Historic COGIC Church Doubles Attendance in Months

This fall Charles Patterson Sr. took over the reigns of historic Pentecostal Temple Institutional Church after his father, the late J.O. Patterson Jr. passed away this summer. The 34-year-old has already hit the ground running and has seen attendance double since he began pastoring the Memphis, Tenn., church.

“I totally attribute the growth and the strength of the church through this process to the Lord,” Patterson told Charisma News. “The church has joined together in consecration. The move of the Spirit in the services is great. People are coming, people are getting saved, people are being blessed. And because of that, because of the move of the Lord, the membership is growing.”

The younger Patterson, who is the great-grandson of COGIC’s founder Charles Harrison Mason, plans to continue the legacy of his father and fulfill the mission God has given him.

“The ministry of Pentecostal Temple will be one that addresses the needs of the total man,” he said. Patterson envisions the church having a health facility, after-school learning center and a K-12 grade school. He also plans to expand the food and clothing ministries that his father started and open a university as his grandfather dreamed.

As if these goals won’t keep him busy enough, Patterson also holds positions within the national COGIC denomination as superintendent of national properties, assistant church treasurer and a member of the national trustee board. Later this month, COGIC, the largest black Pentecostal denomination in the U.S., is expecting 40,000 people at its annual convention in St. Louis.

Despite all that Patterson is involved with, his focus remains the people of Pentecostal Temple.

“I tell the people I’m crazy about my church,” Patterson said. “It’s an awesome responsibility … I want to see the ministry succeed and grow.

“I have tremendous vision for the church and I know that God’s favor rests here.”