Joint College of African-American Pentecostal Bishops
In the introduction to his landmark treatise, The Bishopric: A Handbook on Creating Episcopacy in the African-American Pentecostal Church, Bishop J. Delano Ellis writes:
When this College was ordered by the Lord and it was made clear that Episcopal-styled training was to become the curriculum by which we would be governed, the Co-Founders trusted the Lord to give us a person who would mentor us and bring honor to the Name of Jesus Christ and particular Glory to His Church in our times. It became needful for us to adopt a Code of Dress and habit that would set us apart from congregationalism. We found the need to re-think the theology of the Pentecostal fathers and forge a witness that included the entire Baptized Body of Jesus Christ everywhere. Our message had to be clear and unadulterated by the modernists. Our theology had to be cleansed of the separatist preaching which, for more than a century, kept Christians estranged from each other.
As such, the founders (J. Delano Ellis, Wilbert Sterling McKinley, Roy Edward Brown, and Paul S. Morton) of the Joint College of African-American Pentecostal Bishops expressed a desire to offer "assistance and training for the proliferated Episcopacy within the African-American Pentecostal Church" (Ellis, 17).
THE MISSION STATEMENT of the Joint College, credited to David Michael Copeland of San Antonio, TX, is as follows:
The Joint College of African-American Pentecostal Bishops exists to train and educate newly appointed Bishops with a strong emphasis on healthy family development. The College will accomplish this goal by providing Seminars, Workshops, and opportunities for fellowship and spiritual covering for those who desire a standard of excellence in Ministry. Through a disciplined and structured environment, which promotes Biblical knowledge, spirituality, physical and emotional health, and prosperity, the College provides leadership and guidance and simplified answers to important ministerial issues, all in an effort to Preserve, Protect, and Promote the Testaments, Teachings and Traditions of the Church.
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