Reverend L.P. Adams (and a few members from his church) conducted the first service at Cascilla (Tallahatchie County), Mississippi, on April 25, 1909. This was at the Stonefield Holiness Tabernacle, which was part of the Free Methodist denomination. Adams was pastor of a church in Memphis, Tennessee, which united with the Church of God (Cleveland, TN) in 1908. Adams was also licensed with the Church of God at this time, even assisting A.J. Tomlinson in signing credentials for other ministers (see below).*The first persons to receive the pentecostal baptism of the Holy Spirit during this meeting was Clara McHann Allison and her sister-in-law Maggie Simpson McHann. Clara experienced her pentecostal baptism on May 10, 1909, and was then called upon to preach after L.P. Adams had closed the revival and returned to Memphis. The following year A.J. Tomlinson conducted services at nearby Friendship Tabernacle, where relatives of the McHann family lived. Each year following, a camp meeting was conducted at Stonefield and Friendship tabernacles.
The first ministers to receive preaching license in Mississippi were commissioned at Stonefield in 1911. In August 1912 the Friendship congregation was the first to officially organize with the Church of God in Mississippi, followed about a month later by another congregation near the Alabama-border town of Artesia, Mississippi. A congregation organized near Cascilla in 1913, which later merged with the Stonefield congregation when it officially united with the Church of God on Janaury 5, 1914.
The ministry of the Church of God in Mississippi has produced two general overseers of the 
denomination, the first minister with an earned college degree (Bachelor's), and numerous pastors, missionaries, administrative leaders, and educators. This is all possible because of the devoted members (laity and clergy alike) who have been faithful to fulfill the mission of Jesus in their respective communities.
denomination, the first minister with an earned college degree (Bachelor's), and numerous pastors, missionaries, administrative leaders, and educators. This is all possible because of the devoted members (laity and clergy alike) who have been faithful to fulfill the mission of Jesus in their respective communities.I've almost completed writing and formatting a brief history of the Church of God beginning in Mississippi, which I hope to have available online for FREE download near the first of June. It will include historical photographs, a list of every known church organized in the state (with dates), a list of the location for each annual state convention, and a list of state overseers and their dates of service. A few (very) brief biographies will also be included, with hopes to add to that list on a companion website in the coming months. This is a compilation of more than 20 years of personal interviews and research of Mississippi Church of God history. (I began when I was 10 years old, literally!) This is my gift of appreciation to the Church of God in Mississippi.
Happy 100th Anniversary, Church of God in Mississippi! May we move forward in the mission of Jesus and share the Good News with the world!
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*Adams and his Memphis congregation later left the Church of God and by 1911 had joined the Church of God in Christ (COGIC) under leadership of Charles Harrison Mason. This relationship continued until 1919, when Adams left the COGIC and resigned his church. That congregation later merged with the Assemblies of God and is today known as First Assembly of God of Memphis. Interestingly, Adams returned to the Church of God shortly before his death.
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