Apostolic Church of God - Chicago

Illinois, USA

In 1960, Bishop Arthur Brazier accepted the call to unite two small congregations (the Universal Church of Christ and the Apostolic Church of God) with a total active membership of 100 parishioners. By 1977 the congregation had grown to 500 members and was continuing to grow rapidly. By 1992, the church expanded with a new Sanctuary to seat 3,000 members… which is still crowded for both morning services.

The church is well-known in Chicago as one of the leading Black Churches in the city. They have always had an outstanding choir and orchestra, that is capable of performing musical works from any genre. There are many notable people from all walks of life that have spoken and performed at ACOG. Senator Barack Obama spoke from the pulpit for Father’s Day in 2008 and it is rumored that the Chicago Symphony will be performing here in the fall of 2011.

In 2007 Bishop Brazier had a vision to expand the music ministry further with the addition of a sampled “pipe organ” (like he heard at Moody Bible Institute where he studied for the ministry). He began a search for an outstanding Organist to take over this new ministry and hired Dr. Stanleigh Jones (a graduate of Andrews & Northwestern Universities). They made a short trip to Rockefeller Chapel (on the University of Chicago Campus) where they heard the Rodgers 968. It was immediately decided that that was the sound they wanted to hear in their 3,000 seat Worship Space.

The custom, 3-manual, 5-division, 159-stop instrument was installed in the Fall of 2007 and is heard every Sunday on WCIU-TV (channel 26) at 8AM.

When Dr. Jones was recently asked by another congregation for guidance in the selection of an organ he replied, “If you are going with a purely digital organ, your objective should be to get the SOUND that best replicates a magnificent pipe organ.... We felt that Rodgers does the best job of replicating a great pipe organ sound.”