2026 Church and Pastor's Council Election
The election of Council members is a 2-step process:
1. Members of the congregation nominate 4 name choices.
2. The congregation then chooses 4 from the top 12 nominees.
The top 4 nominees from the second ballot become the newly elected Council members. In the event the office of one of the Council members is vacated between elections, the person with the next highest number of votes in the election would fill the vacancy.
The following are ineligible to be nominated because of tenure:
Duane Goff
Nora Hollifield
Maxine Hughes
Jason Wright
The following are currently serving as Council members
(please do not nominate):
Dawn Bixler
Ed Brown
Mona Ellis
Franklin Odom
Angela Sluss
Anna Starks
Phil Thompson
Lamar Vest
Persons participating in this process must be a member of the North Cleveland Church of God and 16 years of age or older.
Online voting is open February 8, 2026, 8:00AM-11:45PM EST
1. Members of the congregation nominate 4 name choices.
2. The congregation then chooses 4 from the top 12 nominees.
The top 4 nominees from the second ballot become the newly elected Council members. In the event the office of one of the Council members is vacated between elections, the person with the next highest number of votes in the election would fill the vacancy.
The following are ineligible to be nominated because of tenure:
Duane Goff
Nora Hollifield
Maxine Hughes
Jason Wright
The following are currently serving as Council members
(please do not nominate):
Dawn Bixler
Ed Brown
Mona Ellis
Franklin Odom
Angela Sluss
Anna Starks
Phil Thompson
Lamar Vest
Persons participating in this process must be a member of the North Cleveland Church of God and 16 years of age or older.
Online voting is open February 8, 2026, 8:00AM-11:45PM EST
Qualifications for Church and Pastor’s Council
According to the latest edition of Minutes of the Church of God: Book of Discipline, Church Order, and Governance, for a member (male or female) to serve on the Church and Pastor’s Council, she/he must be:
•A loyal member of the Church, of good reputation and in good standing with our doctrines, administration, and polity.
•A born-again believer who is filled with the Holy Spirit.
•A faithful tither and one who supports the work of the church consistently.
•One who speaks the truth in love and is willing to protect the confidentiality of sensitive issues.
•A person who is willing to be excused before the Council votes on any matter where that individual council member has a real or perceived conflict of interest.
•Two members of the same immediate family may not serve simultaneously (i.e. husband and wife, parent and child, or siblings).
•Duly elected members of the Council may not serve two successive terms but may serve again after a one-year break from the Council after each elected term.
•A paid member of NCCOG pastoral or administrative staff may not serve as a voting member of the Council. However, the Lead Pastor is the ex officio chairman of the Council and all other boards and committees of the Church.
•Immediate family members of NCCOG pastoral staff may not serve as a Council member because of the inevitability of conflict of interest considerations.
•A loyal member of the Church, of good reputation and in good standing with our doctrines, administration, and polity.
•A born-again believer who is filled with the Holy Spirit.
•A faithful tither and one who supports the work of the church consistently.
•One who speaks the truth in love and is willing to protect the confidentiality of sensitive issues.
•A person who is willing to be excused before the Council votes on any matter where that individual council member has a real or perceived conflict of interest.
•Two members of the same immediate family may not serve simultaneously (i.e. husband and wife, parent and child, or siblings).
•Duly elected members of the Council may not serve two successive terms but may serve again after a one-year break from the Council after each elected term.
•A paid member of NCCOG pastoral or administrative staff may not serve as a voting member of the Council. However, the Lead Pastor is the ex officio chairman of the Council and all other boards and committees of the Church.
•Immediate family members of NCCOG pastoral staff may not serve as a Council member because of the inevitability of conflict of interest considerations.