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Church History
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Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic
Faith
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the
Apostolic Faith is an Apostolic
Pentecostal church organized in 1919. The Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ, as it
is most commonly known, was organized by Robert C. Lawson. Lawson, a
protégé of G.T. Haywood, received salvation and the baptism of the
Holy Ghost in 1913. A year thereafter, Lawson was called to the
ministry and soon began evangelizing, mainly in the Mid-West, and
pastoring in Columbus, Ohio. When he found himself at odds with the
leadership of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World (PAW), Lawson
resigned from that organization in 1919 and moved to New York City.
That year Lawson founded another church, Refuge Church of Christ,
after the members of a prayer band in Harlem welcomed him and turned
over their meetings to him. That small church grew and became known
as Refuge Temple. It was the hub of Lawson's evangelistic efforts in
the Northeast. Lawson's field work took him up and down the East
Coast, throughout the West Indies, and as far as West Africa, where
Lawson appointed missionaries to carry on spiritual work.
The
Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ has been very influential among
African-American Pentecostal churches, and has given rise to several
spin-off bodies. The first major break-away was in 1930, when
Sherrod C. Johnson created a rival organization, the
Church of the Lord Jesus Christ,
through which he challenged Lawson's stance on practical holiness.
The most important fracture in the church's history, though, was
when, in 1957
Smallwood E. Williams led about 70 churches out of the Church of Our
Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith to form the
Bible Way Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Other organizations that were birthed from or splintered from this
church body include Progressive Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Way
of the Cross Church of Christ, the Yahweh Temple organization, the
Evangelistic Churches of Christ, a host of small organizations, and
independent churches of varying sizes. Furthermore, there have been
splits in many of the off-shoot churches; for example, the Church of
the Lord Jesus Christ, founded by Sherrod C. Johnson, has re-emerged
as The Holy Temple Church of the Lord Jesus Christ; the Whole Truth
Church of the Lord Jesus Christ; the Apostolic Ministries of
America; and the First Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the
Apostles' Faith, all of which are actively evangelizing North America,
the Caribbean,
Europe, and
West Africa. Thus, the Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ is the mother
of a family of predominantly
African-American Pentecostal Apostolic
organizations.
After Lawson's death in 1961, a rising minister
in the organization, William L. Bonner, proposed a change in the
church's governmental
structure. Whereas Bishop Lawson, as
founder, had been the sole governing
official of the organization, Bonner
suggested that there be a board of
archbishops, or apostles, who would
govern the churches. Two other groups,
the Board of Bishops and the Board of
Presbyters, both hold accountable and
are held accountable by the Board of
Apostles.
The Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ is,
historically and doctrinally, a
Oneness Pentecostal
organization like the
United Pentecostal Church
and the
PAW. With
roots in the earliest years of the American Pentecostalism, much of
the culture of the church reflects the doctrine of the
Holiness
movement of the 1800s. Among
the practices that separate it from other Pentecostal churches are
its outspokenness on the significance of the name "Lord Jesus
Christ" (especially as a baptismal formula); a very conservative
(but, lately, increasingly flexible) dress code, which includes the
wearing of hats or some other type of head covering by women during
church services and excludes
women's pants;
insistence on wine to be used during communion;
strict interpretation of New Testament scriptures concerning divorce
and remarriage; and the disallowance of women's ordination
and pastorship. (These last two were Lawson's points of disagreement
with the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World).
In
chronological order, the presidents of the organization have been:
Robert C. Lawson;
Hubert J. Spencer;
William L. Bonner; Gentle Groover; and James I. Clark, Jr.
Governance of the church includes the
Chief Apostle, the Board of Apostles,
the Board of Bishops, the Board of
Presbyters, the Executive Secretary and
the General Council.
Major laity-driven auxiliaries are Women's
Council; Ministers' and Deacons' Wives' Guild; the International
Sunday School Association and the Armor Bearers' Young People Union,
which together comprise the International Congress; and the
International Music Department. Though women are not ordained, they
are licensed as Social, Senior, and Field Missionaries through the
organization's Department of Women's
Missionary Work. There is also a
Deacon's Union.
In 1998 the
church had about 30,000 members in 450 churches in the United
States. There are also congregations in Africa, the British West
Indies, the Dominican Republic,
England,
Haiti, and
the Philippines.
Its U.S. membership is predominantly African-American.
Headquartered in New York City,
the church operates W.L. Bonner College in Columbia, South Carolina
and the Church of Christ Bible Institute in New York City.
Mission statement
"Our mission is to spread the gospel of our Lord
Jesus Christ and the teachings of the Apostles throughout the world.
We endeavor to reach the lost and the destitute and bring them glad
tidings of great joy."
References
- Handbook of Denominations in the United
States, by Frank S. Mead, Samuel S. Hill, and Craig D. Atwood
- Discipline Book of the Church of Our Lord
Jesus Christ
- For the Defense of the Gospel, edited by
Arthur Anderson
- My Father in the Gospel, by Bishop W.L.
Bonner.
- And the High Place I'll Bring Down,
biography of Bishop W.L. Bonner
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Macedonia
Church of Our Lord
Jesus Christ
1916 Winnebago St,
Corpus Christi,
TX
(361) 887-PRAY
(7729)
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