FM Editors 
Lakewood Church Pastor, Best-Selling Author to Speak at 2017 COGIC Holy Convocation
Joel Osteen, pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, will be the Special Guest Speaker when members of the country’s largest Black Pentecostal denomination gather in St. Louis for their annual Holy Convocation.
The Church of God in Christ (COGIC) announced in April that Osteen would be speaking Nov. 8 during its 110th Holy Convocation in St. Louis, Missouri.
The promotional page featuring the announcement declares that the event will be “The Worship Experience of a Lifetime!”
The Church of God in Christ, headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, is a Pentecostal denomination whose 19th century founders were inspired by John Wesley’s Holiness movement. The denomination, led by Presiding Bishop Charles E. Blake, counts 12,000 churches and 6.5 million people among its members in the U.S. Most of COGIC’s members are African American.
The convocation announcement about Osteen explained that the full schedule of speakers was forthcoming.
Osteen, whose church is listed as non-denominational, has been leading Lakewood Church since 1999, when he took over for his late father.
Osteen has shared that he “grew up with my dad being Pentecostal.” He also studied at Oral Roberts University, which was named after the Pentecostal evangelist of the same name.
Under his parents’ leadership, Lakewood Church reportedly attracted a strong Pentecostal and charismatic following.
“My church now is filled with people of every denomination,” Osteen previously told The Christian Post when asked about growing up with Pentecostal roots.
It was unknown what kind of message Osteen will deliver during the Church of God in Christ’s Holy Convocation, although the popular pastor and author is known for his think-positive messages. Osteen has also been accused of preaching a watered-down gospel message.
Osteen, who tapped John Gray as Lakewood Church’s first Black pastor, will deliver his Nov. 8 message to thousands of Black Christians at the COGIC gathering in November.
The Church of God in Christ reported that 2016’s Holy Convocation attracted more than 40,000 visitors to St. Louis. This year’s gathering, providing a time of consecration, refreshing and renewal, was schedule to take place Nov. 6-14.
