Church of God Council of Eighteen Elected
Orlando, FL–Following the nominations of the Executive Committee and leaders for Youth and Discipleship and World Missions, members of the International General Council of the Church of God chose the group of ordained bishops to represent them on the Council of Eighteen. Combined with the Executive Committee, the body of 23 bishops forms the International Executive Council.
The Ordained Bishops General Council is meeting in session for the 74th Church of God International General Assembly at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, until July 27.
Half of the current Council of Eighteen had served the limit of two terms of two years and rolled off of the governing body. This opened up several slots and thus attracted literally thousands of votes. Elections took most of the Tuesday afternoon and evening sessions of the General Council, as many votes were cast by the ordained bishops to arrive at the 2012-2014 edition. Final votes were cast around 9:00 p.m. with adjournment of the session at 9:30 p.m.
The results of the election realized several who are serving for the first time on the Executive Council. In order of their election, the Council of Eighteen consists of William Earnest Isaacs, state overseer of Ohio; Timothy Bryan Cutshall, senior pastor Twin Rivers Worship Center in St. Louis, Missouri; Victor M. Pagan, outgoing assistant director of World Missions; Mitchell Maloney, senior pastor of the North Cleveland (Tennessee) Church of God; Thomas Andrew Madden, outgoing director of youth and discipleship for the Church of God; David E Ramirez S., Field Director for Latin America; Ishmael Prince Charles, field director for the Caribbean; Jerry Foster Chitwood, World Missions Field Representative; Michael Lyndon Baker, state overseer of North Georgia; Kevin Edward Wallace, senior pastor of Redemption Point Church in Ooltewah, Tennessee; Gerald E. McGinnis, senior pastor of the Parkway Church of God in Knoxville, Tennessee; Chris Moody, senior pastor of the South Cleveland Church of God in Cleveland, Tennessee; David Charles Cooper, senior pastor of the Mount Paran Church in Atlanta, Georgia; Niko Njotorahardjo, senior pastor of the Gereja Bethel Church in Jakarta, Indonesia; J. Martin Taylor, senior pastor of the Sumiton, Alabama Church of God; Dwight Everett Allen, senior pastor of the Cooper City Church of God; Daniel James Vassell, Sr., overseer of Canada-Ontario; and Oliver Lewis McMahan, vice president for ministry formation/director of D.Min. program at Pentecostal Theological Seminary.
One third of the new members were elected for the first time in their ministerial career. Serving for the first time on the Council of Eighteen are Madden, Baker, Wallace, Moody, Njotorahardjo, and Allen.
Unlike the nominations for the executive committee and ministry leaders, the Council of Eighteen is elected by the General Council and is simply announced to the General Assembly.
The International Executive Council will meet for the first time this September at the International Offices in Cleveland, Tennessee.
Seated (l-r): Newly nominated Executive Committee members M. Thomas Propes, J. David Stephens, Mark Williams, David Griffis, Wallace Sibley. Standing (l-r): New Executive Council members Victor Pagan, Chris Moody, Dwight Allen, Thomas Madden, Michael Baker, Jerry Chitwood, Daniel Vassell, J. Martin Taylor, David Ramirez, Oliver McMahan, Niko Njotorahardjo, Kevin Wallace, Gerald McGinnis, William Isaacs, T. Bryan Cutshall, Ishmael Charles, David Cooper, Mitchell Maloney
