Gino Jennings

Gino Jennings (born February 10, 1963) is an African-American religious leader, known for establishing the First Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Inc. in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Biography
Born on February 10, 1963, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Gino Jennings began his ministry initially as a Bible reader for his father and uncle in church before becoming a child preacher at the age of 13. During his adolescence, Jennings claimed that God appeared to him after different periods of prayer and fasting, leading to the eventual establishment of the First Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Inc. after claiming to have received divine revelation for it.

Starting the church in his parents' basement in 1984, the First Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Inc. grew through Jennings emphasizing and teaching doctrines of inner and outward holiness, Jesus' name-only baptism, baptism with the Holy Spirit alongside required evidence of glossolalia, and an embrace of nontrinitarianism—teachings common among Oneness Pentecostals and others descending from the Holiness movement. By 2016, Jennings and his First Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Inc. acquired its headquarters in Philadelphia, with numerous churches spread throughout the United States and elsewhere globally.

Through leading this Christian denomination, Gino Jennings has become subject to international controversy. Many people of other Christian denominations and churches have criticized Jennings and the First Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ movement for some of their strict beliefs and views, such as their rejection of women as clergy based on 1st Timothy 2:12, alongside a traditionally conservative dress code with headcoverings, long skirts or dresses, and rejecting makeup and jewelry. —teachings which many Christians and others have accused them of being "religiously misogynistic";

Presenting a staunch advocacy for nontrinitarianism, Jennings has also been known for rejecting and advocating forgoing the usage of the term "Christianity", for he believes that "Christianity" is not a term found in the Bible, unlike the term “Christian”. Instead the word Jennings believes more accurately describes his congregation's faith should be the term "Holiness," or the "religion of Holiness". He has even attracted additional criticism for advocating a very fundamentalist Christian exclusivism via divine revelation for his denomination as well.

In 2018, Jennings made headlines in Jamaica when he agreed to meet famed Jamaican entertainer Mr. Vegas for a debate. During the debate, Jennings had Vegas escorted out of the building by security after an altercation that ensued between Vegas, the church's audio and visual team, and the other associate ministers on the pulpit. This later led to the debate going viral throughout Jamaica, and two other ministers that agreed to debate him canceled afterwards. In 2019, Jennings was banned from Australia due to his preaching against the LGBTQ+ community, which was denounced in Australia as hate speech and inciting towards violence.