Research Paper Undergraduate 341 words

Church of God in Christ: Charles Harrison Mason's 1907 Legacy

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Abstract

This research study examines the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), one of the largest Pentecostal denominations in the world, with more than six million members globally. The paper focuses on the life and ministry of founder Charles Harrison Mason, tracing his origins as an ordained Baptist minister in Arkansas, his participation in the 1906 Azusa Street Revival led by William Seymour, and his subsequent break from Baptist doctrine. It also explores Mason's formative relationship with fellow minister Charles Price Jones and the early revival meetings the two conducted together, culminating in the formal establishment of COGIC in 1907.

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What makes this paper effective

Grounds the founding narrative in a concrete historical timeline, connecting Mason's personal journey to the broader Pentecostal movement sparked by the Azusa Street Revival.
Draws on a specific secondary source (BlackPast) to substantiate biographical details, giving factual grounding to claims about Mason's family background and early ministry.
Introduces the mentorship relationship between Mason and Charles Price Jones, adding depth to the account of COGIC's origins beyond a single founding figure.

Key academic technique demonstrated

The paper demonstrates narrative historical analysis — anchoring institutional origins in the biography of a key figure and situating that biography within larger religious and social forces, such as the post-slavery Southern context and the early twentieth-century Pentecostal revival movement.

Structure breakdown

The paper opens with a brief objective statement identifying COGIC and its global scale, then moves into an introductory narrative that covers Mason's Baptist ordination, his attendance at the Azusa Street Revival, his family background as children of former enslaved people, his mentorship under Charles Price Jones, and the street and revival preaching that preceded the church's formal founding in 1907. The content is structured chronologically within a single extended introduction.

Introduction

The objective of this research study is to examine the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), a denomination founded by Charles Harrison Mason in 1907. COGIC has more than six million members throughout the world and is one of the largest Pentecostal churches in existence.

Charles Harrison Mason's Early Life and Background

Charles Harrison Mason became an ordained Baptist minister in Arkansas before traveling to Los Angeles in 1906. His parents, Jerry and Eliza Mason, were former slaves who worked as tenant farmers on the John Watson Plantation (BlackPast, 2011). This background of poverty and displacement in the post-Civil War South shaped Mason's identity and would ultimately inform the message of liberation and spiritual renewal he carried throughout his ministry.

The Azusa Street Revival and Its Influence

In 1906, Mason participated in the Azusa Street Revival, led by evangelist Reverend William Seymour. Mason received profound inspiration from Seymour's Pentecostal preaching, and upon his return to Arkansas, he began to challenge many of the doctrines of the Baptist faith in which he had been ordained.

Mason's Break from the Baptist Church

Prior to his attendance at the Pentecostal Revival on Azusa Street, Mason had met another minister named Charles Price Jones while in Jackson, Mississippi. Jones was a pastor who preached holiness, and he became a mentor to Mason. The two traveled together for a period of time, conducting religious revivals jointly. Their shared commitment to holiness doctrine and Pentecostal experience set them increasingly at odds with mainstream Baptist teaching.

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The Founding of the Church of God in Christ · 65 words

"Street preaching and revival services leading to COGIC's founding"

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Key Concepts in This Paper

Church of God in Christ Charles Harrison Mason Azusa Street Revival Pentecostalism Holiness Movement Baptist Doctrine William Seymour Charles Price Jones Religious Revival African American Religion