Bible Way Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ
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The Bible Way Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ World-Wide, Inc. is an organization of African-American Pentecostal churches.
The Bible Way Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ was organized in September of 1957 by Apostle Smallwood Edmond Williams. Under Williams' leadership, about 70 churches withdrew from the Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith to form the new organization. Williams became the first presiding bishop of the church.
Beliefs of the Bible Way Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ include the inspiration of the Bible as the word of God; salvation made possible only through Jesus; the baptism of the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in tongues; water baptism by immersion; the premillennial second coming of Jesus; the final judgment of the dead; and the establishment of new heavens and a new earth.
In 1995 the church had about 300,000 members in 350 congregations world wide. The chief officer in the church is the Presiding Bishop, which office was held in 2003 by Chief Apostle Huie L. Rogers. Headquarters are in Brooklyn, New York. The body conducts a general conference annually in July and operates a publishing house in Washington, D.C..
External links
- Bible Way Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ (http://www.biblewaychurch.org/) - official Web Site
- Greater Bibleway (http://www.greaterbibleway.org/menu.html) - site of the church in the United Kingdom
- Adherents.com (http://www.adherents.com/Na/Na_78.html#540)
References
- Encyclopedia of American Religions, J. Gordon Melton, editor
- Handbook of Denominations in the United States, by Frank S. Mead, Samuel S. Hill, and Craig D. Atwood