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JOSHUA 24:14-15 The Official Church of God Church of God by Faith by Faith Facebook Page YouTube Channel YEAR-END VIRTUAL CONFERENCE - “How Awesome is this Place” page-1 YEAR-END VIRTUAL CONFERENCE - “How Awesome is this Place” page-2 YEAR-END VIRTUAL CONFERENCE - “How Awesome is this Place” page-3 THANK YOU TO OUR LEADERS To Bishop, our Executive Council, superintendents, and all of our pastors, THANK YOU!! Thank you for shifting to alternative methods of worship as you try to help keep us safe. God gave Moses a way of deliverance while Egypt was being judged and we believe He’s leading you. A careful reading of Exodus 12:21-23 shows how Moses created comprehensive protocols to keep his membership safe. He could have called on God and rebuked the plague in spiritual warfare. However, he was prophetically inspired to impose these practical remedies as well: “Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, ‘Go and select lambs for yourselves according to your clans, and kill the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. None of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning. For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you’” (Exodus 12:21–23). Moses asked the Israelites to engage in the spiritual practice of killing the Passover Lamb. However, he also imposed a quarantine until the plague had passed. Likewise, our leaders are also asking us to keep worshipping from our homes until this plague passes and we should heed their instructions. Far too often, we forget that our leaders are human, and have jobs, families, and other responsibilities. We can easily think they exist just to serve us and deliver sermons that we want to hear. Hopefully, this is not the case. So again, thank you ByFaith leaders for how you care for us. We pray God will bless you and your families and keep you safe, and vibrant in the Lord. YEAR-END VIRTUAL CONFERENCE - “How Awesome is this Place” page-4 CONTENTS 2021 CALENDAR 6 2021 TEN DAYS OF CONSECRATION 7 LETTER FROM BISHOP JAMES E. MCKNIGHT, JR. 8 BISHOP’S BIOGRAPHY 9 EXECUTIVE COUNCIL BIOGRAPHIES 10 HOW TO STREAM TO YOUR TV 13 GENERAL SESSIONS INSTRUCTIONS 14 BREAKOUT INSTRUCTIONS 14 BREAKOUT SESSIONS 15 CTI SCHEDULE 22 CHILDREN’S MINISTRY SESSIONS 23 GENERAL SESSIONS 24 ADS 34 YEAR-END VIRTUAL CONFERENCE - “How Awesome is this Place” page-5 Church of God by Faith 2021 Calendar EVENT START DATE END DATE LOCATION CTI Spring 2021 Classes January 4, 2021 May 7, 2021 www.cti.cogbf.org 10 Days of Consecration January 7, 2021 January 16, 2021 TBA Local Churches Registration for Summer January 25, 2021 July 2, 2021 www.cogbf.org Convention Summer Convention TBA TBA [email protected] Breakout Requests Pastors' and Ministers' TBA TBA www.cogbf.org Retreat CTI Summer “A” Classes May 8, 2021 June 19, 2021 www.cti.cogbf.org Pastors’ and Ministers' TBA TBA www.cogbf.org Wives’ Retreat CTI - Examining Board June 28, 2021 August 3, 2021 www.cti.cogbf.org Classes Summer Convention July 8, 2021 July 11, 2021 TBA CTI Summer "B" July 8, 2021 July 10, 2021 www.cti.cogbf.org Convention Classes Registration for the August 1, 2021 December 11, 2021 www.cogbf.org 100th General Assembly CTI Fall 2021 Classes August 14, 2021 December 9, 2021 www.cti.cogbf.org 100th GA Breakout/ TBA October 1, 2021 [email protected] Equipment Requests Deacons Retreat TBA TBA [email protected] December 16, 100th General Assembly December 19, 2021 TBA 2021 CTI Winter Convention December 16, December 18, 2021 TBA 2021 Classes 2021 YEAR-END VIRTUAL CONFERENCE - “How Awesome is this Place” page-6 YEAR-END VIRTUAL CONFERENCE - “How Awesome is this Place” page-7 FROM THE DESK OF THE BISHOP Greetings Saints and Friends, I trust all of you are doing well and are yet giving our Lord the praise and glory that is due to His Holy Name. We are in a most unprecedented time, but this is not a day that just happened incidentally; “This is the day that the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it.” (Ps. 118:24) ByFaith Family, I know we were looking forward to celebrating our “100th General Assembly” this year, but here we are again presenting another virtual conference. We are still grateful for how the Lord placed His blessings upon our first virtual conference because there is a different set of challenges in presenting this type of gathering with excellence. So, we are relying on your prayers and support as much as we did the first time because our aim is to make your virtual experience even better. 2020 has been a challenging year in our world and in most of our lives personally. Many of us have been touched by perils, such as death, illnesses, financial pressure, or some type of family issue amidst a world-wide pandemic, racial tension, and toxic politics. However, we must remember that our God is still in control and heaven is engaged in the affairs of our world. We should declare as Jacob did amidst his dark days, “How Awesome is This Place.” That is our theme for this conference, and my prayer is that God will bring this truth into focus the more during this virtual gathering. We know that “ByFaith” is a close-knit family, and we value our fellowship! This will be the first time in over 25-years we will not gather in Atlanta. I know we will miss that time together, but let us make the most of this moment. We should also trust God to expand the footprint of our church into places we have not yet known. I want to ask you to gather your family, reach out to your friends and neighbors, and invite them to join us in this Year-End Virtual Conference. Thank you in advance for your prayers and support, and I hope your virtual experience reaches far beyond your expectations. Sincerely, Presiding Bishop James E. McKnight, Jr. YEAR-END VIRTUAL CONFERENCE - “How Awesome is this Place” page-8 BISHOP MCKNIGHT’S BIOGRAPHY Bishop James E. McKnight, Jr. was born in Gainesville, Florida to Bishop James E. and Sister Jessie McKnight. As a young boy, he was always serious about the work of the Lord by integrating preaching, praying and teaching into his normal childhood routines. At the age of 18, he committed his life to Christ and served in various capacities including youth minister, deacon, musician, choir president and Sunday school teacher at his local church. In 1985, Bishop McKnight received his call into ministry and later was led to plant a church in Starke, FL. With a clear vision, strong faith, determination and God’s help, he founded Starke Church of God by Faith in March 1987. He studied Business Administration at Santa Fe College and received his license as an ordained Elder of Church of God by Faith, Inc. in December of the year 1991. Bishop McKnight is the president and founder of Bradford County Faith Community Center, a faith-based organization that serves North Central FL by providing a recovery program, prison outreach, food distribution and a family literacy program. His dedication and ministry in the COGBF was recognized by the leadership of the church and as a result, he was recommended as a candidate for Ruling Elder. In December of 2003, he was selected by the National Church at-large and became a member of the Executive Board. On December 20, 2014, he was elected and appointed by the Executive Council as the presiding Bishop of the Churches of God by Faith. Bishop McKnight has been married to his childhood sweetheart, Delois Turner McKnight since 1978 and they have three children: Candace, James III and Devin. YEAR-END VIRTUAL CONFERENCE - “How Awesome is this Place” page-9 EXECUTIVE COUNCIL RULING ELDER JAMES E. WILLIAMS, EXECUTIVE SECRETARY Ruling Elder James E. Williams was born into the Church of God by Faith. He is the son of Emeritus Superintendent Elder James Williams, Sr. and the late Mother Cora Williams of the Gainesville District. Elder Williams moved to Tampa in 1970 to further his education. He married Lillie Hampton in 1968 and to that union, five children were born. He served under the leadership of Supt. Robert L. Evens. In 1975, he was appointed to the National Finance Board by the Executive Council where he served 17-years; eight of which were in the role of secretary. He is a retired postmaster for the U. S. Postal Service, where he served for 35-years. He is the pastor of The Rock COGBF and the Superintendent for the Tampa West Coast District. In December 2014, he was appointed as a ruling elder by the Executive Council. RULING ELDER H. N. TURNER, TREASURER Ruling Elder Horace Nelson Turner, Sr. was born in Abbeville, Georgia to the late Deacon Raleigh W. Turner and the late Mother Katie Maude Turner. He accepted the Lord in his life in 1980. He started a Bible study in a home, then moved to an old funeral home and from there to a storefront.