Bishop C. H. Mason and the Roots of the Church of God in Christ

The Church of God in Christ (COGIC), the first major denomination to spring from the fires of the Azusa Street revival, profoundly affected the history of the church. Its tremendous influence can be traced to the dynamic spiritual life of its founder, Charles Harrison Mason.The son of a slave and a leader in the holiness movement of his day, Mason traveled to Azusa Street in 1907 where he received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. His vibrant spiritual life enabled him to lead a fledgling movement from its infancy to a powerful, prophetic community over the next fifty years. Today, the COGIC church has 6.5 million members and 12,000 congregations; it can be found in every U.S. state and in 87 countries around the globe.The COGIC Church holds in tension the dynamics of holiness, spiritual encounter and prophetic Christian social consciousness. Facing the challenges of our generation, the COGIC Church desires to maintain the legacy of its founder as it prepares for another century of work