A Brief History of the Church of God
It was 1886, in a crude
meeting house on the Tennessee-North Carolina border, where the Church of God traces its roots. There, a group of eight sincere
Christians had a deep desire for a closer relationship and life with Christ.
Realizing the futility of reforming their own churches, they established a new
church whose objective would be to restore sound scriptural doctrines of the
Bible, encourage deeper consecration and promote evangelism and Christian
service. Twenty-one years after the formation of the Christian Union that
evening at the Barney Creek Meeting House, the growing movement would establish
themselves permanently as the Church of God.
From this seemingly insignificant origin has grown one of the most influential worldwide Pentecostal denominations. For nearly 120 years the Church of God has been a distinctive movement focused upon communicating the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit. Presently, the Church of God has a world-wide membership of over 6 million with a presence in nearly 150 countries. Leaders of the Church of God are recognized as some of the most respected Pentecostal leaders of today.
The call of the Church of God today
beckons back to those early days at Barney Creek. Church of God congregations around the globe are experiencing the fire
of the Holy Spirit today more than ever. Reports of revivals where hundreds are
saved and filled with the Holy Spirit are frequent and on-going. The call of
the Church of God is for world evangelization. It is a call to
discipleship and prayer. It is a call of commitment. It is a call for the Church of God to be a
channel for Pentecostal revival well into the new millennium.
For further information on the history of the Church God, recommended reading is the book Like A Mighty Army, by Dr. Charles W. Conn, available through Pathway Press. Visit their web site at www.pathwaypress.org or view our Resource Center.
The Church of God founded a public relations office in 1960. Since that time it has developed into a full-fledged department offering a variety of ministries. The name changed from Public Relations to Communications in 1996 to more accurately reflect the mission of the department.
The first director was Charles W. Conn, who served from 1960-62 and would go on to become General Overseer from 1966-70. The late Lewis Willis was then appointed for the first of his eventual three terms in the office. In addition to 1962-66, Willis would serve a ten-year term from 1972-82 and then 1984-92. Hollis Green was the director from 1966-72, Floyd Carey from 1982-84 and Mike Baker now serves as director since 1992.