Updated Thursday, June 26, 2008

Full Gospel Baptists mark rapid growth

By Greg Garrison

Religion News Service

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship International marked nearly 15 years of rapid growth June 24 by consecrating nine new bishops and celebrating its blend of black Baptist and Pentecostal theology.

"They have called us 'Bapticostals,'" said Bishop Andy Lewter of Amityville, N.Y., the keynote preacher for the consecration service that drew more than 1,000 people. "Those who joked and pointed fingers 15 years ago, they ain't laughing no more."

The Full Gospel Baptist Fellowship has been growing fast since its founding in New Orleans in 1994 by Presiding Bishop Paul S. Morton Sr., who relocated to Atlanta after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

"It was founded to bridge the gap between the Baptists and Pentecostals," said Doris Stokes, a member of Morton's church, Changing a Generation Full Gospel Baptist Church in Decatur, Ga.

Morton's wife, Debra, was recently named senior pastor of his former pulpit at Greater St. Stephen's Full Gospel Church in New Orleans.

Although some churches have left traditional Baptist denominations to join the movement, newly consecrated Alabama Bishop Freddrick Andre Hardy said it's not a rivalry.

"We're trying to let them know we're not in competition," Hardy said. "We're all God's children. One should be free to experience all of God. We don't say the traditional Baptist church is less saved than we are. We believe there is more to experience."

That would include speaking in tongues, which is usually discouraged in Baptist churches but embraced in Pentecostalism as a sign of the Holy Spirit.

Beyond theology, the Full Gospel Baptist Fellowship emphasizes evangelistic outreach and numerous social ministry programs.

"Our assignment is to change a generation," Hardy said. "We're going to reach out in our communities and show the love of Christ."