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The Church of God of Prophecy is blessed that those before us have honored and preserved the thoughts of our founders and of our founding moments. Wilfred McClay, a history professor at the University of Tennessee, wrote that a “founding” is a unique moment that carries authority over the future of a Movement. A founding moment is an ongoing guide and even a presence in the life of a Movement.
Our foundations force us to think more deeply about who and what we are today. And certainly what is good in the past cannot be passed along mechanically to the next generation. Each new generation rediscovers those things for themselves. McClay shares that often crisis causes individuals and movements to renew themselves. Historian Arnold Toynbee said the dynamic of challenge and response is the chief source of civilization’s greatness and renewal. He said civilizations die from suicide rather than murder, meaning they lack the will to respond vigorously to challenges that would otherwise make them stronger.
As in many God-called and God-graced Movements, the Church of God of Prophecy has a rich heritage from which to draw. From our foundations, we give serious consideration to past acts of the will, promises, covenants, resolutions, and sacrifices, all of which express resolve and binding principles that rise above the considerations of the moment. Founding moments give a Movement anchor points in the drifting tide of change, a compass in the shifting winds of what is in vogue.
As the Church of God of Prophecy looks strategically into this new century and this amazing season of Harvest, our founding moments provide wonderful reminders of our callings and destiny as a people. We draw from these to strategically aim for God’s purposes planted within this body from those cold days in January in the mountains of North Carolina more than a hundred years ago.
We feel strongly that our foundations’ stones, or God-given DNA that can be seen in our heritage, form the base of God’s destiny for this Movement.
For this reason, the following 12 callings have been woven into our vision and mission. These stones form our identity and propel us toward our destiny:
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