Church of God Cross
& Church of Christ Cross
There are several churches incorporating within their name "The Church of God", most of them being Pentecostal and Evangelical.
The largest of these has its headquarters in Cleveland, US, and their logo is shown above. Their in-house name is Church of God and to avoid confusion with other churches that include the same words, their full legal name is Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee).
Affiliated churches in other countries have different names. For example, Église de Dieu en France, viz., the 'Church of God in France' (without meaning to imply that there is a specific God for France), 日本チャーチオブゴッド (Japan Church of God), New Testament Church of God (mainly UK), Church of God in Canada (guess where!) and over one hundred others.
Almost all these churches adopt a logo which features the Cross of Christ and the flame of the Holy Spirit.
Other "Church of God" denominations have their own logos and most have their headquarters in the US.
They include offshoots of the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee) called the (Original) Church of God, a Pentecostal Holiness church named the Church of God of Prophecy and their offshoots, the Church of God (Charleston, Tennessee), the Church of God (Huntsville, Alabama), the Church of God in Divine Order, the Church of God at Jerusalem Acres and the Church of God for All Nations.
Other churches include the Church of God (Guthrie, Oklahoma), the Church of God (Restoration), the Church of God Worldwide Mission and until 2009 the Worldwide Church of God, now known as Grace Communion International.
There is also the Pentecostal Church of God, the Church of God of the Union Assembly, the Church of God in Christ with its predominantly African-American following, the Church of God (Holiness) and the Church of God (Anderson) with their strong Wesleyan roots, the Adventist Church of the Great God and the Living Church of God which are based in North Carolina, the Church of the Eternal God, the Oklahoma based Philadelphia Church of God and the Ohioan United Church of God.
Based outside the US is the Redeemed Christian Church of God headquartered in Nigeria and branches around the world, the Church of God 7th Day in Israel, the Most Holy Church of God in Christ Jesus in Philippines, and the Adventist Global Church of God in the UK.
Some churches might be considered 'fringe', such as the snake-handling Church of God with Signs Following and the apocalyptic Church of God - Preparing for the Kingdom of God.
The list seems never-ending, and one has to wonder what God thinks of all this. To be sure, all these churches believe there is only one God. (See Why we have different denominations)
As mentioned above, a common logo for the largest Church of God features the Cross of Christ and the flame of the Holy Spirit. As with other Churches of God, there is symbolism for Jesus Christ and symbolism for the Holy Spirit, but no symbolism for God the Father. This is a curious peculiarity for logos of most Christian denominations, even though they are trinitarian. (See Church Emblems)
An exception is the logo for the Church of Christ of Fremont, California. This is an autonomous New Testament congregation in California which, since the 1990's, has used this fabulously simple, yet powerful, logo. There's no corpus on the cross - Christ has risen!
The hand symbolizes God reaching down from heaven, through the cross (the Gospel) of Jesus Christ, offering salvation to anyone who wishes to accept it. (See Meaning of the Cross)
"Church of Christ" means any one of several Christian denominations, the largest being the United Church of Christ, whose profile was increased when one of its members, Barack Obama, became the US president in 2008.
Like the smaller Church of Christ, Scientist (Christian Science), their logo comprises a crown, cross and orb surrounded by the name of the church and the prayer of Jesus, "That they may all be one" (John 17:21) which reflects their commitment to the restoration of unity among Christian churches. Also, the crown has a strong similarity with the trident giving Trinitarian symbolism.
It should be noted that the United Church of Christ differs from most of the other denominations on this page, in that they are a member of the World Council of Churches. They have their fair share of critics, especially those who suffer from homophobia and female-ordination phobia, but there's general agreement that the United Church of Christ is a bona fide mainline Protestant Church.
As with the Church of God, the Church of Christ has large a following from African Americans. There are some odd White supremacists using the name, such as the Ku Klux Klan's Church of Jesus Christ-Christian, and the Mormon Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, neither of which believe in salvation through the sacrifice of Jesus, and therefore not considered to be Christian in the generally accepted meaning of the term.
