Historic Northeast Michigan Jurisdiction C.O.G.I.C.

IN 1914, UNDER THE ANOINTING OF THE HOLY GHOST, Elder W.G. Johnson wrote in an unknown handwriting which was interpreted by Bishop C.H. Mason, the Founder of the Church of God in Christ, Inc., as "Brother Johnson's call to Michigan." After arriving in Detroit on March 26, 1914 from their home in Memphis, Tennessee, Elder W.G. (Ting-a-Ling) Johnson and his wife, Mother Mary Mangum-Johnson began having services at Erskine and St. Antoine Street. Later they worshiped on Catherine and Gratiot, also at 643 Beaubien and finally 623 Livingstone. This was the beginning of the Church of God in Christ in the State of Michigan.

Over the course of more than four decades following, Bishop Mason assigned General Overseers to carry on the work in Michigan beginning with Overseer Mack E. Jonas, who served from 1923 to1924. Overseer I.S. Stafford, a Medical Doctor, received the commission to succeed Overseer Jonas in 1924, and he served until 1930. Then there was Overseer J.H. Kissintiner, (1930-1933), and Overseer, Bishop I.W. Winans (1934-1937). Succeeding Bishop Winans was Bishop Cleveland Landis Anderson, Sr., who was appointed as General Overseer of Michigan in 1939.

During Bishop Anderson’s tenure, there was another rising star in the Church of God in Christ serving under his leadership in the person of Superintendent John Seth Bailey, who the Lord saw fit to elevate. Because of the growth that had taken place in Michigan over the years, and by the leading of the Holy Ghost, Bishop Mason saw that the work in Michigan could be better served if the State had more than one General Overseer. So in 1946, Michigan gave birth, and Supt. J.S. Bailey was appointed by Bishop Mason as Bishop of the newly created Diocese, made up of an aggregation of churches from the Mother State. The Mother State, presided over by Bishop C.L. Anderson, Sr., was then named the Northeastern Jurisdiction of Michigan; and the newly created Diocese, presided over by Bishop J.S. Bailey, was named the Southwestern Jurisdiction of Michigan.


Leaders of the Historic First Jurisdiction of Michigan, clockwise from bottom-left: Overseer Mack E. Jonas, Overseer I.S. Stafford, Overseer J.H. Kissintiner, Overseer, Bishop I.W. Winans, Bishop Cleveland Landis Anderson, Sr., Bishop Charles J. Johnson, Sr. and current Presiding Prelate, Bishop P.A. Brooks, II. (Center)

Bishop C.L. Anderson, Sr. continued to serve as Bishop of Northeastern Michigan until his demise in 1959. He was succeeded by Bishop Charles J. Johnson, Sr.

Pregnant with spiritual talent, during the tenure of Bishop Johnson, the Mother State once again gave birth. In 1966, Cleveland Landis Anderson, Jr., the son of the former State Bishop, was consecrated as the Bishop of the newly created Jurisdiction which he named the Great Lakes Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of Michigan.

Bishop C..J. Johnson continued to serve as the leader of the Northeastern (Northeast) Jurisdiction until his health would no longer allow. In 1975, he was Emeritised by Presiding Bishop of the Church of God in Christ, Bishop J.O. Patterson, Sr. In his stead, the Supt. Phillip A. Brooks, II was selected to serve as the Jurisdictional Bishop of the Mother State. Supt. Herbert J. Williams, Sr. was also elevated to the office of Bishop, and was appointed to serve in yet another Jurisdiction birthed out of the Mother State, the North Central Michigan Jurisdiction.

Today, Northeast Michigan Jurisdiction which is the Historic First Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of Michigan, is the spiritual covering for almost 90 local Churches and Missions, representing the Church of God in Christ in this region; and Bishop P.A. Brooks is the longest serving prelate of the Mother State in its history.