The Man, The Vision, and The Ministry

Bishop Charles E. Blake is known as a man of character, integrity, and wisdom. Born August 5, 1940 in North Little Rock, Arkansas. Bishop Blake is the son of the late Bishop J.A. Blake and Mrs. Lula Champion Blake. Licensed and ordained in 1962, he received his B.A. from California Western University (now known as United States International University), and his Master of Divinity degree from Interdenominational Theological Center in 1965. Bishop Blake has received honorary degrees from the California Graduate School of Theology and Oral Roberts University.

Because he is a man with a God-given mission for ministering to the whole man, spirit, mind, and body, West Angeles Church of God in Christ, one of the largest African American Churches in the western United States, has set a new standard for ministry to the Christian and to the world. As pastor of West Angeles Church for 30 years, Bishop Blake; recipient of the Salvation Army's William Booth Award, the Greenlining Institute's Big Heart Award, and the recipient of the L.A. Urban League's Whitney M. Young Award for the year 2000, has overseen West Angeles' growth from a 50-member church in 1969 to a membership of over 24,000 today, making it one of the fastest growing congregations in the world.

With annual revenues over $16 million, West Angeles serves as a significant stimulus to the community of South Los Angeles. The church employs over 175 employees, and coordinates a force of over 1,000 volunteers to serve the congregation and community through over 80 specialized ministries, programs, and support groups to assist and empower the community. Bishop Blake serves at the West Angeles Cathedral, a 60-million dollar, 5,000-seat worship center that became an instant landmark in the city of Los Angeles. The first service in the West Angeles Cathedral was April 28, 2001 with Bishop G.E. Patterson, Church Of God In Christ Presiding Bishop.

After attending a seminar at Harvard University on the world-wide HIV/AIDS epidemic, Bishop Blake prayed about what he could do to help. The Lord led him to establish a ministry to help care for the 12 million African children orphaned and homeless due to HIV/AIDS, called the Pan African Children's Fund (PACF). Traditionally, family members take responsibility to raise children of dead relatives. Now, entire generations of parents, aunts and uncles all may have succumbed to the disease, thus leaving the children to fend for themselves. As founder and president of PACF, Bishop seeks to support traditional and home-based orphanages which are caring for these children, helpless victims of the AIDS. Save Africa's Children, a program of PACF, currently provides support to dozens of orphanages throughout sub-Saharan Africa.

Bishop Charles E. Blake also serves as First Assistant Presiding Bishop and is a member of the 12-member General Board of the Church of God in Christ, the presiding board of the 2.2 million member Church of God in Christ denomination. Since 1985, he has been the Jurisdictional Prelate of the First Jurisdiction of Southern California, which owns and maintains Bonnie Brae House where the Pentecostal Revival later called the Azusa Revival began, and Transition House, the 15-bed substance abuse recovery facility for men. As prelate, he oversees more than 220 churches that make up First Jurisdiction.

Bishop Blake was the founding Chair of the Board of Directors for C.H. Mason Theological Seminary, and has served as a member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors, and as a Board Member of the Board of Directors for the Interdenominational Theological Seminary. Bishop Blake has served as Chair of the Executive Committee, member of the Board of Directors of Oral Roberts University, and as a member of the Board of Directors of International Charismatic Bible Ministries.

Bishop Blake has also formerly served as an Advisory Committee Member of the Pentecostal World Conference, and as the founder and Co-chair of the Los Angeles Ecumenical Congress (LAEC), an interdenominational coalition of religious leaders and pastors. Armed with a spiritual and moral agenda, the LAEC seeks to effectively utilize its collective influence among community and political leadership to benefit Los Angeles residents, and to respond to the challenges and issues that face the Los Angeles community.

Bishop Blake is married to Mae Lawrence Blake. They are the parents of 3 children: Kim, Charles II, and Lawrence; and the grandparents of 2: Joseph and Jared. Bishop Blake is a respected and dynamic preacher, a world class leader, a visionary, a beloved friend, and mentor to many. He is internationally recognized as one of America's most profound intellectual minds. He is an extraordinary man of God.

from http://www.westa.org/about_bishop.html