINISHing the Great Commission. We will be a ‘Church On Mission.’”
