The Tennessee Church of God has ordained several ministers and a larger-than-usual class of bishops, officials said.
Dozens of individuals reached the highest possible credentialed ministry level at a ceremony at the large Westmore Church of God in Cleveland, Tennessee.
The June 21 event capped off the multiday Tennessee Church of God camp meeting, where Tennessee members of the Pentecostal group gather annually to worship, memorialize and forge deeper bonds.
Reporting millions of members worldwide, the Church of God's international headquarters is in Cleveland, Tennessee. It's state chapter, based in Chattanooga, claims nearly 80,000 members, 1,600 ministers and 350 churches.
"For me one of the highlights of camp meeting is when we recognize the rise of ministers among our ranks," said state leader Wayne Dority in a recorded video of the meeting, his words backed by an atmospheric keyboard.
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Then he called up the women becoming ordained ministers — the highest ministry rank available to females. He greeted them on stage and called them to work as pastors and ministers to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ and fashion their lives in accordance with his precepts, which included caring for those among them.
Then the state leader called up the men set to be ordained bishops — a step higher than ministers and the highest rank available to males.
The new bishops numbered roughly three dozen, said Jimmie Talley, the state ministries director, and included a handful of men associated with greater Chattanooga-area churches or institutions, like Lee University.
Most of those ordained last week are probably early in their journey, Talley said by phone Thursday. He added the sorts of pastors heading the denomination's larger churches in, say, Cleveland or Chattanooga have probably now been a bishop for some time.
The Church of God has stepped levels of ordination, he said. The first level is an exhorter minister. Someone thus credentialed, he said, is authorized to preach, defend the Gospel, serve as an evangelist and serve as a pastor, though an exhorter can only baptize converts with the permission of a state overseer.
The position is available to those who have been previously engaged in ministry of some sort, among other requirements, like having gone through the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Achieving the exhorter level involves going through an educational program, involving periodic seminars and passing an exam and interview, he said.
The next stage is ordained minister, which involves a nine-month internship and more exams, Talley said. Beyond the authorizations available to those at the exhorter level, those who achieve the minister stage are allowed to baptize, receive new church members, administer sacraments, officiate weddings and plant new churches.
Then there are the ordained bishops. In the Church of God, Talley said, bishops, who must be at least 25, among other requirements, can assist with ordaining new ministers and may hold the highest positions in the denomination, like state overseer or even general overseer — the denomination's top position.
This year's state meeting featured a particularly high number of bishop ordinations, Talley said. One reason for this, he said, is that the International Church of God Assembly is set to take place this year. It's set for mid-July in Indianapolis, and to host the election of several top leadership positions denominationwide.
Contact Andrew Schwartz at aschwartz@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6431.