About Us
Our History
The Church of God of Prophecy is a vibrant, worldwide body of believers, united in worship and working together to share God’s love and a message of hope to the broken-hearted. The Church of God of Prophecy has over one-and-a-half million members, worshiping in over 10,000 churches in 125 nations of the world. Nearly 90% of the church’s global membership is outside of North America.
The Church of God movement began over one hundred years ago in the humble hearts of earnest believers in the rural mountains of Cherokee County, North Carolina. Following a miracle-filled revival that took place in a schoolhouse near Camp Creek in 1886, a small congregation formed a Christian Union to pray and study the scriptures.
Soon led by Ambrose Jessup Tomlinson, a young pastor from Indiana, the group was more formally organised in 1903 into the Church of God and relocated its headquarters to neighbouring Cleveland, Tennessee the following year. From Appalachia to the world, the century that followed saw great growth in all the branches of this movement.
From the beginning, these spiritual pioneers traced their roots to the New Testament church and considered themselves a continuation of the Spirit-filled Christianity exhibited in the book of Acts. This desired connection with early Christian expression continues today with a mandate that all church decisions be committed to prayer and based on scripture.
In contemporary theological terms, the Church of God of Prophecy is a Protestant, Evangelical, Wesleyan holiness, Pentecostal movement that believes in man’s freewill regarding salvation.
The Church of God of Prophecy was established in the UK in Bedford in 1953 under Bishop Herbert England and a presence in London followed soon after. Some of our local fellowships have been established for more than 60 years.
For more information about the Church of God of Prophecy please visit the UK and international sites.
Our Doctrine
From its beginnings, the Church of God of Prophecy has based its beliefs on “the whole Bible rightly divided.” We accept the Bible as God’s Holy Word, inspired, inerrant, and infallible. We believe the Bible to be God’s written revelation of Himself to mankind and our guide in all matters of faith; therefore, we look to the Bible as our highest authority for doctrine, practice, organisation, and discipline.
The Church of God of Prophecy is firm in its commitment to orthodox Christian belief.
We affirm that there is one God eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
We believe in the deity of Christ, His virgin birth, His sinless life, the physical miracles He performed, His atoning death upon the Cross, His bodily resurrection, His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and His personal return in power and glory at His second coming.
We profess that regeneration by the Holy Spirit is essential for the salvation of sinful mankind. We believe the sinner is brought to an awareness of the need for salvation through the convicting work of the Holy Spirit. We believe that in sanctification by the blood of Christ, one is made holy. We affirm the present, active ministry of the Holy Spirit who guides the Church and by whose indwelling and empowerment we are able to live godly lives and render effective service to God and others. We believe in the oneness and ultimate unity of believers for which our Lord prayed, and that this should be visibly displayed “that the world may know, see, and believe” God’s glory, the coming of His Son, and the great love He has for His people (John 17:20-23). As a church we are committed to the sanctity of the marriage bond and the importance of strong, loving Christian families.
The Church embraces all biblical doctrines as taught in the New Testament some which we believe may be helpful to believers seeking to mature in Christ Jesus.
Visit the website of our International Offices for more detail about our doctrine.