The Churches of God, General Conference (Winebrenner) (CGGC) is an

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

Christian denomination A Christian denomination is a distinct Religion, religious body within Christianity that comprises all Church (congregation), church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadersh ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

originating in the revivalism and evangelistic efforts of John Winebrenner.

History

John Winebrenner (1797–1860) was ordained on September 28, 1820, as a minister of the German Reformed Church, a

Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

body. He was given charge of four congregations in the

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg ( ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,099 as of 2020, Harrisburg is the ninth-most populous city in Pennsylvania. It is the larger of the two pr ...

, area. Winebrenner labored extensively in

revival meeting A revival meeting is a series of Christian religious services held to inspire active members of a church body to gain new converts and to call sinners to repent. Those who lead revival services are known as revivalists (or evangelists). Nineteent ...

s, but some of the members opposed what they considered "unusual efforts for the conversion of sinners." In 1828 the General Synod of the German Reformed Church dropped him from its roster of ministers, in response to such complaints. In July 1830, Winebrenner was rebaptized by immersion by Jacob Erb. That year, he and co-laborers sympathetic with his efforts met and organized the General Eldership of the Church of God. Representatives from various denominations were present, and the new organization reflected that diversity.Kern R. ''John Winebrenner: nineteenth century reformer'' 1974 Winebrenner Theological Seminary. In the early years of the Church of God, its members were popularly called Winebrennerians, after their founder. The official name was changed to the General Eldership of the Churches of God in North America in 1845, and to its present title in 1975. The church reported 336 congregations with 32,208 members in 2000, principally in Pennsylvania and the

Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

Organization and theology

The basic theology of the Churches of God is

Arminian Arminianism is a movement of Protestantism initiated in the early 17th century, based on the Christian theology, theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed Church, Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius and his historic supporters known as Remo ...

, conservative, and

. The church observes three ordinances:

baptism by immersion Immersion baptism (also known as baptism by immersion or baptism by submersion) is a method of baptism that is distinguished from baptism by affusion (pouring) and by aspersion (sprinkling), sometimes without specifying whether the immersion is ...

, the

Lord's Supper The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an ordinance in others. Christians believe that the rite was instituted by J ...

(taken in the evening, while seated), and

feet washing The foot (: feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is an organ at the terminal part of the leg made up of o ...

. The Bible is the church's only rule of faith and practice. The CGGC has a

presbyterian polity Presbyterian (or presbyteral) polity is a method of church governance (" ecclesiastical polity") typified by the rule of assemblies of presbyters, or elders. Each local church is governed by a body of elected elders usually called the session ...

. The church is divided into regional conferences, with headquarters in

Findlay, Ohio Findlay ( ) is a city in Hancock County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The second-largest city in Northwest Ohio, Findlay lies about 40 miles (64 km) south of Toledo, Ohio, Toledo. Its population was 40,313 at the 2020 United Sta ...

. The church operates Winebrenner Theological Seminary on the

University of Findlay The University of Findlay (UF) is a private Christian university in Findlay, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1882 through a joint partnership between the Churches of God General Conference and the city of Findlay. UF has nearly 80 ...

campus. ''The Global Advocate'' is the CGGC's official periodical, published bi-monthly by the church. There are seven regional organizations in the Churches of God-USA. These are the Allegheny Region, Eastern Regional Conference, California Eldership, Great Lakes Conference, Mid-South Conference, Midwest Region, and Western Region. Around the world the CGGC also has established conferences in Bangladesh (1898), Brazil (1999), Haiti (1967), India (1898), Kenya (2011), Venezuela (2012), and emerging works in the Dominican Republic, Sweden, and Thailand.

References

External links

Churches of God General Conference (CGGC)
- official Web Site
Articles on the Churches of God, General Conference (CGGC)Winebrenner Theological Seminary
- official Web Site {{DEFAULTSORT:Churches Of God General Conference (Winebrenner) Religious organizations established in 1830 Christian denominations established in the 19th century 1830 establishments in Pennsylvania Evangelical denominations in North America Christian denominations founded in the United States

History

Organization and theology

References

Further reading

External links