Leadership, Council of Eighteen to Gather Next Week
Cleveland, TN—The first gathering of elected and appointed leaders of the Church of God since the General Assembly last July will take place next week, September 15-18, 2024
The biennial Leadership Meeting will begin with Administrative Bishops (ABs), who are in their first assignments, scheduled for a two-day orientation to be held at the International Offices starting Sunday afternoon. On Sunday evening, the four Covenant Ministry Teams (CMTs) will gather at four locations for a meal and fellowship with their CMT leaders, which include First Assistant General Overseer Tony Stewart, Second Assistant General Overseer Wayne Dority, Third Assistant General Overseer Mark Williams, and Secretary General Thomas Madden. The CMTs are a powerful source of mentoring and fellowship for the state/regional ABs and their families.
State and regional ABs, youth directors, evangelism directors, women’s ministries directors, and members of the Administrative Ministries Council (AMC) from International Offices, along with spouses, will participate in an opening session at 2:00 pm on Monday, September 16 at the Westmore Church of God.
Subsequent sessions to follow will reflect the theme of “We Are the Church of God,” launched on Friday night of the General Assembly, which took place on July 12, 2024, in Indianapolis. General Overseer Gary Lewis shared the pulpit with the four other members of the Executive Committee as they exhorted on the actions of “We Pray,” “We Preach,” “We Care,” and “We Disciple.” Two other sessions of Leadership will include “We Go” and a final session of “We Are.” Sessions will include panel discussions, introduction of resources, and keynote addresses. On Tuesday evening, the leaders will attend a closing commissioning service.
Administrative Bishops, the AMC, and Evangelism directors will attend sessions together, while youth directors and women’s ministries directors will hold separate sessions on the Westmore campus.
Also included in Leadership are members of the Council of Eighteen, many of whom will already be in attendance due to their appointed positions. The Council, along with members of the Executive Committee who combine to form the International Executive Council, will convene on Wednesday, September 18 for their first official session since the Assembly.
“I am greatly anticipating this Leadership gathering,” stated Lewis. “God has anointed the Church of God for this time, and I am excited about the momentum that began at the Assembly being carried over into this meeting and disseminated to our churches.”
