New Birth Missionary Baptist Church

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The New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, known familiarly as New Birth, is located in Lithonia, Georgia, United States, and led by Bishop Eddie Long. New Birth is one of the largest churches in the USA, having a membership in excess of 30,000 members. While many Megachurches are attended by more visitors than members on a weekly basis a recent study citied the church as having the largest number of members in weekly attendance than other well known churches in the nation.

The church has a variety of ministries, catering to children and youth, singles, seniors, couples, and families. It led a march to get a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage in the state of Georgia. [1] The church also runs an "ex-gay" ministry which it claims can make homosexuals into heterosexuals through the power of Jesus Christ. New Birth also is prominent for its message of prosperity. Its greatest strength arises from the ability to make poor and destitute parishioners awake to "God's blessings for their lives." The funeral of civil rights activist Coretta Scott King, wife of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., took place at the church. Their daughter Bernice Albertine King is an elder at the church. The church has become known as having a membership that is affluent and very active within their community with members holding several local political offices and being involved in the financial development of their respective communities. Media outlets report that New Birth gives $100,000 annually to the Hosea Feed The Hungry cause in Downtown Atlanta. New Birth and Bishop Eddie Long are known for its extravagant programs to support members of the church by giving away cars to single mothers, leading members in a massive weight loss program, paying off the debt of several resident families, and tutoring students who have achieved less than desirable grades in school.