"Church of God of Prophecy The Church of God of Prophecy is a holiness pentecostal Christian denomination. It is one of five Church of God bodies in Cleveland, Tennessee that descended from a small meeting of believers who gathered at the Barney Creek Meeting House near the Tennessee/North Carolina border in 1886. Beliefs The Church of God of Prophecy considers the events of the late 19th century and the 20th century to be the modern history of the church. They believe that the Church of God was founded by Jesus, and that it was restored in modern times (the "Great Apostasy" theory). They consider the Reformation of Luther, the Radical Reformation of the Anabaptists, and the Great Awakenings in the United States as part of God's move in restoring the church, which was completed in 1903. Individuals must be "born again" to be members of the Church of God of Prophecy, as well as maintain a consistent Christian witness. A Christian witness includes abstinence from the use of tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs. Members cannot be members of secret societies or lodges (such as Freemasonry), and cannot be living in any sexual relationship deemed immoral (which includes any marriage not sanctioned by the scriptures). This group does not maintain that an individual must be a member of their specific denomination to be a child of God. The church considers its real title to be the Church of God. For several years after the 1923 division, there was controversy over which side of the division had the legal right to the name Church of God. This body distinguished itself as Church of God, over which A. J. Tomlinson is General Overseer. In 1952 a judge in Bradley County, Tennessee ordered that the church add "of Prophecy" to the name "Church of God" for use in secular and business affairs. The Church of God of Prophecy accepts the Bible alone as the inspired, infallible, inerrant word of God, and as the highest authority in matters of faith and practice. Water Baptism by immersion, The Lord's Supper, and Feet washing are held to be ordinances of the church. More recent division Another split occurred in 1997 with the adoption of the "Declaration of Independence" from the group known as "The Church of God/Robert Pruitt Division", which had left the larger body in 1993 as outlined above. This split occurred on September 1, 1997 with the official acceptance of the "Declaration" after many attempts at reconciliation failed. It is believed by this group that both The Church of God/Pruitt Division and the Church of God of Prophecy have left "Theocratic Government" upon which the original group led by the late Bishop A. J. Tomlinson stood as the Bible Church. The name of this group is "The Church of God of North Carolina" and they have staked their claim upon the Scriptures as the remnant of believers sticking to the doctrine and practices as taught by Bishop Tomlinson and practiced until the removal of Bishop M. A. Tomlinson in 1990. This group believes and practices all the teachings as they were previously taught by the Church of God of Prophecy up through 1989." source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_God_of_Prophecy#Beliefs