Church of God General Conference
The Church of God General Conference is a conservative Evangelical Protestant Denomination. They are Abrahamic in faith and follow Baptist doctrines. They are considered a fundamental Bible church. The Bible is their solitary book of faith and practice.
The church began out of the revivalism and the evangelistic efforts of John Winebrenner. John Winebrenner was an ordained minister of the German Reformed Church. The followers in the early years of the Church were called Winebrennerians.
The Church of God General Conference adopted its name in 1975 and changed it from General Eldership of the Churches of God in North America.
There were other churches that followed the Winebrenner theology and they called themselves Church of God with the added name of the town where their congregation was organized. All members of these churches had equal rights, and elected their men to preach according to their individual church’s needs.
The doctrines of these churches are conservative evangelical and follow the orthodox Armenian, instead of the predestined Calvinistic, way of life. The policies of the Church of God General Conference are Presbyterian in nature. The local churches vote for their own minister after the elders make the appointments. Elders and deacons are elected by the congregation.
The headquarter is in Findlay, Ohio. They operate the Winebrenner Theological Seminary which is on the University of Findlay campus.
History
The Church of God General Conference movement was founded by John Winebrenner in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. John Winebrenner was born in 1797 and died in 1860.
He was an ordained minister of the German Reformed Church being ordained on September 28, 1820. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania was his first congregation. In 1828, the German Reformed Church dropped John Winebrenner from their roster of ministers because of the revival meetings he held.
John Winebrenner founded an independent congregation called the General Eldership of the Churches of God in North America in 1845 after he had been rebaptized by immersion. He prepared for the newly founded church with a declaration in 1844 which included twenty seven points and principles for the church on matters of faith, experiences and practice of the church.
The Church of God General Conference does have roots in other groups in both England and North America. These different groups united in 1921 in Waterloo, Iowa and formed the national organization for the Church of God General Conference. Each of these groups that joined together had a similar doctrine they reached through independent Bible studies.
It was in 1959 when the General Eldership approved an authoritative statement of their teachings and practices of the Churches of God. This was not considered to be a creed since the Bible is believed by them to be the only true standard for the Christian faith and their practices. This became known as the Teachings and Practices of the Churches of God.
Belief
The Church of God General Conference hold to the doctrines of the Bible, God the Father as creator, the existence of Jesus beginning with the virgin birth by Mary, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, the second coming of Jesus Christ, and the literal fulfillment of promises of God to Abraham. The Church of God General Conference is Armenian conservative and evangelical. They have three ordinances which are Baptism by immersion, the Lord’s Supper, and feet washing.
The Bible is recognized as the supreme standard of faith and the infallible and inspired Word of God. The Church of God, General Conference believes all Scripture is used for teaching, rebuking, and training in righteousness. They believe the Bible is the Book of Life, and Jesus is the Christ and Savior, and the Living Word to whom the Bible is written by and witness to. The Bible is the only creed needed in the Church of God, General Conference.
The Church of God, General Conference, believes in the forgiveness of sin through the atonement of Jesus Christ, repentance of believers, and the experience of holiness. They believe the kingdom of God has been established in the here and now. They also believe in the resurrection of the dead with the final judgment, where the righteous will be rewarded and the wicked punished.
They practice water immersion Baptism. They believe Baptism is a first step into the life of Christ and Baptism is the witness to the new believers in the regeneration in Christ and as a member of the family of God. The Church of God, General Conference believes in the saving grace of God.
They believe the Lord’s Supper should be a reminder of the grace for the believers.
The Church of God General Conference believes marriage is a gift from God. They believe marriage should be entered into using wisdom. They believe a wedding is a worship service of the church which the couple and the entire families should be involved and should experience the commitment to Christ Jesus as their Lord in their lives and in their homes.
Cite Article Source
MLA Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne “Church of God General Conference:.” Becker Bible Studies Library Jan 2006.<https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p=2634,>.
APA Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne (2006, January) “Church of God General Conference:.” Becker Bible Studies Library. Retrieved from https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p=2634,.
Chicago Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne (2006) “Church of God General Conference:.” Becker Bible Studies Library (January), https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p=2634, (accessed).
