Historic General Committee Meeting Elects Rev. Wayne Hicks As General Superintendent.
A historic event took place for the Congregational Holiness Church on August 27, 2020. The General Committee gathered in Griffin, Georgia, at the Living Waters CH Church to elect a General Superintendent to fill the remaining term vacated by the passing of our beloved Bishop Charles Hanson. As members gathered in the sanctuary and online via Zoom, there was a great somberness in the air as hearts were still very much broken by the events that took place in August.
Members of the committee spread out to observe social distancing as the meeting began. The meeting was presided over by then First Assistant General Superintendent Rev. Wayne Hicks. He started by sharing an encouraging word from Scripture, and Rev. Stephen Phillips led everyone in prayer as the meeting commenced. Shortly after the business meeting began, the General Committee elected the 12th General Superintendent for the Congregational Holiness Church, Bishop Wayne Hicks. When selected, the members of the committee stood to their feet to congratulate and welcome Bishop Hicks to the highest office within the denomination.
Bishop Cullen Hicks
The meeting that took place that Friday night will be remembered as one of the most historical events in our denomination’s history for many reasons. For the first time, the General Committee gathered to elect a General Superintendent after the death of a presiding Bishop. It was historic further still as Bishop Wayne is the first General Superintendent who is the son of a former General Superintendent for the CHC. Bishop Cullen Hicks served as General Superintendent of the CHC from 1973-1977 and then again from 1985-1991.
Bishop Hicks is not a novice in leadership for the Congregational Holiness Church. He served as the Senior Pastor of Corinth CHC from 1967-1973, Bethel Temple CHC from 1975-1983, First Congregational Holiness Church of Gainesville, Georgia from 1983-1995, and planted the New Haven Congregational Holiness Church and served as its pastor from 1995-2017. Bishop Hicks has also served on the General Committee of the CH Church since 1977. He served as the General Secretary from 1977-1985, Second Assistant Superintendent from 1991-2013, Frist Assistant Superintendent from 2013-2020, and currently as General Superintendent.
Bishop Wayne and Cherryl Hicks
Bishop Hicks married his wife, Mrs. Cherryl Hicks, on January 21, 1966. God has blessed them and their family significantly. The Hicks family includes three children, eight grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. Bishop Hicks holds a BA degree from Piedmont College in Sociology, with the emphasis on Marriage and the Family.
The General Committee also elected Rev. Stephen Philips as the First Assistant General Superintendent and Bishop Ronald Wilson as the Second Assistant General Superintendent to fill the current term.
May we as the Congregational Holiness Church always lift these men and all our leadership, churches, pastors, and members in prayer. God has great things in store for our denomination; may we ever be attentive to His voice and will.
