time, the Board of Bishops entered the name of Bishop Ozro Thurston Jones, Sr. to become the new Senior Bishop of the Church of God In Christ. Bishop Jones was born on March 26, 1891


in Fort Smith, Arkansas. He was the son of Baptist parents, Merion and Mary Jones. In 1912, Bishop Jones experienced and confessed salvation. He further acknowledged baptism in the Holy Spirit as a second work of grace. He answered the call to preach under the leadership of COGIC pioneer, Elder Justus Bowe. Bishop Jones, along with his older sister and brother, developed into a tremen- dous evangelistic team in North Arkansas and the surrounding states. It is reported that 18 congre- gations were established as a direct result of their evangelistic efforts.


Bishop Jones is probably best known as the


first leader of the Youth Department in 1914. In 1916, he founded and edited the YPWW Quarterly Topics and in 1920, he was recognized for his leadership and appointed as the Assistant State Overseer in Oklahoma.


In 1925, Bishop Jones became pastor of a small congregation of believers in Philadelphia, the Holy Temple Church of God In Christ. The next year he became the State Overseer of Pennsylvania. He continued to work with the youth and founded the International Youth Congress in 1928. Bishop Mason selected Bishop Jones as one


of the five men to be consecrated and installed as COGIC’s Founding Bishops. He would later serve on the Executive Commission that Bishop Mason created to assist him during his last years as Senior Bishop and Chief Apostle. Bishop Jones was the last of the original five bishops living at the time of Bishop Mason’s death.


The first few years of Bishop Jones’ tenure were relatively smooth; however, in 1965, events began to change as some demanded regular elections for the office of Senior Bishop. There were questions as to the power and authority of the Senior Bishop and as a result of the issues presented, a Constitutional Convention was called in 1968. The first meeting was held on January 30, 1968 and called for elections later in the year. At those elections, Bishop James Oglethorpe Patterson, Sr. was elected Presiding Bishop, which removed Bishop Jones from office. Bishop Jones remained Jurisdictional Prelate in Pennsylvania until he passed on September 23,


36 INSPIRATIONTODAY


1972 at the age of 81. He is credited with not leaving the church after being removed from office, which speaks to his integrity and commitment to the ideals and teachings of our Founder. Bishop Jones was laid to rest in Philadelphia.


Bishop James Oglethorpe Patterson, Sr. (1968-1989) The Churchman, The Statesman, The Establish- mentarian


Bishop James Oglethorpe Patterson, Sr. was born on July 21, 1912 in Derma, Mississippi to William and Mollie Patterson. Bishop Patterson was called to the ministry and ordained as an elder in 1935 by the late Bishop A.B. McEwen, Sr. In 1936, he became the pastor of a church


in Gates, Tennessee. Bishop Patterson served churches in Brownsville and Memphis, Tennessee and East Orange, New Jersey. He also founded the J.O Patterson Mortuary in 1939 and served as one of the organizers of the Tennessee Burial Society. As the first Presiding Bishop of the Church of


God In Christ, Bishop Patterson had served the church as a member of the Executive Board and as Executive Secretary. He was well known, as he was the son-in-law of the Founder, being the spouse of Deborah Indiana Mason. At the time of his election, he was the pastor of the Pentecostal Temple Institutional COGIC, which he founded in 1942, and Prelate of the Tennessee Headquarters Jurisdiction.


Bishop Patterson was consecrated by Bishop Mason in 1955 and his first appointment was as Prelate of the Second Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of Tennessee. Bishop Mason appointed him as Secretary of the Executive Commission. Bishop Patterson was known as a churchman


and a statesman. He is credited with creating a greater and well-defined ecclesiastical organization. He quickly began institutionalizing the international church by establishing protocols of worship, policy, practice and procedure, with a new constitution and official manual in 1973. Many of us still use this manual to today.


Bishop Patterson led COGIC to become a major force within the collective “black church” and the worldwide Pentecostal movement. During


his 21 year tenure, COGIC experienced tremendous growth and was noted as one of the fastest growing and largest religious groups in the United States. The accomplishments of Bishop Patterson over the many years are great. They include the establishment of the Charles Harrison Mason Seminary in Atlanta, Georgia; the C.H. Mason System of Bible Colleges; the J.O. Patterson Fine Arts Department; the Historical Museum and Fine Arts Center; organizer of the Charles Harrison Mason Foundation; and the Presiding Bishop’s Benefit Fund that provided scholarships for deserving youth of the church. Both the Publishing House and Bookstore came into being under his leadership. Bishop Patterson’s connections to other groups were vital to the growth of COGIC. He was the Founder and President of the World Fellowship of Black Pentecostal Churches and led COGIC to membership within the Congress of National Black Churches. Many people remember his ultimate dream of a Saints Center, which was to become an international ministry complex on the campus of the headquarters in Memphis. This dream was never materialized.


At the time of Bishop Patterson’s death on December 29, 1989, COGIC had more than four million members in 48 nations with over 10,000 churches. Bishop Patterson consecrated and appointed in excess of 100 jurisdictional bishops. From 1975 until his death, Bishop Patterson was recognized annually as one of the most influential blacks in America. He was laid to rest in Memphis. We honor his blessed memory.


Bishop Louis Henry Ford (1990-1995) The Preacher, The Advocate, The Historian


Bishop Louis Henry Ford was born May 23, 1914 in Clarksdale, Mississippi. In 1933, he migrated to Chicago and began preaching on street corners. Bishop Ford became the first bishop of Illinois in 1954 and gained national atten- tion as the eulogist for the funeral of Emmett Till in 1955.


Bishop Ford’s influence was undeniable.


The President of the United States, William Jefferson Clinton, addressed the 86th International Holy


Convocation on November 13, 1993. Ford was well known as an advisor to not only President Clinton but Mayors Richard J. and Richard M. Daley of Chicago. His local ministry, the St. Paul Church of God In Christ, consistently served the community in an effort to fight homelessness, hunger and drug abuse.


Bishop Ford’s dislike for “high church”


liturgy, vestments and modernity, as introduced during Bishop Patterson’s time, was no secret. Typically, Bishop Ford would wear only a simple black suit with his infamous black-and-white striped tie. In this manner, he returned COGIC to placing an emphasis on basic holiness. One of his major accomplishments was the reestablishment and reopening of Saints Academy and College in Lexington, Mississippi. Tremendous remodeling and building efforts were begun at the site during his tenure. He constructed the multi- million dollar Deborah Mason Patterson Hall on the campus, along with a major renovation of COGIC’s national properties in Memphis.


Although his tenure was short, Bishop Ford led COGIC into becoming a major influence with the President of the United States. Consequently, every U.S. President since Clinton has sought the advice and counsel of a COGIC Presiding Bishop. Bishop Ford died on March 31, 1995 at the age of 90. His life was celebrated in Chicago and Memphis. He was buried in Chicago in Oak Woods Cemetery.


Bishop Chandler David Owens (1995-2000) The Orator, The Golden Voice, The Man of Great Faith


Born October 2, 1932 in Birmingham, Alabama to the union of Reverend William and Martha Owens, Bishop Chandler David Owens was saved as a child at the Smith- field Church of God In Christ. He would later become Junior Pastor of his father’s church,


Power View Church of God In Christ. Bishop Ow- ens was always destined for greatness. He served as an adjutant to the Founder of our Church, the late Bishop Charles Harrison Mason.


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