MANSFIELD — Evangelist Sharon Blevins has held many titles during her years of service in the Church of God in Christ (COGIC).
She is a lifelong Mansfield resident and the 1st Lady of Latter Rain Church on Glessner Avenue, where her husband Louis Blevins Jr. is the Pastor. She is recognized as a national Evangelist and most recently served as Mansfield’s District Missionary.
On Aug. 23, 2022 she was informed by Bishop Edward T. Cook (Prelate of ONFJ) that due to her hard work and dedication, she would be elevated to the position of Supervisor of Women in the Ohio North First Jurisdiction, which encompasses approximately 90 churches throughout the state of Ohio.
Blevins’ vast range of duties includes oversight of women’s programming within the church, licensing and installing Missionaries, grooming and selecting women for leadership positions, and many other auxiliary duties.
Richland Source columnist Effie James Jr.
“My primary duty as supervisor, though, is to train women in ministry and to teach them to know and support the Bishop’s vision,” Blevins said.
One of her first acts as State Supervisor was to create a new initiative to engage a faction of the Church that she feels has been increasingly absent from ministry. The younger generations, specifically those 50 and younger, according to Blevins, have not been as present in Church of God in Christ ministries as they have been in times past.
Middle-aged to young adults are the spiritual heartbeat of the local church. These generations can provide valuable influence and stability to the ministry and the children of these families normally make up each church’s youth department.
So, keeping youthful members engaged in service is very vital to the longevity of the church and to spreading the gospel.
“When I go to our state and national Conventions, most of the people I would see are my age or older and I knew that is something that I wanted to help change,” Blevins said.
Mother Blevins is not only the title she carries within the church, she is also a natural mother. But on May 26, 2006 she experienced a tragedy that would change her life forever.
That was the day her only daughter, Allison was shot and killed while at work here in Mansfield. She worked as an apartment manager at a residential facility for persons with disabilities. A disgruntled tenant entered the building on Cook Road, walked into the offices and inexplicably opened fire on staff members.
Allison Blevins-Johnson lost her life that day, a day in which she was not even scheduled to work. It was evident that she embodied the same spirit of servitude that her mother owns.
The property at 260 East Cook Rd. formerly known as Mansfield Manor has been since renamed in honor of Blevins’ daughter and is now called; “Allison Manor.”
Allison Manor is located at 260 E. Cook Road in Mansfield.
The adversity and pain Mother Blevins has had to overcome is the driving inspiration in her work within the ministry and specifically her work with the young women of the churches she serves.
Her new initiative unofficially entitled, “Bridging the Gap” is all about engagement and having real conversations about the divide that exists in the Church and its younger generations.
Blevins points to a lack of engagement and attendance at church services and events, as well as commitment to the local ministries as primary areas of concern.
Overall, she is concerned about a “disconnect” with God among the youth and her desire is to create an atmosphere where all are welcome in church buildings and at ministry functions abroad.
“We just want to make sure that the message of Christ is getting to as many people as possible,” she said.
Although it is early in her tenure as supervisor, she has already organized a series of meet-and-greet meetings where women, age 50 and younger were invited to come and talk with Blevins and her staff about their concerns regarding the church and ways to reconnect them to ministry.
The first meeting took place Oct. 22 in Cleveland, where women from Northeast Ohio and surrounding areas were invited. The second was on Nov. 16 in Columbus where women from central and southern Ohio came to meet with Mother Blevins.
She states that she wanted to make it clear that it would not be a meeting where women would be talked at, but they would instead be listened to. While the meetings will continue, Blevins states that what they have learned from the recent gatherings has opened her eyes to different elements of the church that may be producing barriers for the younger congregants.
“I have a heart for young women and after losing Allison, I realized that I had not gotten the opportunity to pour into her what God had given me so I want to be open to hear what the young women are saying,” Blevins said.
While optimistic about the program and its success, she realizes change does not occur without significant challenges. One of the primary challenges she sees is implementing change in some of the long-standing traditions of the church.
Things like seating norms and the standard roles normally reserved for the elder members of the church are examples of things that possibly need to be adjusted in order to succeed in mending the generational divide. She would like to see some of the older members working together with the young, collaborating on projects that build up the ministry.
“Within the first few years of this initiative, I would love to see many of our older mothers adopt and mentor a young lady to give her spiritual guidance, while also learning from the young women new and innovative ways to keep moving the ministry forward.” Blevins states.
"Within the local community, Mother Blevins feels that there is not only a need for bridging the gap between young and old, but also the religious barriers that exists among churches within our community. Mansfield and the surrounding communities have a multitude of churches and houses of worship which have varying religious landscapes.
“I believe that to truly bridge the gap in our community means we also must bridge the denominational gap," Blevins said. "We are all essentially serving the same purpose which is the glorify God and have people delivered from sin, so we should be working together to reach our youth, no matter who, or where they are.”
Although she plans to advance the work that comes with comes with her elevated position, Mother Blevins continues to show commitment and love for her community. She and her husband, Pastor Louis Blevins have been on the front lines, speaking out against gun violence in the community and being a part of community prayer services right here in Mansfield.
Her heart for the young women in this community is evident by her long-standing service to her home church of Latter Rain and other ministries in the Mansfield area. Mother Blevins has dedicated her life to serving God, her family, and the people of this community, specifically the young women.
When asked how people in the community can get involved and support her with this initiative, she responds in a way that a true mother and mentor would.
”Just stop by Latter Rain and come talk to me," Blevins said. "I’d love to hear from you.”
Latter Rain (COGIC) is located at 259 Glessner Ave. and has weekly Sunday services starting at noon.
