In less than two years, the Church of God is headed to the beautiful midwestern city of Indianapolis, Indiana for the 79th International General Assembly in 2024.
Prior to the Covid-19 shut-down, the 78th General Assembly held last month in San Antonio was scheduled to take place in Indianapolis July 21-24, 2020 at the Indianapolis Convention Center. In an agreement with City of Indianapolis officials, the Church of God will make up for the postponement when the assembly is conducted in the city on July 8-12, 2024.
This will be the fifth time the General Assembly has been held in Indianapolis and the first since 2006. It was also the site in 2002, 1996 and was first held there in 1952.
[1]A portion of the panoramic photo taken of the 1952 General Assembly (click photo to enlarge)
Seventy years ago, Church of God officials chose Indianapolis following three consecutive Assemblies conducted in Birmingham, Alabama. The venue for the 44th General Assembly was the Indianapolis Fairgrounds where thousands gathered on August 11-17, 1952. A panoramic photo of the event shows thousands of women in stylish hats and men in their Sunday best.
The photo was provided by Dr. Jack Bridges, coordinator of SpiritCare for the Church of God in Ohio, who was in attendance at that 1952 Assembly.
“I was only 21 and had just preached my first sermon the month before,” Bridges stated. “I don’t even remember how I got there, but it was a fascinating experience and I took it all in.” Bridges was a delegate at last month’s Assembly in San Antonio where he reminisced about attending Trinity University in San Antonio preparing for the ministry.
The city of Indianapolis has changed dramatically in the 70 years since that 1952 gathering. When the Church of God was there for the 71st General Assembly in 2006 the venue was the RCA Dome and adjoining convention center. Since then, the RCA Dome has been razed and the convention center expanded into a portion of the space. The 2024 Assembly will be conducted in the enlarged convention center. Restaurants are abundant and several hotels are connected via elevated skywalks. The Circle Centre Mall adjoins the convention center.
Registration for the 79th International General Assembly is set to begin in January 2024.
—Cameron Fisher, Church of God Communications.