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HISTORY & HERITAGE
As Church of God women, our heritage is found in the courage of women who ministered, often risking their lives to preach the message of Pentecost. We find our heritage in the strength of women who left their homes and families to carry the gospel to foreign countries. It is found in the diligence of women who worked tirelessly to make the call of God on their lives a reality. We find it in the nameless women forgotten by history whose priceless investment is recorded in the memories of those they touched. And we find it in the hands of women bent over a quilting frame, women visiting prisons, women reading to shut-ins, and women making puppets for a Kids Klub.
We come from a long line of strong, dedicated, creative pioneers with immeasurable influence on the growth of our denomination from its original eight members to its present international scope of over eight million. Since its inception, women have been instrumental in all areas of ministry including education, youth and children’s ministries, evangelism, missions, church planting and pastoring. Many of them are the unsung heroes of the Pentecostal movement. As their descendants, we have much to learn from their selfless dedication. Our heritage is their legacy to us.
Women continue to minister, teach, evangelize, and bring valuable insight to the Church of God today. New doors are opening, and women are being presented fresh opportunities to serve in vital roles on the frontlines of ministry. The ongoing impact of these women is a testimony of the influence of our mothers and grandmothers of the faith. What a privilege we have to serve and invest in the lives of others! May those who come behind us find that we were faithful in all areas of our lives and ministry.
Women of Distinction in the Church of God
For more than 100 years the Church of God has celebrated dedicated women involved in soul-winning efforts in the United States and around the world. Whether they accompanied their husbands in evangelism, planting and pastoring local churches or they carried the gospel to distant lands, the impact of their lives and ministries still affects the church today.
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Below are a few of these champions:
Alda B. Harrison
(1877-1959):
Alda Harrison created the Young People’s Endeavor (YPE), a national youth organization for the early Church of God. She also started The Lighted Pathway, a monthly magazine dedicated to the young people of the church. This popular magazine was mailed monthly to young people all over the United States.
Dora Myers
(1887-1998):
Dora Myers was a teacher at Lee College before it became Lee University. She also served as a missionary to India for 12 years, leading many to salvation.
Rebecca Barr
Rebecca Barr is credited, along with her husband, for being the first Church of God missionaries outside the United States. She and her husband felt compelled of the Lord to take the Pentecostal message to his native Bahamas. In 1909 she became the first black woman to be licensed as a Church of God minister.
Lula Jones
(1881-1961):
Lula Jones became a licensed evangelist in the Church of God, working for 30 years in ministry. She pastored nine different churches and planted nine others. As a minister in the Church of God she preached a total of 1,634 sermons.
Melissa M. Murphy
(1847-1921) :
Melissa M. Murphy hosted the very first General Assembly in her home in 1906 and was one of the speakers at that inaugural occasion. Later that same year she became a charter member of the North Cleveland Church of God, Cleveland, Tennessee.
Margaret Gaines
(1931-2017)
Margaret Gaines sensed the call of God to serve as a missionary while attending college. She spent the majority of her adult life serving first in Tunisia, Africa and then in Aboud, a village located in West Bank, Palestinian Territory. After serving many years she returned to the United States and pastored a Church of God congregation in Alabama.
Nora Chambers
(1886-1953):
Nora Chambers was instrumental in spreading the gospel through the mountains of North Carolina and Georgia. She later became the very first teacher at Bible Training School, now known as Lee University. A dormitory dedicated to her memory still bears her name today.
Avis Swiger
(1906-1976) :
For over 40 years Avis Swiger trained ministers as a teacher at Bible Training School, now Lee University. She authored two books and many articles that were instrumental in teaching others to come to know the God she served.
Willie Lee Darter (1913-2011)
Willie Lee Darter and her husband were involved in creating and funding the International Preparatory Institute in San Antonio, Texas, to train Latin American missionaries. She later produced and implemented a Christian training program for young girls, Joy Belles. A woman dedicated to the global harvest, she also spear-headed several missions projects for the International Women’s Ministries of the Church of God.
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENTS
Meri Rivera
Meri was born Carmen Maria Rivera, but to anyone who has had more than a casual encounter with her, she is known as Meri. Talented singer, Bible teacher, conference speaker, author, and pastor’s wife. Many are those who benefited from her ministry, hospitality, and cuisine over seven decades of active service.
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From the time she came to know the Lord as a teen, Meri’s devotion to ministry was evident. She taught children’s church within months of her conversion, where she learned to use her creative talents to plan lessons. She went on to lead youth ministry at the local and state level before moving on to adult ministries. Her openness to God’s leading prepared her for a life filled with changing roles as the wife of a Church of God ordained minister.
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Meri’s life has served as a testament to what strong faith can do. Now close to 90, her health is declining, but her prayers and faith remain unshakable. Each day ends in prayers of gratitude for God’s goodness because, as one of her favorite hymns says, “His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me.”
Meri Rivera's Impact
Meri and her husband Roberto met during her time as a youth leader in Illinois. Over their 50 years serving together, they pastored churches in Puerto Rico and the United States and impacted ministry work throughout the Spanish speaking world. She was a state Women’s Ministry director for the Southeast Hispanic Region and served on the International Women’s Ministry Board for the Church of God.
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In the 1970s, Roberto served as president of what is now the Theological University of the Caribbean in Puerto Rico. A small staff and even smaller budget meant that Meri took on roles as house mother, shopper, and cook without compensation. She recalls times when food and funds were scarce and prayer became the primary resource to meet needs – all while managing her own household with three young children (Carlos, Verenice and Mari.)
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The Riveras spent a decade in Texas as directors of the Church of God Publishing House, a role that allowed Meri to share insights in monthly articles for women. She fulfilled a dream of writing her life testimony following Roberto’s death in 2009 in a book titled “Se Puede” – loosely translated “It Can Be Done.” In it, she encourages readers to see obstacles as opportunities to trust God and accomplish His will.