CHURCH OF GOD. A religious denomina tion in the United States, sometimes called Winebrennerians, whose doctrines agree gen erally with those of the Baptists. It orig inated in a revival which took place under tne preaching of the Rev. John Winebrenner. a German Reformed pastor, at Harrisburg. Pa., and other places. Mr. Winebrenner'; views hav ing undergone some change. he met with other elders, in 1530. and they adopted a basis of Church organization. the leading points of which were that the believers in any given place are. under the divine order, to constitute one body; that divisions into sects and parties under hu man names and creeds is contrary to the spirit of the New Testament ; that the believers of any community, organized into one body, constitute God's household or family, and should be known as the Church of I sod : that the Scriptures, with out note or comment, constitute a sufficient rule of faith and practice, while creeds and confes sions tend to divisions and sects; and that the ordinances of immersion in water in the name of the Trinity, the washing of the saints' feet, and the partaking of bread and wine in com memoration of the suffering and death of Christ. are binding upon all believers. The organization of the Church consists of seventeen annual elder ships, covering districts in fourteen States and the Indian Territory, and a general eldership, composed of delegates from the annual elder ships, meeting every three years, which has charge of general concerns, with an executive board serving three years. The words •Church
of Crud' in the titles of the general and annual elderships have recently been changed to `Chnrches of Cod.' No official statistics are compiled. The ministerial register fur 1901 con tains -165 MIMI'S. Other estimates for 1900 give lititt churches and 38,000 communicants. The Church of Cod has a college at Findlay, Ohio, with an endowment approaching $100.000, and an academy at Harkeyville, Pa.; has a large bookstore and publishing house at lIarrisburg, Pa.; sustains a missionary in India, in part of the territory assigned to the Free Baptist Church, and is also represented by missionaries working in other foreign fields and under other boards; and has, further. an active Woman's Mssionary Society. It is interested in bene ficiary education for the ministry, and is making progress in educational matters generally. Its organs are: The Church Min:wale, weekly: The Workman. quarterly; and five Sunday-sehool helps (all Harrisburg. Pa.). Consult: 'Winebren ner, .t Brit" Flew of the Church of God (Harris burg, Pa., I S-I0) : id.. Practical and Doctrinal Ser. rnonR (11arrishorg..1S'60). .1 History and Doctrincs of the Church of God is in preparation by J. H. Forney, under direction of the general eldership.