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WORSHIP SERVE GROW
STARKVILLE CHURCH OF GOD
About Us
The Starkville Church of God is a fellowship of believers who gather around the Lordship of Jesus Christ. It is our objective to worship the Lord in spirit and truth and to help others come to know Jesus Christ in His grace and holiness.
The local church has provided ongoing Christian witness to the Starkville community and surrounding region. Affiliated with the Church of God in Cleveland, Tennessee, the Starkville Church of God is evangelical and Pentecostal in its heritage and tradition.
Because of its proximity to Mississippi State University, the Starkville Church of God has had the opportunity to minister to people from various parts of the world. We are happy to say that many of those international students and their families who have been touched by this church family have gone to other places to study and work or have returned to their homes with the imprint of God's Spirit and Word on their lives as a result of their time here.
Our Mission
Our mission is to WORSHIP Jesus Chris and lift His name up, to SERVE Jesus Christ in all we do, and GROW as His disciples
Our Vision
Starkville Church of God exists to be a "city set on a hill" for Starkville, Mississippi State University, and the entire Golden Triangle area. Our desire is to reflect the universal church by welcoming people of all backgrounds, all races, all social and financial standings, and all levels of education. We seek to obey and fulfill Matthew 28:19 which says, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, all in the Spirit and Power of Pentecost."
Our Story
The Starkville Church of God as we know it today did not just happen by accident. It emerged through the efforts of dedicated church members and friends using their talents and productive resources to build the church we know today.
Starkville Church of God is a fellowship of believers whose desire is to worship the Lord in spirit and truth as well as to help others come to know Him in His grace and holiness.
This church was founded in 1922 and since that time its history has been filled with many great achievements in the work of the kingdom of God.
Many great men have served as pastors of the Starkville Church of God over the years. Without their dedicated service and the dedication of many saints who have gone before us, this church would not be what it is today. We owe a great debt to the men and women of God who pioneered the work of the Church of God in Starkville and those who have faithfully served since that time.
However, even with the contribution of faithful saints to the work of the kingdom of God, we would be nothing apart from the Lord Jesus Christ. It is He that we ultimately acknowledge as the reason for our being and for any accomplishments that have been made in our history.
We believe our mission is simply to be the expression of Jesus Christ to the world. That mission is accomplished as we become a people who worship God in spirit and truth; who are about the missionary work of the kingdom of God; who effectifely disciple all who are entrusted to us by the Lord and who serve in unity with the rest of the body of Christ.
WHAT WE BELIEVE
The Church of God believes the whole Bible to be completely and equally inspired and that it is the written Word of God. The Church of God has adopted the following Declaration of Faith as its standard and official expression of its doctrine.
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In the verbal inspiration of the Bible
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In one God eternally existing in three persons; namely, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
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That Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of the Father, conceived of the Holy Ghost, and born of the Virgin Mary. That Jesus was crucified, buried, and raised from the dead. That He ascended to heaven and is today at the right hand of the Father as the Intercessor.
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That all have sinned and come short of the glory of God and that repentance is commanded of God for all and necessary for forgiveness of sins.
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That justification, regeneration, and the new birth are wrought by faith in the blood of Jesus Christ.
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In sanctification subsequent to the new birth, through faith in the blood of Christ; through the Word, and by the Holy Ghost.
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Holiness to be God’s standard of living for His people.
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In the baptism with the Holy Ghost subsequent to a clean heart.
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In speaking with other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance and that it is the initial evidence of the baptism of the Holy Ghost.
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In water baptism by immersion, and all who repent should be baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
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Divine healing is provided for all in the atonement.
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In the Lord’s Supper and washing of the saints’ feet.
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In the premillennial second coming of Jesus. First, to resurrect the righteous dead and to catch away the living saints to Him in the air. Second, to reign on the earth a thousand years.
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In the bodily resurrection; eternal life for the righteous, and eternal punishment for the wicked.
History
The Church of God began on August 19, 1886, in Monroe County, Tennessee, near the North Carolina border. Former Baptist Richard Green Spurling preached in a millhouse along Barney Creek and eight persons formed a Christian Union for the purpose of following the New Testament as their rule for faith and practice, giving each other equal rights and privilege to interpret Scripture, and sitting together as the church of God. Twenty-one years later the growing movement formally adopted the name Church of God.
Ten years after the organizational meeting, a revival at the Shearer Schoolhouse in nearby Camp Creek, North Carolina, introduced the doctrine of sanctification to the community. Opposition to this doctrine led to severe persecution, but a spirit of revival prevailed and the Holiness believers experienced an outpouring of the Holy Spirit that included speaking in tongues and divine healing. Such experiences prepared the way for the explosion of the Pentecostal movement in the early twentieth century.
Under the leadership of our first General Overseer, A. J. Tomlinson, the Church of God adopted a centralized form of Church government with an inclusive International General Assembly (1906), launched a world evangelization effort beginning in the Bahamas (1909), inaugurated the Church of God Evangel (1910), and established educational opportunities for ministers and members (1918). Today Church of God ministries include more than 7 million members in 185 nations and territories. Some 36,000 congregations serve around the world, while regional and international ministries provide resources and support through our divisions of World Evangelization, Care, Discipleship, Education, and Support Services.
