With the completion of the 73rd General Assembly in Orlando last week, the Church of God International Offices will have some new faces and others in new positions.
Some of the changes reflect a restructuring plan that was revealed several months ago and now takes effect. Some positions have been eliminated, while others have been reassigned according to the revised divisional ministries structure. Each of the five divisions will be led by a member of the Church of God Executive Committee.
While many areas and positions are unchanged, the following are some of the highlights of changes which are now in place at the international offices and surrounding ministries in Cleveland, Tennessee:
Care Division – With the retirement of Dr. Robert Crick and his wife Jeanette, the Chaplains Commission will now be led by the Director of Ministries Donnie Smith. The commission will have four coordinators with various duties and include Richard Pace, Jake Popejoy, Tom Offut and Elaine Offut. The Care Division is under the leadership of Secretary General Wallace Sibley.
Discipleship Division – In addition to a name change, the former Church Ministries Division will see a number of changes. A new adult discipleship sector has been created with a men’s and women’s coordinator. David and Lorna Gosnell, former state overseers in the midlands region, will direct the two emphases. In addition, Larry Horrell has been named discipleship music resource coordinator.
Also in the discipleship division is publications which will be directed by former overseer of Mississippi Terry Hart. Administrative coordinator is David Ray, formerly of the youth and Christian education department, Lance Colkmire has been named managing editor of publications, while Robert McCall will be central distribution coordinator. Third Assistant General Overseer David Griffis is the Director of the Discipleship Division.
In the Education Division Dr. Delton Alford, long time director of Music Ministries and SpiritSound Music, will be supervising the Patten University/Division of Education Internet Degree Program. Ken Davis, former director of Stewardship for the Church of God, has been named vice president for institutional advancement at the Pentecostal Theological Seminary. Education is led by Second Assistant General Overseer Mark Williams.
Finally in the Division of World Evangelization, some changes and new faces will be leading in various areas of ministry. Dwight Spivey, former administrative bishop in eastern North Carolina has been named administrative coordinator for the division of world evangelization. Ken Hill will be the representative for Black Ministries in the northern region and Robert Moore, immediate past overseer for the state of Louisiana, returns as coordinator for Ministry to the Military.
Also named in the division is Carlos Moran, former overseer for the northwest Hispanic region, who will become director of evangelism for Hispanic ministries for the Church of God. Leonard Albert, who has led the office of Lay Ministries for more than 20 years, will now head the newly-formed office of personal evangelism. Jerry Chitwood, who last served as administrative bishop for western North Carolina, has been named U.S.A. missions representative. First Assistant General Overseer Tim Hill leads World Evangelization.
Finally, Rev. Lyn Stone fills the position of Administrative Liaison to the General Overseer replacing Dr. Ken Bell who was appointed state overseer of Pennsylvania.
For a complete list of appointments, including all states, regions and assignments around the world, download the document “Elections and Appointments” on the GA2010 Web link at the Church of God Web site www.churchofgod.org.