Page 13 - 7-10-15 Friday's Edition

FLORIDA SENTINEL
FRIDAY, JULY 10, 2015
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Tampa Hosts 2015 Auxillaries In Ministry Convention Of COGIC
The Members of the General Board of the Church of God In Christ are: Presiding Bishop Reverend Charles E. Blake, Sr.; The Right Reverend Phillip Aquila Brooks, II; The Right Rev- erend Jerry Wayne Macklin; The Right Reverend Roy Lawrence Hailey Winbush; The Right Reverend Frank O. White; The Right Reverend George Dallas McKinney; The Right Reverend Nathaniel Wyoming Wells; the Right Reverend Sedgwick Daniels; The Right Reverend J. Drew Sheard; The Right Reverend Brandon B. Porter; The Right Reverend Ted G. Thomas, Sr. and The Right Reverend Lawrence M. Wooten, Sr.
Bishop Charles E. Blake, Sr. attending the convention in Tampa.
Joshua Williams, and Jessime Bolden were among the thou- sands of young people who attended the convention.
Pastor Okoye Morgan attended the convention.
Other young people attending the convention were Cullen Watson, Tre Dillard, and Tyler Hairston.
BISHOP MATTHEW WILLIAMS
SUPERINTENDENT CHARLES DAVIS
BY LEON B. CREWS Sentinel Staff Writer
From June 29th until July 3rd, the 2015 Auxillaries In Ministry (AIM) Convention of the Church of God In Christ, Incorporated (COGIC) was held at the Tampa Convention Center, and more than 20,000 people attended.
The recent murders of 9 people inside a church in Charleston, South Carolina was addressed, along with the subsequent burnings of a half- dozen African American churches.
Prior to the start of the con- vention, Presiding Bishop Charles E. Blake of the West Angeles COGIC in Los Angeles, California and other COGIC leaders held a town hall discussion with male church members under 50 to reinforce the church’s mes- sage that “all lives matter.”
Florida Senior Bishop, Matthew Williams of Brown’s Temple Memorial COGIC, and Superinten- dant Charles Davis, pastor of the College Hill COGIC, both said the convention was
well attended and a great suc- cess.
The Church of God In Christ, Inc. (COGIC) is a Christian organization in the Holiness-Pentecostal tradi- tion It is the largest Pente- costal denomination in the United states. The member- ship is predominantly African American with more than six million members. The church has congregations in 63 coun- tries around the world.
“The COGIC faith has the fourth largest church in the world, and this was my second time hosting the event,” said Bishop Williams.
“I will get a chance to host it again in 2019. It’s just great to see Tampa prosper as a result of the millions of dollars gained from the convention.”
Bishop Williams said the Missions Department, Sunday School Department, Music Department, Youth Depart- ment, and Evangelism De- partment all joined to do a great job.
“Those who came from out of state loved the city and Mayor Bob Buckhorn was very hospitable. Some of the
attendees are still here, be- cause they enjoyed the city and the convention so much.
“Sometimes, we take for granted how the weather here makes it a perfect location for events like this. Everyone re- ally enjoyed themselves.”
Bishop Williams said the experience was something they all will cherish, and they look forward to the next con- vention.
“It was great to see so many young people give their souls to Christ, and it was a record breaking year for the COGIC family and the City of Tampa.”
Superintendent Charles Davis said Tampa was blessed to host the conven- tion, and it went quite well.
“I was very pleased with the turnout, and I was great to see so many young people at the convention. The entire aspect of the convention was tremen- dous.
“There were a lot of activi- ties and other things that were geared directly toward the young people.”
Supt. Davis said he thinks there is a great chance that the convention will return to Tampa. (PHOTOS BY BRUNSON)
Bruce Howard and Elder Montez Jones.