Building the Kingdom: Memories of Bishop Crawford F. Bright

by Trudy A. Pratt

From Church of God History and Heritage

Winter/Spring 2003

 

On March 8, 1884, in Lake City, Florida, a visionary leader was born to the proud parents of Reverend Jacob and Hannah Bright. They named their baby boy Crawford F. Bright; he was to become one of the great early leaders of the Church of God.

His Life

Crawford was reared in a Christian home and attended the Primitive Baptist Church, where he was later ordained as a deacon. He received his early education in Lake City.

As an adult, Bishop Bright relocated to Jacksonville. He initiated a life-long secular career as a successful carpenter and began his family. Bishop Bright is said to have built innumerable homes from start to finish and twenty-eight churches, including the Church of God Auditorium in Jacksonville, Florida. This historical landmark served as the convention site for the Church of God Colored Work prior to racial integration in the international church. The "Auditorium," as it is affectionately called by many Black Americans, was constructed in the 1930s during the time of the Great Depression. There was little money and construction was slow. Bishop Bright made personal investments to ensure the work was completed for the glory of God.

Bishop Bright is also credited with building the Church of God Industrial School and Orphanage in Eustis, Florida. According to the Reverend Hannah Hollis, his daughter, Bishop Bright sent several of his own children to the school as an incentive to encourage others to support and send their children as well. At least five of the Bright children were placed at the orphanage and attended school there.

Bishop Bright fathered a total of twenty-two children, five of whom became licensed ministers of the Gospel. One of his sons, Bishop Earl H. Bright, recalls that while his father was busy in ministry and in carpentry work, his mother, Mrs. Gola Bright, remained at home and managed the household "with a strong hand." Sister Bright is remembered as the disciplinarian in the home.

The Bright home was a refuge from the pressures of ministry and secular stresses. The family gathered together for quality time at dinner, where Bishop Bright sat at the head of the table, lead the family in devotions, and took pleasure in knowing adequate provisions were made for all his children. Reverend Hannah Hollis recalls, "Daddy was a loving man, a great father. He was passionate about his work, but when he came home, he was a family man…. He did almost all the cooking and grocery shopping in the home." Bishop Earl Bright remembers his father as, "a strict old fashioned preacher; a large erect man measuring 6’2" and weighing over 250 pounds, who walked and spoke with authority and respect, a business and financial manager who handled the affairs of his household well."

Bishop Bright with sons ca. 1930:

(l-r) Crawford Jr., Shadrach, and Earl H.

Study time at the Bright home was spent on the front porch in the evenings, and this was known to be a time when Bishop Bright was not to be disturbed. God inspired this great man of faith during these times, as evidenced by the anointing that fell upon him during ministry.

 

His Ministry

According to records kept by the Church of God Department of Business and Records, Brother Bright was ordained as a deacon in Jacksonville, Florida, on October 30, 1911. He began his preaching ministry in 1913, and was ordained as a bishop in the Church of God in Valdosta, Georgia, on February 10, 1916. He was assigned ministerial number six, and A.J. Tomlinson signed his ordination credentials as bishop.

After working in active ministry for several years, Bishop Bright became disenchanted and left the Church of God. According to his report of revocation of ministry, dated December 2, 1921, and endorsed by Tomlinson, Bishop Bright "revolted because he claimed the colored would never be recognized with the whites."

During his absence from the Church of God, Bishop Bright fellowshipped with the Church of God in Christ. However, feeling this was not God’s perfect will for his life, he rejoined the Church of God in 1924. He was again ordained as a bishop on July 12, 1924, under General Overseer F.J. Lee. Previously on March 14, 1924, Bishop David LeFleur, Overseer of the Church of God Colored Work, had written a letter of recommendation to General Overseer Lee, stating, "We felt that his testimony would endorse him back to the position of bishop in the Church of God. He told us how he regretted going out and that he was never satisfied until he came back…. He further wants to do all he can for the two years he has lost out of the church…. He explained himself in the convention openly how that two years of his ministry has been wasted…. So we feel assured that Brother Bright will make good."

And Bishop Bright did just that! He was ordained as a bishop for the second time on July 12, 1924. At the time of his death in 1952, The Church of God Gospel Herald1 reported on the many contributions he had made to the kingdom. During the 1927 State Convention in Sanford, Florida, Bishop Bright was appointed chairman of the following committees: School and Orphanage Property, Planning Committee Relative to the Financial Support of the Overseer of the Colored Work, and the Committee on Women’s Work. In addition to serving as a member of the Bishops’ Council, he worked in the following positions:

Bishop Bright with wife, Gola Ross Bright,

and 10 of his 22 children ca. 1932

• 1927-47 General Secretary-Treasurer of the Church of God Colored Work (20 years)

• 1933-1950 Chairman and member of General Trustee Board (17 years)

• 1929-1950 Member, Board of Directors of the Church of God Burial League (21 years)

• Bishop Bright was state overseer of the Church of God Colored Work in these states:

• 1919-20 Pennsylvania (2 years)

• 1920 New Jersey (1 year)

• 1929-40 Georgia (11 years)

• 1932-40 North and South Carolina (8 years)

• 1940-41 Maryland (1 year)

• 1941-47 Ohio (5 years)

• 1946-47 Michigan (1 year)

• 1941-50 Pennsylvania (9 years)

• 1941-47 New York (6 years)

• 1947-48 Maryland (1 year)

• 1947-48 North Carolina (1 year)

• 1949-50 North Carolina (1 year)

Bishop Bright also served as district overseer of Jacksonville (Florida) District and as pastor of several churches in Florida, Washington, D.C., Georgia and Pennsylvania.

Bishop Earl Bright recalls how his father was a man of great faith and had an awesome deliverance ministry. He recalls his father praying, after receiving calls to go pray for the sick, "God, if you’re gonna’ take him (or her), do it before I arrive, ‘cause he (she) can’t die once I get there."

Reverend Hannah Hollis recalls how she traveled extensively with her father--assisting him with his reporting, and meeting lots of people. She said, while at home, "Daddy had no patience on waiting for anyone on Sunday mornings. He was a punctual man and refused to allow anyone to make him late on Sunday mornings."

 

His Legacy

Bishop Bright retired in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. However, he continued to assist people with carpentry work and ministered until his death. According to the 1952 Gospel Herald, "The Pastoral services rendered by him to the Church of God, Jacksonville, Florida, will long linger in the hearts and minds of the people. His faithfulness, uprightness, and honesty in dealing with the public… [have] made for him a name that shall forever stand as a monument in this place."²

Bishop Bright’s favorite verse was Luke 12:32, "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom"; and his favorite saying was "When I get to Heaven I’m gonna’ stay there." He went home to be with the Lord on April 10, 1952, at the age of 78, and was buried in Pittsburg. He left his family with a strong legacy to put God first in our lives, to love and provide for family, and to work faithfully until the end for the kingdom of God. Today, over fifty years after his demise, three children, many grandchildren, and several great-grandsons are serving in ministry, and have made great strives in the church. The legacy of Bishop Crawford F. Bright shall live on!

NOTES

1. "At Home with the Lord: A Soldier is Fallen," The Church of God Gospel Herald, October 1952, 1.

2. "At Home with the Lord," 1. For information on Pennsylvania and New Jersey see: Church of God, Minutes of the Annual Assemblies (np: np), 14:31 and 15:45, 89.

Dr. Trudy A. Pratt is an ordained minister in the Church of God, a full-time evangelist and the granddaughter of Bishop Crawford F. Bright.

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