Bishop Charles E. Blake was appointed the seventh in succession as Presiding Bishop by the General Assembly of the Church Of God in Christ on November 12, 2007. At the 101st Holy Convocation, during the quadrennial elections in 2008, Bishop Blake was re-elected as Presiding Bishop for another four-year term. As Presiding Bishop, Blake has become the new face of and an international spokesperson for Pentecostalism as it is known today.
Blake is a spiritual motivator who is astute in world business systems. He leads by example and has transformed church culture throughout the denomination. He is a consummate visionary andknows how to inspire others who share his vision.
He is the pastor of West Angeles Church Of God In Christ in Los Angeles, Calif. West Angeles has more than 24,000 members and offers more than 80 ministries for psychological, social and economic enhancement of the Los Angeles community.
Blake is a humble humanitarian and communitarian. He is the chief executive officer of Save Africa’s Children, a program of the Pan African Children’s Fund. The group has assisted over 300 grassroots and faith-based projects in sub-Saharan Africa, reaching over 90,000 AIDS affectedchildren. Save Africa’s Children supports more than 100 thousand children in 340orphan care programs throughout more than 23 nations on the continent of Africa.
Bishop Blake was the founding Chairman of the Board of Directors for the C.H. Mason Theological seminary and has served as an Executive Committee member on the Board of Directors of the Interdenominational Theological Seminary. He also formerly served as an Advisory Committee Member of the Pentecostal World Conference.
On April 6th in Washington, D.C., President Barack Obama tapped Presiding Bishop Charles E. Blake to serve on his 25-person White House Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. This one year appointment is a testament to his passion for the community and his desire to unite all people for the common good. He was also tapped as one of four to speak at the Democratic National Convention’s first Ecumenical Service, where he pronounced his status as pro-life democrat and challenged both democrats and republicans toprotect the rights of the unborn and born alike.
Bishop Blake has received numerous awards, commendations and accolades, including the Distinguished Leadership Award presented by the African Presidential Archives and Research Center at Boston University (2007), the Trumpet Award (2006), the Salvation Army’s William Booth Award, the Greenlining Institute’s Big Heart Award, and was the designated recipient of the L.A. Urban League’s Whitney M. Young Award (2000). In 2003, Bishop Blake was awarded the Harvard Foundation Humanitarian Medal for his work with Save Africa's Children and its mission to support orphanages throughout that continent. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors designated February 5, 2004 as “Bishop Charles E. Blake Day.”
Bishop Blake is married to Mae Lawrence Blake. They have three children and six grandchildren.
