The church's Administration
The administration of the Sons of God Apostolic Spiritual Baptist Church is to a large extent centered around the activities within the 20 groups which formed the general body of the church. These groups vary in age, numbers as well as degrees, and are seperated into male and female sections with the exception of the Supreme and Grand Counsils.
Formed through the insight of His Grace, the Right Reverened Arch Bishop Granville Williams, the groups represent a conscious effort to allow each member to excercise himself not only in the activities of the church, but also in the decision making process.
Yet, each group is an independent body, being governed by a committee which was democratically elected for the periods ranging from six months to one year. Reports are received from these groups at the weekly Thursday night's general meetings which are alternated between the venues at Zion Apostolic Temple and Jerusalem Apostolic Temple.
Basically, the groups are part of the support mechanism for the many projects which come on stream , and are fundamentally commited to spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The responsibilities placed on these cells allow them to use a great deal of initiative in achieving their goals and objectives. Some of these activities include fund-raising in the form of concerts, dinners, fairs, excursions, stalls at national festivals and film shows.
The Ministerial Order comprises The Arch Bishop, Bishop, Arch Deacon, the Ministers, Deacons and the Sub-Deacons, the more senior males; and the females are the Abyses, the Mothers of Sorrow, Mother Reverends, Deaconesses and the Teachers. Elders are also placed within this category.
Ordained by His Grace, the ministers assist with the spiritual development of members, counselling, administering the Word of God, conducting services and performing all ceremonial rites and rituals. Throughout the years, they have been instrumental in holding open-air meetings at various locations.
In the Spiritual Baptist Church the women are very active.When not expounding the word of God, they, within the respective groups, dedicate their all to the spiritual upliftment to the church. They visit the sick, conduct services, in addition to holding open-air services and rallies. They remain a powerful driving force behind the ideas about fund-raising ventures and their excurtion.
The Nurses Association, as the name would suggest, are the nurses of the church. They are entrusted to look after the "candidates" on "Mercy Seat" (see symbols and Terms used in the church) which is a very important aspect of the church's practice.
The Damsels, Daughters of Salem and the Rosebuds are of younger girls who are trained to assist in ceremonies. It is a beautiful sight to see them officiating around the temple neatly dressed in their robes and colorful (spiritual cords. Moreover, the junior female section is made up of the League of Mary and the Ambassadors.
There are also the Good Samaritans and the Knights of Jerusalem which are junior male groups, but which fuction in several areas of church work, including conducting services on Wednesdays and Fridays.
It is at the general meetings that all the groups come together to bring the church up-to-date with planned projects, give progress reports, give imformation on matters affecting the church, examine outside criticism, discipline members or discuss correspondence, among other things. Sometimes these meetings are turned into spiritual sessions in which His Grace imparts knowledge of deeper mysticism.