Southwest Michigan Church of God in

Christ Fourth Jurisdiction Short History

As I reflect on my five-year journey, being the second in succession since the inception of our jurisdiction, it has been a tremendous joy following in the footsteps of our beloved late Bishop Fred A. Lewis. The jurisdiction was built on Holiness and will forever remain the foundation on which we stand. I count it a privilege to share our history, so that we will never forget where we came from.

The history of Michigan Southwest Fourth Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction, Church of God in Christ, has been an exciting and beautiful sequence of experiences. Each one has a definitive purpose arranged by the hand of God. As individual families, growing together, we endured the vagaries of life, we laughed, we rejoiced together, we wept, we celebrated in marriage, and mourned in death; members have come and gone, but each one left something indelibly etched in our hearts and minds.

In the beginning, we were called “The Great West Michigan Fellowship Church of God in Christ.” The National body changed the name to what it is today. Our founding fathers including the following men of God (in order of secession): Superintendent (Supt.) Dank (Mother Martha) Tyler – A man of Courage; Supt. Aaron (Evangelist Virgie) Milton – A man of Peace and Unity; Supt. Louis C. ( Mother Jolaine) Hunter – A man of Integrity; Supt. James C. (Mother Ollie M.) Lewis – A man of Strength; and Administrative Assistant Fred (Mother Statha) Lewis, a man of faith and power, who was our first leader and Bishop.

Administrative Assistant Fred Lewis embodied the characteristics of the founders, a man of courage, integrity, and strength, thereby promoting unity. Other pastors (in alphabetical order) who joined the new fellowship (by signing commitment letters) include the following pastors: Pastor Samuel Adams; Pastor A. Barnes; Pastor Grady Billings; Pastor Milton Brock; Pastor Charles Dillard; Pastor Charles P. Edwards; Pastor Keith Flowers; Pastor Willie Huddleston; Supt. Jeremiah Johnson; Pastor Percy Jordan; Pastor Curtis Lewis; Pastor Alto Marion; Pastor Arthur Martin; Supt. Eddie Matthews; Pastor Hazell McCoy; Pastor Eugene Moore; Pastor Walter Nix; Pastor F.L. Thompson; Pastor Non Walker; Pastor Watson; Pastor Chester Williams; Supt. Eugene Anderson; Pastor David Anderson; Pastor Henry Badon; Pastor Richard Brown; Pastor William Elum; Pastor Joseph Nelson; Pastor Joseph Plair; Pastor Alphonso Riggins; Pastor Don Shelby; Pastor Louis Tolbert; Pastor Walter Williams; and Pastor Charles Williams.

The first meeting of the pastors was held on January 14, 1991, at Whitlock Memorial COGIC, Detroit, MI (Pastor Supt. Louis Hunter) with Supt. Dank Tyler serving as the Acting Chairman. The first fellowship meeting was held on January 31, 1991, with Supt. Louis C. Hunter serving as the Acting Chairman. Discussions centered on establishing a fellowship and receiving nominations for a leader. Supt. Tyler moved that Administrative Assistant Fred Lewis serve as the leader and called him to propose the opportunity to discuss organizing with the State of Michigan, including but not limited to, deciding when to resign as a group and wording the letters of resignation. The motion was made that the fellowship be publicized. Administrative Assistant Fred Lewis shared the things that COGIC Headquarters required from the fellowship, which included, in part, 30 committed pastors and all credential reports. Many spiritual fathers in the national church, including a General Board member, assured that all would be well. The fellowship discussed the by-laws and mission statement and the plan to finalize them during the next meeting on February 6, 1991. Supt. Aaron Milton hosted a fellowship meeting in Lansing on February 13, 1991, and the Women’s Department was established. Mother Mary J. Walton was named the coordinator, and she chose Mother Statha Lewis, Missionary Mary E. Tyler, Evangelist Virgie M. Milton, Missionary B. Marie Wilson, and Mother Jolaine Hunter to work with her in a leadership capacity. In the same meeting, a steering committee was chosen, consisting of the following Elders: Elder Willie Fred Tyler, Elder Clarence Lewis, Elder Keith Flowers, Elder Melvin Lewis, and Elder Damon Milton.

The first annual fellowship meeting was set for February 28 - March 2, 1991. Day 1 was for business, Day 2 was Women’s Day, and Day 3 was an evangelistic service. Men, women and children were going forth together, dancing and praising God, as recorded in Psalm 148:11-13 (KJV), “Kings of the earth, and all people; princes, and all judges of the earth: Both young men, and maidens; old men, and children: Let them praise the name of the LORD: for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven.”

The Great West Michigan Fellowship’s request to be a jurisdiction was placed on the agenda during the 1991 April Call Meeting. It was requested that someone speak on behalf of Administrative Assistant Fred Lewis. Bishop Levi Willis in formed Administrative Assistant Lewis that he would be available to provide any assistance that he might need. The General Supervisor, Mother Mattie McGlothen, and her staff, Mother Emma Crouch and our present General Supervisor Emerita, Mother Willie M. Rivers supported Mother Mary J. Walton and the women’s department. Presiding Bishop L.H. Ford and others assisted fellowship leaders and the request to be a jurisdiction was granted in 1991. “Great are the works of the Lord; they are studied by all who delight in them.” Psalm 111:2 (NASB).

The General Assembly decided that we should be called Michigan Southwest Fourth Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction. In 1992, during the April Call Meeting, Presiding Bishop L.H. Ford consecrated Administrative Assistant Fred Lewis as Bishop of Michigan Southwest Fourth Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction, Church of God in Christ. Bishop Lewis established all jurisdictional departments, appointed leaders over each department, and chose his Administrative Assistants (Supt. Louis C. Hunter, Supt. Dank Tyler, and Supt. James C. Lewis). These Administrative Assistants have gone home to be with the Lord.

Bishop Fred Lewis later chose the faithful Supt. Aaron Milton as his Administrative Assistant, and years later he appointed Pastor Melvin Lewis and Pastor Eric Lewis as Administrative Assistants. These men worked diligently with Bishop Fred Lewis until his health declined. They, along with Jurisdictional Supervisor Mother Mary J. Walton, Mother Statha M. Lewis, District Missionary B. Marie Wilson, Evangelist Virgie M. Milton, and District Missionary Mary E. Tyler, administered jurisdictional operations in an exemplary manner.

On January 27, 2018, Bishop Fred Lewis peacefully finished his course and entered into the presence of the Lord. Presiding Bishop Charles E. Blake appointed Bishop Phillip Aquila Brooks (Bishop P.A. Brooks), First Assistant Presiding Bishop of the Church of God in Christ and Jurisdictional Prelate of the Historic Northeast First Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction, to serve as Interim Jurisdictional Prelate of Michigan Southwest Fourth Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction.

On Friday, March 9, 2018, during the Ministers and Workers meeting, Interim Jurisdictional Prelate Bishop P.A. Brooks called a special pastoral meeting to elect a new Bishop. By majority vote, the pastors elected Administrative Assistant Aaron Milton as the successor to the late Bishop Fred Lewis. Administrative Assistant Aaron Milton accepted the recommendation. First Assistant Presiding Bishop P.A. Brooks, with approval from Presiding Bishop Charles E. Blake, accepted the Pastors’ recommendation. Bishop Designate Aaron Milton was appointed as the new Jurisdictional Prelate.

On Saturday, March 10, 2018, Interim Jurisdictional Prelate Bishop P.A. Brooks publicly announced the new Bishop of Michigan Southwest Fourth Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction on Official Day of the Ministers and Workers Meeting. Bishop Desig nate Aaron Milton publicly accepted the Bishopric.

On Monday, April 23, 2018, Interim Jurisdictional Prelate Bishop P.A. Brooks announced that Michigan Southwest Fourth Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction would have to go through the national investigative process, facilitated by the National Church of God in Christ Steering Committee, and that the official consecration would be held in 2019. He instructed the Pastors that pending the investigation he would relinquish full authority over to Bishop Designate Aaron Milton.

On Friday, October 5, 2018, Interim Jurisdictional Prelate Bishop P.A. Brooks, with the authorization of Presiding Bishop Charles E. Blake, approved Bishop Designate Aaron Milton to be considered as a candidate for consecration and to be placed on the agenda at the National Holy Convocation for Episcopal Designation and Jurisdictional Consideration.

On Monday, November 12, 2018, the public motion for the continuation of the jurisdiction and the appointment of Bishop Designate Aaron Milton as jurisdictional prelate was put on the agenda. The motion was granted, and Presiding Bishop Charles E. Blake, the General Board, and the General Assembly certified Bishop Designate Aaron Milton as successor to the Honorable Late Bishop Fred Lewis.

On Friday, March 8, 2019, Presiding Bishop Charles E. Blake consecrated Bishop Aaron Milton as Jurisdictional Prelate of Michigan Southwest Fourth Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction.

OUR STATEMENT OF FAITH

We believe the Bible to be the inspired and only infallible written Word of God.

We believe that there is only One God, eternally existent in three persons: God the Father, God the Son and, God the Holy Spirit.

We believe in the blessed Hope, which is the rapture of the Church of God, which is in Christ, at His return.

We believe that the only means of being cleansed from sin is through repentance and faith in the precious Blood of Jesus Christ.

We believe that regeneration by the Holy Ghost is absolutely essential for personal salvation.

We believe that the redemptive work of Christ on the Cross provides healing for the human body in answer to believing prayer.

We believe that the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, according to Acts 2:4, is given to believers who ask for Him.

We believe in the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit, by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a holy and separated life in the present world.