The Church of God (COG) is an international denomination based in Cleveland, Tennessee. In September 2019, the denomination reported more than 7.6 million members and 39,696 churches in 185 nations and territories.

On August 19, 1886, Richard Green Spurling, with assistance from his father, Richard Spurling, established a congregation called Christian Union in Monroe County, Tennessee. Emphasizing the New Testament as their “only rule of faith and practice” along with loving God and neighbor, Spurling and the eight who joined …