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Worldwide Church of God



         


Herbert W. Armstrong and in a line of descent from the Millerite and Adventist movements, particularly the Church of God (7th-Day) Salem, West Virginia.

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Background

The church traces its history to the ministry of Herbert W. Armstrong (1892-1986) in Oregon in 1933, when he became a minister of the Church of God (7th-Day). He pastored a church in Eugene, and started a radio ministry in 1934. The forerunner of the Worldwide Church of God was the Radio Church of God, formed in 1937. The ministry grew rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s, and in 1968 the name was changed to Worldwide Church of God. The first congregation outside the United States was founded in 1953. Growth began to slow in the 1970s, partly due to the failure of the widely expected return of Christ in 1975, and partly due to controversy surrounding Armstrong's son, Garner Ted Armstrong, including Garner Ted's departure from the church and founding of the Church of God International.

Under Armstrong, the Worldwide Church of God was considered to be the true church. After the death of Armstrong in 1986, the church leadership fell to Joseph W. Tkach. As early as 1988, Tkach began to make some minor doctrinal changes. Tkach and his son, Joseph W. Tkach, Jr., led the church toward a theological position more in line with and acceptable to evangelical Christians. The "new" church repudiated many of its former teachings, and even issued an apology to the wider Christian community. This turnaround caused much disillusionment among the membership, and the widespread rise of splinter groups. During the tenure of the elder Joseph Tkach, the church dropped in membership by about 50%. The Worldwide Church of God now accepts their founder as a sincere Bible student who made many errors in his interpretation of God's Word.

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Status

The Worldwide Church of God has about 64,000 members in 860 congregations in around 90 nations across the world (2004). Headquarters are in Pasadena, California. The church has held membership in the National Association of Evangelicals since 1997.

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Organizational Structure

The Worldwide Church of God is established under an hierarchical form of government. The chief ecclesiastical officer of the denomination is called the pastor general. The denomination's ecclesiastical policies are determined by its Advisory Council of Elders (ACE), which is chaired by the pastor general. A Doctrinal Advisory Team advises the ACE on the denomination's doctrinal statements and publications.

In addition to the international leadership, the Worldwide Church of God maintains national offices and offices in multinational regions.

Within the United States, denominational contact with local assemblies (known as local churches or local congregations) is facilitated by district superintendents, each of which is responsible for a large number of churches in a geographical region (such as Florida or the Northeast) or in a specialized language group (such as Spanish-speaking congregations).

Local churches are generally led by a senior pastor or a pastoral leadership team, each of which is supervised by a district superintendent. Some senior pastors are responsible for a single local church, but many are responsible for two or more churches. Local church leadership also includes an Advisory Council, a number of ministry leaders (some of whom are also called deacons), and often additional elders or assistant pastors.

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Timeline of Change

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Worldwide Church of God splinters

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