The Apostolic Overcoming Holy Church of God was founded in 1916 as the

Ethiopian Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighboring Eritrea and other parts of ...

Overcoming Holy Church of God by the late

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

W.T. Phillips in

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...

. The Church was locally incorporated on July 14, 1920. Believing that God’s message was to all people on April 1, 1941, the church changed its name and was incorporated in the State of

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

as the Apostolic Overcoming Holy Church of God. The church spread to many parts of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and into foreign territories. Bishop Phillips led the church successfully for 57 years. He died on November 24, 1973, and Senior Bishop Jasper Roby served as the National Presider until May 2000. In June 2000, Bishop George W. Ayers, Ph.D. was voted by the Executive board as the National/International Presiding Prelate. His position was reaffirmed in June 2002 and he served faithfully until his death in 2015. His position was succeeded by Bishop John H. Matthews, who currently serves. The church presently has

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

serving Western, Southwest and

Southeast Africa Southeast Africa or Southeastern Africa is an African region that is intermediate between East Africa and Southern Africa. It comprises the countries Botswana, Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania ...

. The local churches are united under districts, which are governed by overseers and district or

diocesan In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

s. The Annual Meeting called "

Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles in the Ne ...

" convenes each year on June 1–10. Birmingham, Alabama, is the home of the church headquarters. Since 2011 it has been located at the Cathedral of the Cross A.O.H. Church of God at 1480 CenterPoint Parkway Birmingham, AL 35215. The Apostolic Overcoming Holy Church of God proclaims it is set upon the foundation laid by

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

and the

Apostles An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

following ( non-Trinitarian) Oneness-Pentecostal doctrine. It believes that the work that Christ began must be continued to bring humanity to complete reconciliation with God.

References

External links

Apostolic Overcoming Holy Church of God
(Official Website) {{Authority control Churches in Mobile, Alabama Christian organizations established in 1916 Nontrinitarian denominations