Origins

In August 1886, Richard Spurling (1810–1891), an ordained Baptist minister, became dissatisfied with what he believed were overly creedal approaches to New Testament Christianity. Spurling collaborated with seven members from Missionary Baptist churches in Monroe County, Tennessee and Cherokee County, North Carolina. In 1903, these small fellowships organized the Christian Union with the stated intent to unite on the principles of the New Testament without reference to restatements of the faith in creedal form.

Ultimately, the Christian Union under leadership of Spurling's son Richard Spurling Jr, and others including a former Quaker and Bible salesman named Ambrose Jessup Tomlinson, experienced remarkable growth in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the Appalachian foothills.^[1] By 1907, Tomlinson had become the acknowledged leader of these Christian believers whose faith was driven by Wesleyan beliefs of personal holiness and reported Pentecostal experiences of being filled with the Holy Spirit and glossolalia. Many small congregations were planted and organized under the common name adopted in 1907, Church of God. In 1909, Tomlinson was elected General Overseer of the fledgling church. He held that position until 1923.

Contrary to its desire to be free from creedal restatements of faith, this body was soon disrupted by competing restatements of biblical teachings from within its own ranks. An ensuing division in 1923 resulted in two primary splinter groups, called respectively Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee) and the Church of God over which A.J. Tomlinson is General Overseer. The latter, led by Tomlinson, was court-ordered in 1951 to assume the name Church of God of Prophecy which is still in use. A. J. Tomlinson's son, Milton Ambrose Tomlinson, succeeded him as General Overseer in 1943, and served until age-related disability prompted his retirement in 1990.

Reorganization

Upon the election of M. A. Tomlinson's successor that year, yet another schism occurred. One group within the Church of God of Prophecy, declared that the selection process was a departure from what had historically been perceived as "theocratic government" within the body's governing structure and procedure.^[2]

In 1993, this group which at the time referred to themselves as "The Concerned" called for a "solemn assembly", borrowing an Old Testament term for corporate devotion to prayer to rhetorically emphasize its earnestness. The "solemn assembly" resulted in the formation of The Church of God. The church places particular emphasis upon the word The in its title as a statement of this reorganization, believing it is the singular exclusive embodiment of the New Testament Christian church. Robert J. Pruitt was chosen to be the new overseer,^[2] and he remained so until 2006, when age-related disability prompted his retirement.^[3]

A meeting of TCOG's leadership during the summer of 2006 ended with the selection of Stephen Smith as the interim General Overseer to replace Pruitt. During the TCOG General Assembly of 2006, Smith was confirmed as the General Overseer.^[3] A faction within the church disagreed with how Smith was selected, and his rank of Bishop. As a result, this group withdrew and formed The Church of God under the leadership of Bishop James C. Nabors.

In June 2015, Smith died, leaving the office of General Overseer vacant. A meeting of the presbytery unanimously chose Bishop Oscar Pimentel to serve as the Interim General Overseer until a more permanent selection could be made at the annual Genera Assembly. In August, during the annual General Assembly, Pimentel was accepted unanimously by the membership present to serve in the office of General Overseer.^[3]