Despite an equipment failure that caused a delay of over an hour, the Church of God General Council was able to nominate Timothy M. Hill to a second term as general overseer and the four remaining members of the International Executive Committee on Tuesday.
The Church of God is meeting at the Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio this week for the 78th International General Assembly. The first order of business was nominating members of the International Executive Committee, the highest body of leaders in the Church. All nominations will be further discussed and confirmed during the General Assembly scheduled for Friday, July 29.
The action by the Council came as the first order of business in an afternoon session that began at 1:30 following a special called session that determined the nominations taking place would be for two years rather than four.
Joining Hill in being re-nominated to their current positions on the committee were Raymond F. Culpepper to first assistant general overseer and David Ramirez, nominated for a second term as third assistant general overseer. Hill, Culpepper, and Ramirez will complete their terms in 2024 for a total of eight years in office.
Hill, first elected in 2016, has served the last six years. He was nominated by the Council in the first round of voting, termed the “nominating ballot.” Culpepper, a former general overseer for the Church of God from 2008-2012, was also elected to his current post in 2016. Ramirez, the first person of Hispanic origin to serve on the Executive Committee, will serve a second term if confirmed by the General Assembly that convenes this Friday, July 29.
Two new faces will be added to the Executive Committee if nominations are confirmed by the General Assembly. Tony Stewart, pastor of Citylife Church in Tampa, Florida, became the nominee for second assistant general overseer and will serve a four-year term if elected on Friday. Stewart’s nomination was followed two votes later by Gary Lewis, who was picked by the Council to serve as Secretary General. Lewis has most recently served as state overseer for the Church of God in South Georgia and is a past director of Youth and Discipleship.
Dr. J. David Stephens was the only ordained bishop ineligible to be nominated to the Executive Committee as his eight-year tenure was technically completed in 2020. Originally elected in 2012, his tenure was lengthened to a record-breaking ten years due to the postponement of the Assembly in 2020. He is the longest-serving Second Assistant General Overseer in the history of the Church of God.
If elected by the General Assembly on Friday, the Committee members will assume their duties immediately and will occupy offices at the International Offices in Cleveland, Tennessee.