MIAMI ââ¬â In 12 years, New Birth Baptist Church grew its membership to 15,000, making it the largest black church and one of the 10 largest congregations in Florida.
According to the South-Florida Sun-Sentinel, New Birth is part of a wave of ethnic megachurches nationally. The newspaper cited a 2002 survey by church consultant John Vaughn, who counted 122 black congregations with more than 2,000 in Sunday attendance.
New Birth is led by Bishop Victor T. Curry, a preacher, teacher, author, talk-show host and community activist. The church has more than 4,200 in Sunday attendance and runs a radio station, a TV broadcast, a feeding program for more than 300, job training and a hip-hop ministry.
Just last year, 800 people joined the New Birth congregation.
Also following a national trend, New Birth draws not only African Americans, but Haitians, Jamaicans, Bahamians, Nigerians and South Africans with a sprinkling of whites and Hispanics.
One factor of growth noted in the survey is a strong, charismatic pastor, the newspaper reported. Another is activities, often on a scale so large they become an alternate society for members.




