Real Life Real Faith Men of Faith July/August Issue | Page 33

MOF: When people see your name, Bishop William T. Cahoon, what do you want people to
say? What type of man do you want to be known as, especially since you reach so many lives?
Bishop Cahoon: A humble man of love, understanding, always wanting to help, and to be an
example to others.
MOF: What can we find you spending a lot of your time doing today as it pertain to your calling
and outreach?
Bishop Cahoon: To make sure my life is prepared to be an example of what I preach and teach,
through prayer and fasting, and emphasizing to the people of God, their responsibility of
ministering to the people of the community. My focus is to prepare them spiritually and
intellectually, and to be sensitive to the needs of others.
MOF: In the light of all the pain, suffering, and hate that you can see, nowadays pretty much
everywhere you turn…what is it that you would like to see happen to make things better, for not
only African Americans, but everyone?
Bishop Cahoon: I’d like to see people to get themselves together spiritually, and have equal
access to opportunities and education. That the criminal judicial system will be fair across the
board to everyone, and to give everybody an opportunity to help themselves.
MOF: How is your ministry, the 21 Church of God in Christ (COGIC) churches, set up to assist
with such a tall task of continuing to keep people believing in the word while at the same time
trying to work the division and the hate that this country continues to deal with?
Bishop Cahoon: First of all, we as a church must fulfill our mission in reaching out to
individuals, and there must be continued education in preparation of our leaders and of our
constituents, to stay focused on our task of reaching our communities through the Urban
Initiative program, focusing our families. Our re-entry programs for those that have been away.
Our financial literacy program that teaches people in regards to their responsibility for their
financial future that underscores the importance of insurance and investments, and being good
stewards of what God’s blessed them with. Also, an emphasis on youth programs.
MOF: As before mentioned, you are involved in a lot. You are the Jurisdictional Prelate for the
New Garden State Jurisdiction, Church of God in Christ (COGIC) and the “Senior Bishop in
service,” state of New Jersey, since 1993. You also provide executive direction and leadership to
21 COGIC churches in four counties in the state of New Jersey. What would you want the
readers to know about your ministry?
Bishop Cahoon: That our focus is totally on people. Effectively training leaders and
implementing their programs in the community of where they serve so they can meet their