Christ Gospel Churches International
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The Christ Gospel Churches International, Inc. is a fundamentalist Pentecostal Christian denomination.
The church was founded in the 1950s by Reverend Bernice R. Hicks, who still takes an active leadership role. A unique teaching of Rev. Hicks is that the Old Testament tabernacle was laid out in the form of a cross. This is used as a constant metaphor of the Christian experience.
The Christ Gospel Churches accept the Apostles' Creed as an expression of Christian faith. Their pentecostal emphasis is seen in teaching the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of glossolalia. A prominent feature of the church is that worship should embrace all kinds of music (e.g. - traditional hymns, choruses, country gospel, black gospel, classical) and musical instruments (e.g. - drums, guitars, pianos, saxophones, trumpets, violins). Though not politically active, the church supports racial integration as a proper Christian goal. The church teaches "old-fashioned Holiness", but also understands there are different levels of commitment and regards this as a matter of the individual conscience.
Christ Gospel Churches International has about 70 congregations in the United States, over 400 in India, about 500 churches in Mexico, as well as affiliates in Africa, Central America, England, Faroe Islands, Germany, Haiti, Iceland, Jamaica, Japan, Mongolia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Romania, Russia, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, and South America. There are over 1400 affiliated congregations in 120 countries (2003). The international offices are located in Jeffersonville, Indiana, from which a Bible school, publishing ministry, and tape ministry are operated.
