Grace Communion International (GCI), formerly the Worldwide Church of God (WCG), is an evangelical Christian denomination based in Glendora, California, United States.
Founded in 1934 by Herbert W. Armstrong as a religious broadcasting radio ministry named Radio Church of God, the Worldwide Church of God had a significant, and often controversial, influence on 20th century religious broadcasting and publishing in the United States and Europe, especially in the field of interpreting biblical end-time prophecies. Within a few years after Armstrong's death in 1986, the succeeding church administration modified the denomination's doctrines and teachings to be compatible with mainstream evangelical Christianity, while many members and ministers left and formed other churches that conformed to most, if not all, of Armstrong's teachings. In 2009, the church adopted its current name.
The GCI is a member of the National Association of Evangelicals and, as of April 2009, has 42,000 members in 900 congregations in about 90 countries.
Read more about Grace Communion International: Finances, Related Denominations
Famous quotes containing the words grace and/or communion:
“There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift.”
—Bible: New Testament, Ephesians 4:4-7.
“In compensation for considerable disgust, despondency, and boredom—such as living in solitude without friends, books, duties, or passions necessarily entails—we are given those quarter-hours of deepest communion with ourselves and nature. Those who completely barricade themselves from boredom, barricade themselves from themselves as well: they will never get to drink the most refreshingly potent draught from the their own innermost fountain.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)