Grace Communion International facts for kids

Grace Communion International (GCI) is a Christian church group based in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. It used to be known as the Radio Church of God and later the Worldwide Church of God (WCG).

This church group has about 30,000 members in 550 churches across 70 countries. It is organized with leaders like bishops (called the episcopal model) and is part of the National Association of Evangelicals.

How the Church Started

In 1934, a man named Herbert W. Armstrong started the Radio Church of God. He was a former advertising agent who became a radio and TV preacher. He began his radio show in Eugene, Oregon.

On January 7, 1934, Armstrong started broadcasting on a local radio station. His program was like a church service on the radio, with hymns and his messages. He later named his program The World Tomorrow. To help the growing church, Armstrong officially made it a company on March 3, 1946, calling it the Radio Church of God. Even though some local church members didn't agree with his ideas, he gained many followers through his radio shows and his magazine, The Plain Truth.

In 1947, Armstrong moved the church's main office to Pasadena, California. He also started Ambassador College there, which was the church's school. His radio show, The World Tomorrow, began broadcasting in Europe on Radio Luxembourg in 1953. In 1968, the church changed its name to the Worldwide Church of God (WCG).

Herbert W. Armstrong's Leadership (1934–1986)

The Worldwide Church of God followed the special teachings of its founder, Herbert W. Armstrong, until he passed away. Armstrong combined ideas from Christian fundamentalism with some parts of Judaism and the idea of observing the Sabbath on Saturday.

Armstrong taught that Britain and the United States were home to descendants of two "lost tribes" of Ancient Israel. His beliefs included strictly observing the Saturday Sabbath. Members also followed annual festivals and holy days from the Bible. They also followed rules about eating only ritually clean animals. Armstrong did not agree with what he saw as old traditions that had become part of mainstream Christianity. These included the idea of the holy Trinity and celebrations like Christmas, Easter, Halloween, and birthdays.

Members were encouraged to dress nicely for church services. Armstrong's teachings were very strict against divorce and remarriage. He encouraged members who had divorced to try and get back together with their former partners.

Armstrong explained that people "called" by God, who believed the good news of the Kingdom, and received God's Spirit after full baptism, became part of the true 'Church of God'. Ministers had to remove anyone from their church who caused problems or division. These removals were announced during services.

In 1956, Armstrong wrote a booklet called 1975 in Prophecy!. This booklet predicted big problems like drought, famine, and sickness in the United States between 1965 and 1972. It also talked about a future nuclear world war started by German Nazis. He predicted that these events would last for three and a half years and end by 1975. Because Armstrong focused on these dates, the church grew very quickly in the late 1960s. On January 5, 1968, the church was renamed the Worldwide Church of God.

By the mid-1950s, Armstrong had his son, Garner Ted Armstrong, take over as host of The World Tomorrow radio and TV shows. By the late 1960s, Garner Ted was a top leader in the church. He was also a leader at Ambassador College and edited church magazines.

Herbert Armstrong's first wife, Loma Dillon Armstrong, died on April 15, 1967. They had been married for almost 50 years.

Problems and Changes in the 1970s

By the early 1970s, the church started to have problems. Members were disappointed because the events Herbert Armstrong predicted had not happened. Church writings had tried to guess the date of Jesus' return. So, members kept waiting for the Second Coming with worry.

In 1972, Herbert Armstrong removed Garner Ted from his leadership roles. But later that year, he said Garner Ted had changed and named him his chosen successor. Some people thought the father and son disagreed about the TV shows or church beliefs.

By March 1974, many ministers had left or were removed from the church. Some said the church was too easy on Garner Ted's mistakes. Others disagreed with Armstrong's teachings. Many of these ministers started their own churches.

In 1977, Herbert Armstrong married Ramona Martin. She was much younger than him. He moved to Tucson, Arizona while recovering from a heart attack. During this time, he managed church matters with the help of Stanley Rader, the church's lawyer. The church's main office stayed in Pasadena.

That year, some former students of Ambassador College said the church was misusing money. They claimed the church's tithing system made members poor. They said members had to give up to 40% of their income to support the Armstrongs' fancy lifestyle. This included many homes, expensive cars, and a private jet.

By 1978, Armstrong had permanently removed Garner Ted from the church. Garner Ted started his own church in 1978 in Tyler, Texas, called the Church of God International. Herbert and Garner Ted Armstrong remained apart for the rest of Herbert's life.

Ambassador International Cultural Foundation

In the 1960s, Armstrong wanted to do more good in the world. This led to the creation of the Ambassador International Cultural Foundation (AICF) in 1975. The Foundation worked in many countries. It helped fight illiteracy, created schools for disabled people, and set up mobile schools. It also helped with archaeological digs at important biblical sites. The church's auditorium hosted many performances by famous artists at low ticket prices.

The Quest magazine was published by AICF from 1977 to 1981. It was meant to reach people outside the church. It had articles about the humanities, travel, and the arts. The AICF became more focused on secular (non-religious) topics. Eventually, Armstrong stopped funding it, and its assets were sold.

Financial Problems

Some church members asked the State of California to investigate Herbert W. Armstrong and Stanley Rader. They claimed the two men were taking millions of dollars for themselves. In 1979, California Attorney General George Deukmejian put the church's finances under state control for six months.

This situation caught the attention of Mike Wallace, who reported on the church for 60 Minutes. Wallace claimed there were secret lavish expenses, conflicts of interest, and fancy lifestyles among the top leaders. He also said Stanley Rader was heavily involved in money dealings. No legal charges were ever filed against Herbert W. Armstrong, Stanley Rader, or the WCG.

Stanley Rader left his positions in the church in 1981. He remained a member but retired from being a public attorney. He continued to receive payments from the WCG until he died in 2002.

After Armstrong's Death (1986–2009)

Doctrinal Changes

On January 16, 1986, Herbert Armstrong died in Pasadena, California. Before his death, he chose Joseph W. Tkach Sr. to lead the church. Joseph W. Tkach took over as the new leader. Tkach and other ministers realized that many of their church's beliefs were not truly biblical.

Changes Under New Leadership

Starting in 1988, Joseph W. Tkach Sr. began to change the church's beliefs. At first, these changes were quiet and slow, but then they became open and big. The changes included new understandings of Christmas and Easter, British Israelism, and the Saturday Sabbath.

Tkach Sr. moved the church's beliefs closer to mainstream evangelical Christian ideas. This made many members unhappy, and more splinter groups formed. The church admitted that these changes had big negative results, but they believed the changes were for the best. During Joseph Tkach Sr.'s time as leader, the church's membership dropped by 80%.

All of Herbert Armstrong's writings were stopped from being printed by the WCG. However, other church groups still make them available. In a 2004 video, Greg Albrecht, a former dean of Ambassador College, said Herbert Armstrong was a false prophet and taught false ideas.

In 1995, Tkach Sr. died of cancer, and his son, Joseph Tkach Jr., became the leader of the WCG. Tkach Jr. continued his father's changes in the church. As a result, many members and ministers left and formed other churches that still followed Armstrong's original teachings.

In 2009, the WCG changed its name to Grace Communion International. In October 2018, Joe Tkach Jr. retired, and Greg Williams became the President of GCI.

Current Beliefs and Practices

What GCI Teaches

Most of GCI's current beliefs are like those of mainstream Protestant churches. They believe that faith in Jesus is the only way to receive salvation. They also believe that the Bible is God's inspired and perfect word.

Women as Pastors

In 2007, the WCG decided to allow women to serve as pastors and elders. This decision came after several years of study. In Pikeville, Kentucky that same year, Debby Bailey became the first female elder in the WCG.

Why the Name Changed

According to the church, the name Grace Communion International was chosen to "precisely describe" the church. It shows that it is an "international community, bound together by God's grace.”

The name change was announced in 2009 at a conference with over a thousand ministers. The theme of the conference was “Renewed in Christ.” This showed the importance of the changes that had happened in the church. The new name was seen to truly show what the church had become. GCI felt that these changes happened because pastors were guided by the Holy Spirit and carefully studied the Bible.

Grace Communion Seminary

Grace Communion Seminary (GCS) started from Ambassador College. Classes are now taught online. It offers accredited graduate programs. These programs include courses on the Bible, theology, church history, and ministry.

How the Church is Organized

International Structure

Grace Communion International has a hierarchical structure. This means it has different levels of leaders. Its church rules are decided by the Advisory Council of Elders. The President appoints the members of this Council. The President, who is also called the Pastor General, is the main leader of the church.

The church has offices in many countries. Most of its members and donations come from the eastern United States.

Local Churches

In the United States, leaders called district superintendents help local churches. Each superintendent is in charge of many churches in a large area.

Local churches are led by a senior pastor. Some senior pastors are in charge of one church, but many work with two or more churches. The local church decides how much to pay its pastor, if a salary is available.

How the Church is Funded

The early WCG used a system where members were expected to give three different tithes. A tithe is 10% of a person's income.

• The first tithe, 10% of a member's total income, was sent to the church's main office. This money paid for all church operations, including broadcasting and publishing the church's message.
• The second tithe was saved by the member. This money was used to pay for the member's family to observe the annual holy days. This included the 8-day-long Feast of Tabernacles. Unlike the first tithe, this money was kept by the member.
• A third tithe was required in the third and sixth years of a seven-year cycle. This money was also sent to the main office. The third tithe was used to help the poor, widows, and orphans. Ministers decided how to give out this money.

Unlike many other churches, the WCG did not pass around offering plates during weekly services. They only collected offerings during holy day services (seven days each year). These were called "freewill offerings" and were separate from the regular tithes. The church also received donations from "co-workers." These were people who read the church's free materials or watched the TV show but did not attend services.

Under Joseph W. Tkach Sr., the rule about the three-tithe system was removed. It was suggested that tithes could be calculated on net income, not gross income. The GCI main office was made smaller. The church sold much of its property. This included places used for festivals, camps for teenagers, college campuses, and private airplanes. They also stopped printing all the books and magazines that Armstrong had published.

To save more money, the church sold its properties in Pasadena. They bought an office building in Glendora, California. That building was sold in 2018, and the main office moved to Charlotte, North Carolina. In the past, church members met in rented places like school buildings or hotels. They sent all their tithe donations directly to the church's main office. Now, local churches usually use most of the funds locally for their ministry. This includes buying or building local church buildings. About 15% of the funds go to the main office.

See also

In Spanish: Comunión Internacional Gracia para niños