Why I Love My Church

As most of you know, I was raised in the Church of God of Prophecy. It is through this church that I am now a lay minister and pursuing my minister's license. I have spoken before of my disgust when I hear others trying to tear her down. Since deciding to become a minister in this church, it has become even more important to me to defend her. In the interest of full disclosure, I want you to know that for a short time, I attended a different denomination. While positive things happened for me while I was a part of a different fellowship, it also taught me the value of "home" and opened my eyes to the beauty of my church. It is with this in mind that I present to you (just a few of) the reasons I love the Church of God of Prophecy:

1. We believe that God can use whomever He sees fit. As a female minister, it is an honor to represent a church that tells me that I can present the Gospel just as effectively as any man. The church not only acknowledges women preachers/pastors, it also gives them full minister's licenses, and allows them the same opportunities as men in the church. In the same manner, I am blessed to be a part of color-blind church! Having started in the American south when racism was prevalent, it would have made sense for our church to be like the others and segregate, but we didn't. In a time when many denominations would remain quiet as their members and even pastors affiliated with the Ku Klux Klan, my church was installing African American bishops, and our churches were inclusionary of all races. In fact, I have heard stories of our church members being harassed by the KKK for mixing races in the church. One of my favorite photos is of my mother in her local church as a child in very rural Kentucky in the late 1950's. In the photo, she is surrounded by white and black faces alike, brought together by the hand of God. What a great heritage!

2. We still believe in holiness. We were founded in the holiness tradition, taking seriously that we are to be holy, as He is holy. We believe that we cannot be like Christ and like the world at the same time. When examining our history, you will find times when our forefathers pressed the limit into what seemed like legalism, but I believe that they had good intentions and were trying to give guidance to members. This brings me to my next point...

3. When we miss the mark, we admit it. My church acknowledges that we are but men and without the Holy Spirit as our guide, we are hopeless. Throughout our history, there have been times (as in the point above) in which good intentions were taken too far. When this has happened, I am proud to say that my church has admitted error and sought to rectify the situation. Time and time again, the cry of our collective heart has been, "Come Holy Spirit, be our guide!" We are fallible and we know it, but with His help we move forward.

4. Our emphasis has always been on souls, not dollars. Most of the mockery/criticism I hear about my church is in reference to our finances. We rarely have the nicest church buildings in town. Our churches are generally found on "the other side of the tracks". I have literally sat in our churches counting bullet holes in the walls where the church was caught in the crossfire of a drive by. I consider this a badge of honor for our church, not something to be ashamed of. Our church is in the middle of a crack neighborhood? Thank God it has remained there! Thank God for the opportunity to meet the drug addicts and the alcoholics and the prostitutes where they are! Do you really think those type of people would feel comfortable leaving their neighborhood to go to the rich people's church on the fancy side of town?

I've watched other churches poor mouth to their members to build bigger buildings, buy more expensive sound equipment, and purchase lighting fixtures and never spend a dime on outreach! You know why most of our churches don't have a lot of money? Because for one, we don't pursue the rich for their checkbooks. For another, we will send money we need locally to a church overseas because we think they need it more! Our churches are willing to scrape by if it means investing in souls, and for that, I couldn't be more proud!

5. We are a family like none other. There is a fellowship in the Church of God of Prophecy that I have never seen in another church. We look out for one another. You are my brother or sister. Your kids are my kids. I could tell you countless stories of men and women stranded away from home, and being taken care of by a COGOP member who never met them, but wanted to help. The greatest thing about this family is that we are looking for new family members! When someone joins our fellowship, they are taken in immediately, as if we knew them for years!

I love this church. It has taken care of me and my family. Its members have offered me the encouragement and support I needed. So view this as a warning, when you bad-mouth this fellowship, I consider that an attack against me, because a large portion of who I am is due to this church. When you mock her name, you are mocking my grandparents who worked 3 jobs to keep their local COGOP open because they believed in her vision. When you make jokes about her history, you are making jokes about widows who tithe on their social security and give more than they have so that their grandchildren have a chance to be a part of a church that tries to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.

There is not enough time to tell you everything I love about my denomination. For more information about our international body, I encourage you to visit www.cogop.org. For my Tennessee readers, check out www.tncogop.com.