First Church COGIC

OUR PASTOR

   Joseph Morgan, Jr. was born February 13, 1944 in the small city of Colquitt, GA. 1964, he and his family (wife, kids, mother, and siblings) moved to Canton, Ohio. He got his first northern job at Republic Steel Corp., then The Hoover Company, followed by The Akro Corporation, and “retired” at FreshMark/Sugardale Foods Inc. After the 1964 move to Canton, the family began attending the First Church of God in Christ.

Around 1970, he became a licensed preacher (minister). During this same decade, he attended Moody Bible Institute.In 1974, he became an Ordained Elder.That same year (1974), he was promoted to a state leadership position. He became the State Sunday School Superintendent of The Ohio Northwest Jurisdiction. He held this position for approximately 30 years.He became head pastor of the First Church of God in Christ in 1984. He has been pastor for over two decades and counting. He is now the proud father of ten children. As Pastor of First Church, he has done much to progress the church and serve the community. Two of his major efforts are as follows:

   He developed the vision for the church’s Community Center (originally named Linton-Chapman Center). While he/the church has yet to secure the properties necessary to bring this project to fruition, it is in the works. He has worked tirelessly to making this vision come to pass.

   He, along with his wife, developed the Johnnie Mae Smith Scholarship (in honor of the late Johnnie Mae Smith). In 2009, three scholarships were given to first time college students (that regularly attended church, had at least a 3.0 cumulative high school GPA, and had written an essay to a theme). With the success of this year’s 2010 Pastor and Wife Dinner and patrons, they hope to give 3 more $1000 scholarships to deserving students in August of 2011.

 Pastor Morgan will be the first to tell you that he isn’t perfect! He has made many mistakes that he does not attempt to hide. However, this prodigal son has tried to use his experiences to help congregations, especially young men. He is a true believer in the idea that every lesson doesn’t have to be learned from experience if we can learn to listen! Because of this humble approach, he has gained the respect of many.