Church of God (Cleveland, Tenn.) Manual collection

Collection

Identifier: M0003

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of manuals and audiocassette tapes used for reference and educational purposes throughout the Church of God denomination. The date of the manuals in the collection spans forty years, from 1966 to 2006. Many of the manuals were used as guides for specific conferences or meetings, while others were published by departments of the church to offer resources and guidelines for local congregations or individuals in positions of denominational leadership. The items in the collection have been divided into series according to their subject matter.

The first series contains manuals regarding the ministry to the laity. The second series is a compilation of manuals on ministries of the local church. The third series contains materials for executive leadership within the church. The fourth series contains manuals for State and District Overseers. The fifth series holds manuals published by the Department of Ministerial Development. The sixth series is a set of resources for the local church pastor. The seventh series contains literature issued by the Department of Youth and Christian Education. The eighth series contains manuals for education leaders. Series nine holds manuals and texts for seven educational training courses. The tenth series contains resources from the Department of World Missions. The eleventh and final series holds manuals relating to evangelism and home missions.

Dates

2006-06-01
Modified: 2009-12-10
Modified: 2019-03-18

Conditions Governing Use

This material may be protected under U. S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S. Code) which governs the making of photocopies or reproductions of copyrighted materials. You may use any digitized or otherwise copied material from our holdings for private study, scholarship, or research. Though the Dixon Pentecostal Research Center has physical ownership of the material in its collections, in some cases we may not own the copyright to the material. It is the patron's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in our collections.

Biographical / Historical

In 1886, Richard Spurling, an ordained Baptist elder, ordained his son, R.G. Spurling, who deemed that many of the teachings prevalent in Methodist and Baptist congregations were contrary to the New Testament. Hoping to abandon man-made creeds in exchange for doctrine based on scripture, R.G. and seven others organized the “Christian Union” in Monroe County, Tennessee. In 1902, R.G. Spurling and W.F. Bryant founded the “Holiness Church at Camp Creek” in North Carolina. The Quaker A.J. Tomlinson united with the church in 1903, and the name “Church of God” was adopted in 1907.

Executive leadership in the church began in 1909 at the fourth General Assembly when the office of General Overseer was created. This position was assumed by A.J. Tomlinson, who would serve for the next fourteen years. In 1911, the first State Overseers were appointed in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. The governmental structure of the church as it stands today is headed by an Executive Committee and an Executive Council with State/Territorial Overseers in various regions.

Credentialing of ministers is orchestrated through the Department of Ministerial Development. There are three ranks of ministerial licensure within the denomination: Licensed Minister, Ordained Minister, and Ordained Bishop. All Ordained Bishops form the General Council, created in 1929, which debates policy issues and prepares an agenda for the General Assembly. Since the 1970’s, ministers seeking to become ordained are required to complete training through the Ministerial Internship Program.

The longstanding tradition of youth ministry has been vital to the development of the organization. In 1929, the Young People’s Endeavor was created. In the same year, Alda B. Harrison founded “The Lighted Pathway”, a magazine for Church of God youth. A board for Sunday School and Youth Literature was establishes in 1944. In 1958, the youth department of the church began international outreach through a program known as Youth World Evangelism Appeal (YWEA). Today, the Department of Youth and Christian Education ministers to thousands of young people each year through youth camps, conferences, and short term missions work.

Education became a priority early in the Church’s history. In 1918, Bible Training School opened in Cleveland, Tennessee with its first teacher, Nora Chambers. In 1922, F.J. Lee became the first Superintendent of Education, four years before the Board of Education was created in 1926. Throughout the following decades, the church would open colleges and schools across the globe including Northwest Bible College (Minot, North Dakota), International Bible College (Saskatchewan, Canada), and East Coast Bible College (Charlotte, North Carolina). The church’s flagship institution, Bible Training School, was renamed Lee College in 1947.

In January of 1910, Rev. R.M. Evans and his wife Ida jopined with the first foreign missionaries of the Church of God, Edmond and Rebecca Barr, to establish the Church of God in the Bahama Islands. Other early foreign missions endeavors included Jamaica in 1924 and Haiti in 1932. At the assembly of 1926, the Missions Board was among the first three standing boards created in the Church of God. Mission endeavors grew exponentially in the following years, giving the denomination a much more global outreach and focus. In 1973, the first International Evangelism Conference was held in Mexico City. The Church of God is currently represented in 160 countries.

SOURCES:

Materials in collection

Conn, Charles W., Like A Mighty Army: A History of the Church of God. Definitive Edition. (Cleveland, TN: Pathway Press, 1996).

“Church of God (Cleveland)” 2 June 2006 http://www.wikipedia.org.