Church of God International (United States)
| Church of God International | |
|---|---|
| Classification | Church of God |
| Leader | Ministerial Council |
| Region | International |
| Headquarters | Tyler, Texas |
| Founder | Garner Ted Armstrong, et al. |
| Origin | 1978 Tyler, Texas |
| Separated from | Worldwide Church of God |
| Separations | Intercontinental Church of God; Christian Educational Ministries (Ronald L. Dart); Churches of God Outreach Ministries (CGOM) |
| Congregations | 61 |
The Church of God, International (CGI) is a Christian religious denomination based in the United States, an offshoot of the Worldwide Church of God (WCG) founded by Herbert W. Armstrong. It is one of many Sabbatarian Churches of God to separate from WCG.
CGI was founded in 1978 by four former members of the Worldwide Church of God, including evangelist Garner Ted Armstrong (1930-2003) after his father, Herbert W. Armstrong, excommunicated him from the WCG and fired him from all roles in the church over disagreements about operations and certain doctrinal positions. CGI established its headquarters in Tyler, Texas, and also founded the Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.
The church logo features a breastplate, helmet, crossed swords, and a banner inscribed with Ephesians 6:11-17. It is based on a wall hanging Garner Ted assembled from a suit of armor presented to him as a gift from his father.
"We are discovering that primus inter pares (first among equals) is a biblical principle rooted in humility."
CGI was led by Garner Ted Armstrong until 1998. Armstrong and the ministerial leadership aimed to develop a "servant-leadership type of ministry" in contrast to the "one man, top down leadership", of the WCG—this was an important point of departure for the founders after what was perceived to be years of ministerial abuse of power within the WCG, even though Ted himself continued to be very authoritarian.
In 1998, amid accusations of sexual assault, Garner Ted Armstrong himself was removed from office by the church's board of directors. Mr. Armstrong left CGI and founded the Intercontinental Church of God. Citing health reasons, prominent church leader Ronald L. Dart also left CGI to found his own religious service organization, Christian Educational Ministries. After significant ministerial reorganization, the church made an effort to put the incident behind them and focus on continuing "the work". Currently, there is a sharing of administration and leadership among church pastors through a board of directors. The chairman's position is subject to re-election every three years. Charles Groce served as Chief Executive Officer for the church until June 27, 2015, when he announced his retirement. Vance Stinson was elected to replace him to serve in this role.
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