The new mega churches: huge congregations with spectacular structures spread across the U.S - African American congregations and churches - Statistical Data Included

Ebony, Dec, 2001

NEW BIRTH MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH Location: Lithonia, Georgia Founded: 1983 Pastor: BISHOP EDDIE L. LONG

ONE of the biggest challenges facing churches today is getting young Blacks involved. New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, through its pastor, Bishop Eddie L. Long, has conquered that challenge. The 48-year-old minister has transformed his original 300-member church into a 25,000-member megachurch in 14 years, thanks in part to the special attention given to youth. Among the youth services offered by New Birth are mentoring programs, a youth-run business and a program that provides every high school in DeKalb County with a chaplain. New Birth also transports students from metropolitan Atlanta colleges as part of its ministry. The all-ages, all-inclusive message offered by Bishop Long--in which he says he "keeps it real"--has caught on, and the church averages 1,300 new members per month. "People understand they can walk in the gospel, they can apply it at work, and they don't have to be ashamed of the gospel," Bishop Long says. "God's not looking for us to be perfect, but to be able to get up. Because of that, a lot of emphasis is on the youth, and the church has grown." The New Birth congregation worships in a newly minted 10,000-seat sanctuary that cost $37 million to build. The New Birth complex also includes a fitness center with seven basketball courts, a health spa, weight room and aerobics room.

IN 1996, minister, musician and entrepreneur Thomas Dexter Jakes left Cross Lanes, W. Va., and moved with 50 other families to Dallas, where he founded the Potter's House. On the first Sunday he opened the doors of the church, 1,500 members joined. Today, the Potter's House reports a membership of over 26,000, and Bishop T.D. Jakes is a national name. The megachurch has a footprint larger than two football fields and holds custom-pew seating for 8,200 in the main sanctuary and another 500 seats in the chapel. (The old sanctuary, with a mere 2,500 seats, is currently being used as a children's church). The sanctuary's stage is over 150 feet wide, features two large-screen monitors, and accommodates 285 choir members and a 45-piece orchestra. The Dallas-based megachurch's $40 million state-of-the-art sound, lighting and broadcast abilities have catapulted it to "technochurch" status. The Potter's House high-tech innovations include pews equipped with outlets for laptops to allow computer interaction between the stage and audience, and satellite transmissions to home viewers and prisons.

The future of the Potter's House is clear to Bishop Jakes--he wants to keep grow4ng bigger and better. A 400-acre site is currently under construction and will feature an education facility, offices, recreational and cultural centers, and retirement homes. "We need a full-service, user-friendly church that is very. similar to a mall concept in that it's one-stop shopping," explains Bishop Jakes. "You can go there and find counseling, motivation, inspiration, entertainment. You can go there and find everything."