The Church of God in Church wants the faithful to go to jail – all together.
As COGIC celebrates its 106th International Convocation at the America Convention Center in Downtown St. Louis through November 12, the Department of Evangelism will minister to the souls incarcerated in the St. Louis City Justice Center and Medium Security Institutions.
At noon Friday, November 8, COGIC evangelists will lead a short march from the corner of Market and Tucker streets to the Justice Center, located at 200 S. Tucker Blvd., followed by a brief ceremony on the stairs of the Justice Center.
“We are striving to make the world a better place to live in while marching and praying for peace,” organizers said.
A number of guest speakers will address the faithful after the march, including Presiding Bishop Charles E. Blake Sr. Also expected to attend is Dr. Elijah Hankerson, international director of the Department of Evangelism.
This grass-roots act of ministry is one of many public events COGIC is organizing while in St. Louis.
COGIC will once again partner with the St. Louis County Department of Health to provide health screenings, medical assistance an on-site medical professionals.
For three days delegates and the general public can receive tests and screenings free of charge. Dr. Delores Gunn, director of the St. Louis County Department of Health, says, “We are excited to partner with the Church of God in Christ again. Our goal is to provide health assistance to as many people as possible.”
COGIC PR Director Robert Coleman said, “This year Dr. Gunn and her staff of physicians will see and help hundreds of people through the Ask the Doctor program. Anyone attending the Health Fair will be allowed to ask questions of physicians’ free of charge.”
In addition to ministry and health, COGIC will try to bring jobs to the faithful.
In an effort to combat the problems of economic blight and unemployment, COGIC’s Urban Initiatives is sponsoring a job fair to be held on Friday, November 8 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the 2nd Floor Atrium of the America’s Center. Open to the public, the event sponsored by COGIC Urban Initiatives will be comprised of over 40 employers. The event is a hiring event, and many of the employers will be performing interviews on the spot.
COGIC encourages all participants to dress for success and bring plenty of resumes.
Elder Edwin Bass, president of COGIC’S Urban Initiatives, says, “Communities of faith must partner with local communities to alleviate some of society’s most vexing problems, including discrimination, poverty and unemployment.”
Bishop Blake sees this ministry as “a natural extension of the work of the Body of Christ.”
The faithful are also sure to catch the main events. On Friday, Nov. 8, Men’s Day and Women’s Day, about 15,000 women will worship in Halls 4 and 5 and 10,000 men will worship in the Edward Jones Dome.
Saturday, Nov. 9 is World Youth Day, to be held in Halls 4 and 5 starting at noon.
And Sunday, Nov. 10 is Official Day with Bishop Blake preaching to the Convocation.
The Church of God in Christ is the fifth largest Protestant religious denomination and the largest African-American church in the United States with churches in 59 countries worldwide and an estimated membership of nearly 6.5 million members.
