General Council Votes to Reinstate Evangelism Department
Indianapolis, IN–By an overwhelming majority, the International General Council passed a motion to restore the office of Ministry of Evangelism and two elected leaders, bringing the ministries of U.S. home missions, church planting, and church health and revitalization under one departmental umbrella Wednesday at the 79th Church of God International General Assembly.
By David White
the motion passed, the General Council nominated Dr. Sean S. O’Neal to serve as Director of Evangelism and Pastor Robert Scott Sheppard to serve as Assistant Director of Evangelism. Both nominees must be confirmed by the body of the General Assembly on Friday.
The body also voted to restore the office of the State/Regional Evangelism Director and changed the name of the related state board to State/Regional Evangelism Board.
The elected positions of Director and Assistant were eliminated in 2010 at that summer’s International General Assembly. Wednesday’s vote would amend the bylaws of the Minutes to allow for the ministry to fall back under the leadership of its elected leaders.
Sean O’Neal
For Dr. O’Neal, it marks the next step in a journey defined by personal witness, urban evangelism and church planting. After his nomination, Dr. O’Neal thought back to when he planted his first church with his young wife Shyrel and young son Sean Michael in the middle of Chicago almost 30 years ago.
Without knowing ten words of Spanish, the O’Neals planted a Spanish church. The first service included his family of three, a friend who translated and led worship, and a single Catholic couple who responded to his neighborhood flyers and attended his first 3:00 p.m. service.
“Within a year we had over 30 brand-new baby converts, and that church is still there today,” Dr. O’Neal said. “My whole life has been committed to communicating the Gospel. I believe this is a very dynamic time, a critical moment. We must march forward and preach the Gospel in every street, in the market place, from the school house to the White House. We must do all we can do to empty hell and fill heaven before Jesus comes.”
Dr. O’Neal has served as Administrative Bishop of the California/Nevada Church of God since 2018, and served in the same role in Arizona before that. He played a critical role in the development of the Church of God’s Church Planting Network, and has a long history as an urban and global missionary and pastor.
“This church has been an incredible blessing to my life, and in the life of my family,” Dr. O’Neal said. “I was born again in a revival at the Buffalo Avenue Church of God in Tampa and filled with the holy ghost at a Florida youth camp.”
“I commit to do everything I can with every ounce of energy I’ve got to serve you and to build healthy, strong systems, to plant churches and revitalize churches, and win people to Jesus.”
It was growing up in Tampa where Dr. O’Neal became friends with another young teenager who would be nominated to be his Assistant Director in Pastor Scott Sheppard.
Robert Scott Sheppard
Sheppard has pastored the Cornerstone Church in Athens, Ga., with his congregation being recognized one of the country’s 100 fastest-growing churches by Outreach magazine. He was re-elected to the Council of 18 on Tuesday, but vacated his seat once nominated to the Assistant Director’s position.
“I am the son of the church, born in the Church of God, raised in the Church of God, educated in the Church of God, and I love this church dearly,” Sheppard said. “I believe in evangelism, I believe in the local church, and I believe the harvest is reaped in the local church.”
