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2005 Church of God
Heritage Calendar Now Available
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2005 Church of God Heritage Calendar |
Children, youth
and Christian discipleship have been at the heart of the Church of God from our
earliest history. "Lighting the Path” is the theme of the new 2005 Church of God Heritage Calendar.
The calendar features photographs of Teen Talent, Sunday schools and other
youth activities along with leaders such as M.P. and Lettie Cross, Houston R.
Morehead, and Doyle Dikes. Also included are the organizational dates and
significant activities of many Church of God ministries with special attention
given to the International Department of Youth and Christian Education.
Calendars are $3 each. Ten or more are available at
$2 each. Shipping and Handling is included.
To Order write or call:
Dixon Pentecostal Research Center
260 11th Street NE
Cleveland, TN 37311
Phone: 423-614-8576
E-mail:
dixon_research@leeuniversity.edu
Our Heritage of Youth and Christian Education
Not long after A.J. Tomlinson settled in Culberson, North
Carolina, in 1899, he opened a school for children in his home. Much of his
ministry was providing food and clothing for children living in the mountainous
region.
Speakers at the first General Assembly in 1906 highlighted
the importance of both family worship and Sunday school. According to the
Assembly, daily family worship was an essential component of Christian
discipleship, and Sunday schools helped to elevate the morals of communities as
well as instruct children in Word and worship. Further, the Assembly recognized
that Sunday schools could be a vehicle to establish new churches.
Eighteen years later the Reverend Lettie Cross preached the
first youth service at a General Assembly in 1924. Concerned about the
“foolishness and frivolity” of youth in his day, General Overseer F.J. Lee asked
Cross to preach on the topic “Should Young People Be Sober-minded?”
 A
number of advocates championed the development of a general youth ministry
throughout the 1920s. M.P. Cross and Houston R. Morehead organized Young
Harvesters Clubs in Michigan. In 1926, Pastor E.L. Simmons formed a Young
People’s Missionary Association in Florida. Alda B. Harrison who’s local Young
People’s Mission Band was successful in Cleveland, regularly appealed for a
general church youth ministry. Finally, in 1929, the Church of God created the
Young People’s Endeavor, using the name that State Overseer R.P. Johnson had
recently adopted for youth groups in Florida.
Harrison was directly involved in another ministry
inaugurated in 1929. Although she was the wife of a Presbyterian minister,
Harrison established The Lighted Pathway as a magazine for Church of God
youth. Full of inspirational features for the family, The Lighted Pathway
ministered to generations of Church of God young people until its
discontinuation in 1990.
The Church of
God appointed a Youth Program Committee in 1945 to gather resources and
information for state youth leaders. This committee arranged for a National
Youth Congress to precede the General Assembly in 1946. At that Assembly, the
church took immense strides with the formation of the National Youth Department,
with Ralph E. Williams as director. Then in 1948 the work of the Sunday school
was added to the responsibilities of the youth director. Known as the
International Department of Youth and Christian Education, today’s department
provides resources and programs for youth, children’s and family ministries as
well as materials and training for Christian educators.
By Dr. David G. Roebuck
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Dixon
Pentecostal Research Center
