History of Church of God in Mississippi Released
Dr. Louis F. Morgan recently completed a history of the Church of God in Mississippi entitled Streams of Living Water. Morgan wrote the book on the occasion of 100 years of Church of God ministry in Mississippi. It is available free of charge on the World Wide Web and can be read online at www.louismorgan.info/mshistory.html or downloaded and printed. It is a full-color publication and contains interactive audio and video files of sermons, testimonies and songs relevant to the Church of God in Mississippi.
Dr. David G. Roebuck, official historian for the Church of God and Director of the Dixon Pentecostal Research Center and Archives, noted, “This is the first known Church of God history published as an e-book. Incorporating color, audio and video, it substantially raises the quality of state histories in the Church of God.” Morgan was invited to present the e-book at the Church of God Historical Commission meeting held in Cleveland, Tennessee, in November.
Streams of Living Water traces the story of the Church of God in Mississippi from an April 1909 revival when Memphis pastor L.P. Adams preached at Cascilla in the outdoor tabernacle of the Stonefield Holiness Church and follows the denomination’s development in Mississippi through the Second World War. Morgan hopes to expand the history in another volume in the future.
According to Dr. Morgan, the book “highlights the missional focus of consecrated apostolic followers of Christ during the formation and development of the Church of God in Mississippi from 1909 through the mid-1940s….This work is the culmination of more than twenty years of personal research and interviews….My goal is to preserve the story of how the Church of God began in Mississippi and to encourage discussion about its continued developement.” By publishing the book online, Morgan hopes to be able to expand and update it in the future. In addition, he is providing the book free of charge online. “The members of the Church of God in Mississippi gave me a strong foundation in the Word of God and in following the teachings of Christ that has guided me in my life,” explained Morgan. “This is my way of saying, ‘Thank you!’ and giving something back to them.”
Dr. Morgan currently serves as Assistant Professor and Librarian for Public Service and Learning at Lee University. A faculty member at Lee since 2003, he previously served as archivist at the Dixon Pentecostal Research Center (Church of God archives) and also as Curatorial Assistant at the Museum Center at Five Points in downtown Cleveland, Tennessee. He earned a Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership from Regent University (Virginia Beach, Virginia) in 2009. He serves as Second Vice President of the Historical Society of Church of God Movements, serves on the Board of Directors for the Tennessee Library Association, is a member of the American Library Association, and is a lifetime member of the Marion County, Miss., Historical Society.
A native of Morgantown, Miss., Dr. Morgan has served 13 years as a licensed minister with the Church of God. He is a published author, including two books and more than 30 academic and inspirational articles in national and international publications. He frequently speaks at local churches, and was recently appointed chairman of the historical commission for the Church of God in Tennessee.
