Year End at the Citadel

A winter chill has hit Indianapolis at the end of November. As a matter of fact, an early snowfall graced us today (and it's not officially winter). Yet the chill hasn't quenched the fire that's been falling at the Citadel of Faith Church of God in Christ. I just want to share what's happening in the last month of 2011 at the Citadel.

It's hard to believe, but this year marked my 27th year in pastoral ministry. Citadel will celebrate this milestone December 3 - 6, 2011.


The people that make up Citadel are the most generous and encouraging you'll find anywhere. It's been a distinct honor and godly pleasure to serve this congregation. Thanks Citadel for being a great church!

If you happen to be in the Indianapolis area this weekend, please be my special guest and enjoy the celebration with Pastor John C. Robinson, Sr. and Bible Way COGIC (Louisville, KY), Dr. William Adams of Greater Emmanuel Institutional COGIC (Detroit, MI), and Bishop Alan Gregory Porter of Greater Salem Church (Charlotte, NC).





The C.H. Mason Jurisdictional Institute (CHMJI) Homiletics course will be offered at Citadel for the 2011-2012 winter term. CHMJI is an educational division of my denomination, the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), offering certificate programs for ordination and licensure, professional and teacher development, and personal enrichment. By the way, the COGIC is the largest Pentecostal body and the fourth largest denomination in the USA.

I truly enjoy academic teaching; especially this course for my master's degree research project at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (Trinity International University) was a course design for teaching Pentecostal ordinands expository preaching. With this being an introduction to homiletics, in addition to the traditional objectives in preaching courses I try to help students clarify their call to the preaching ministry, and to embrace the great privilege and responsibility of preaching the Word of God.

For information about CHMJI, click here.





Citadel will host the Annual Indianapolis COGIC Citywide Revival Wednesday, December 28 - Friday, December 30. This revival has been an annual event since the late 1970s and is now sponsored by the Indianapolis COGIC ministerial alliance. This year's special guest speaker will be Bishop Lemuel F. Thuston, Prelate of Kansas East Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction COGIC. Bishop Thuston was the 2010 Alumnus of the Year at Assemblies of God Theological Seminary.

Lastly, you will not want to miss New Year's Eve Watch Night Service. It's always a powerful ending of one year bringing in the New Year; more about that later in December. Until then, make you experience the Shalom of Almighty God.

Copyright © 2011 Johnson Beaven III. All Rights Reserved.

Johnson Beaven is pastor of Citadel of Faith Church of God in Christ (COGIC) and serves as a district superintendent in the COGIC Indiana North Central Jurisdiction. A consultant with International Bible Institute, he helps pastors establish their own local church Bible Institute. He is also a religion columnist for the Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper. His Twitter account is @jbeaven.