Charles Harrison Mason (1864–1961), an African American, was the founder and first senior bishop of the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), one of the largest Pentecostal denominations in the world. He was also a well-known Pentecostal evangelist, a supporter of world missions, an ally of education, a champion of pacifism, and an advocate of civil rights. During Mason’s fifty-four year tenure as senior bishop, the COGIC grew from 10 congregations to 4,000 congregations, approximately two thousand members to 400,000 members, and churches within the U.S. and on five continents. 

Born on…