Grace Communion International

Grace Communion International (GCI) is a Christian denomination with 30,000 members in about 550 churches spread across 70 countries. The denomination is structured in the episcopal model based in Charlotte, North Carolina, US, and is a member of the National Association of Evangelicals.The Radio Church of God was founded in 1934 in Eugene, Oregon, by radio- and televangelist Herbert W. Armstrong as a radio ministry that promoted a strict, minimalist doctrine. In 1947, the church relocated its headquarters to Ambassador College in Pasadena, California, also founded by Armstrong; in 1968 the movement was renamed the Worldwide Church of God (WCG). Armstrong, who predicted that the world might end in 1975, required that members observe the Sabbath, forbade medical interventions, and often required three tithes. As WCG, the church developed a reputation as a "doomsday cult".Armstrong died in 1986 and was succeeded by Joseph W. Tkach Sr. Tkach and other ministers came to the conclusion that a great many of their doctrines were not biblical. In 1995, after his father's death, Joseph Tkach Jr. became the leader of the WCG affirming the prior reforms within the church and continuing change as old doctrines were scrutinized. As a result, many members and ministers left and formed other churches that conformed to many of the teachings of Armstrong. In 2009, the church changed its name from the Worldwide Church of God to Grace Communion International.In October 2018 Joe Tkach Jr. retired and installed Greg Williams as the President of GCI. Williams became a member of the Grace Communion International Board of Directors and the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) Board of Directors.