User:SwissCelt/WCG

The Worldwide Church of God is a Christian denomination that was founded in 1933 by Herbert W. Armstrong as the Radio Church of God. Armstrong was a minister in the General Conference of the Church of God (Seventh-Day), and the "church" (at the time, actually a congregation with a component radio ministry) he created was initially not a separate denomination, but a part of that conference.

According to Christianity Today, in 1986 the Worldwide Church of God had a reported income of $170 million a year, which was larger than the Billy Graham and Oral Roberts ministries combined. Today the church is considerably smaller, has liquidated most of its real estate properties and relocated to Financial Way in Glendora, California. Its doctrines today are relatively mainstream Christian and it is a member of the National Association of Evangelicals.

Timeline
Main article: History of the Worldwide Church of God


 * 1892- Herbert W. Armstrong is born in Des Moines, Iowa.
 * 1917- Armstrong marries Loma Dillon.
 * between 1917 and 1927- Loma meets a woman who eventually convinces the couple to convert to the Adventist movement.


 * 1927- Armstrong joins the Church of God.
 * 1930
 * February 9- Garner Ted Armstrong is born in Portland, Oregon.


 * 1931- Armstrong begins his ministry in Eugene, Oregon.
 * 1933
 * October 9- Armstrong's radio ministry begins on KORE in Springfield, Oregon.
 * November 4- Church of God splits; Armstrong sides with faction at Salem, West Virginia.


 * 1934
 * The Plain Truth begins publication.
 * Radio ministry becomes known as the Radio Church of God.


 * 1937- Church of God rescinds Armstrong's ministerial credentials.
 * 1939- The World's Fair is held in New York. This inspires Armstrong to rename his radio program as The World Tomorrow.
 * 1946- Armstrong moves to Pasadena, California.
 * March 3- Radio Church of God is incorporated under California's General Nonprofit Corporation Law.


 * 1947- Ambassador College is founded.
 * 1953
 * January 7- The World Tomorrow is broadcast on Radio Luxembourg
 * Armstrong begins to view his ministry in two epochs of 19 years each (1934-1953, and 1953-1972).


 * 1956
 * Armstrong meets Stanley Rader.
 * Armstrong and Herman L. Hoeh publish 1975 in Prophecy!


 * 1966- Loma Dillon Armstrong dies.
 * 1967- Michael Dennis Rohan tries to destroy the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. Rohan claims to have been inspired by Armstrong and his ministry.
 * 1968
 * January 5- Church changes name to Worldwide Church of God.


 * 1969- Stanley Rader begins full-time employment with the church.
 * 1970- Carl O'Beirn breaks with the church, founds Church of God at Cleveland, Ohio.
 * 1972- Armstrong had predicted that this would be the beginning of the apocalypse.
 * March 15- Church is featured in a report of TIME magazine, where Armstrong announces his split with son Garner Ted.
 * later that year- Garner Ted Armstrong returns to host The World Tomorrow after public outcry over his leaving, and the failure of Herbert Armstrong's prophecy.


 * 1973- Paper Moon is released. The film is financed by the Ambassador International Cultural Foundation, an arm of the church set up by Rader.
 * 1975- Herbert Armstrong baptizes Stanley Rader.
 * 1977- Herbert Armstrong marries Ramona Martin and moves to Tucson, Arizona.
 * 1978- Garner Ted Armstrong is excommunicated for a second and final time. He goes to form the Church of God International in Tyler, Texas.
 * 1979
 * California Attorney General George Deukmejian investigates the church over charges of malfeasance associated with the Ambassador International Cultural Foundation.
 * April 15- Rader appears on 60 Minutes with Mike Wallace.


 * 1980
 * California passes a bill exempting religious organizations from allegations of fraud.
 * Rader writes Against the Gates of Hell: The Threat to Religious Freedom in America.


 * 1981
 * Raiders of the Lost Ark is released. Rader charges that the plot of the movie was stolen from AICF.
 * AICF's lawsuit against Steven Spielberg and George Lucas goes nowhere.
 * Ambassador International Cultural Foundation collapses after church pulls its support.
 * Stanley Rader leaves his position of authority with the church.


 * 1986 - Herbert W. Armstrong dies; Joseph W. Tkach Sr. becomes pastor general.
 * 1988 - Members permitted to seek medicinal help, observe birthdays, and wear cosmetics.
 * 1991 - Revised teaching on new birth; personhood of the Holy Spirit accepted.
 * 1993 - Doctrine of the Trinity accepted.
 * 1994
 * Church teaches that true Christians are found in other denominations.
 * Church announces Christians are no longer under the Old Covenant laws.


 * 1995
 * Joseph W. Tkach Sr. dies; his son, Joseph Tkach Jr., succeeds him.
 * Anglo-Israelism rejected; members permitted to observe Christmas and Easter.


 * 1996 - Church apologizes to members and others for its "erroneous" teachings.
 * 1997 - Worldwide Church of God joins the National Association of Evangelicals.

Current status
The Worldwide Church of God has perhaps 6,400 members in 860 cells in around 90 nations across the world (2004). Headquarters are in Glendora, California. The church has held membership in the National Association of Evangelicals since 1997.

Current organizational structure
The Worldwide Church of God is established under an hierarchical form of government. The chief ecclesiastical officer of the denomination is called the pastor general. The denomination's ecclesiastical policies are determined by its Advisory Council of Elders (ACE), which is controlled by the Pastor General. A Doctrinal Advisory Team systematically advises the ACE on the denomination's doctrinal statements, publications and theology projects. Under ecclesiastical bylaws,the Pastor General may "pocket veto" such advice, e.g., on the issue of the ordination of women.

In addition to the international leadership, the Worldwide Church of God maintains national offices and offices in multinational regions.

Within the United States, denominational contact with local assemblies (known as local churches or local congregations) is facilitated by district superintendents, each of which is responsible for a large number of churches in a geographical region (such as Florida or the Northeast) or in a specialized language group (such as Spanish-speaking congregations).

Local churches are generally led by a senior pastor or a pastoral leadership team, each of which is supervised by a district superintendent. Some senior pastors are responsible for a single local church, but many are responsible for two or more churches. Local church leadership also includes an Advisory Council, a number of ministry leaders (some of whom are also called deacons), and often additional elders or assistant pastors. 

Original Worldwide Church of God splinter groups

 * Church of God International (org. 1978)
 * Philadelphia Church of God (org. 1989)
 * Twentieth Century Church of God (org. 1990)
 * Church of God (Philadelphia Era) (org. 1991)
 * Global Church of God (1992; now defunct)
 * United Church of God (1995)
 * Living Church of God (1998)
 * Worldwide Church of God Organizational Splits - External link with full chart to 1996