More than 35,000 members of the Church of God in Christ are gathering in St. Louis this week as the denomination's Holy Convocation returns to the America's Center, kicking off a three-year run that pulls the massive annual gathering away from Memphis for the second time in the church's history. The move comes after years of friction over hotel rooms and convention space in the Bluff City, and it leaves some local church leaders hoping the Convocation eventually finds its way back home.
According to FOX13 Memphis, COGIC leaders decided to move the Holy Convocation after hotel and accommodation plans in Memphis fell flat, part of what the station describes as long-standing concerns about the number of downtown hotel rooms available in the city. Hotel availability remains a concern for organizers.
Why Memphis Couldn't Keep the Convention
COGIC's own account of the split, reported by fox13memphis.com, states plainly that the church was “unable to secure satisfactory conditions” and that it “failed to convince the General Assembly's delegation to vote in favor of Memphis, TN to continue hosting our national convention beyond 2025.” The church added that a convention center able to hold 15,000 or more delegates would be ideal, a benchmark Memphis apparently could not meet to the delegation's satisfaction.
The week-long event drew more than 30,000 COGIC attendees to Memphis for the 2024 Holy Convocation, the last time it was held there before the shift to St. Louis. The same report notes that those attendees usually bring about $35 million to the Memphis economy.
St. Louis Welcomes a Familiar Crowd
This is not new territory for St. Louis. According to stlpr.org, COGIC held its annual conferences in the city from 2010 to 2019 before canceling in 2020 because of the pandemic, holding a virtual gathering in 2021, and choosing Memphis in 2022. The station reports the church will host its annual conference at the America's Center from 2026 to 2028, with Bishop Keith Kershaw saying that when delegates were polled on where to hold the event, “overwhelmingly the choice was St Louis.”
Explore St. Louis estimates the three-year stint will generate roughly $250 million in economic impact and draw about 180,000 attendees over that span, the same stlpr.org report notes. Discussions about a possible return of the Convocation to Memphis are ongoing, even as the church settles in for a run it has publicly committed to.
A Push to Bring the Gathering Home
A possible return of the Convocation to Memphis remains under discussion, according to the FOX13 Memphis report, amid longstanding concerns about lodging in the city.
The annual gathering's center of gravity sits firmly in St. Louis, with a 118th gathering listed for Nov. 3 through Nov. 10 this year, according to a newsletter posted by the Church Of God In Christ.
