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The
birth of the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship, International
is in essence the story of a tremendous move of God beginning
in the last decade of the twentieth century. Since 1994, when
over twenty-five thousand people attended the first Full Gospel
Baptist Church Fellowship Conference in the Louisiana Superdome,
the spiritual religious freedom that makes Full Gospel Baptist
unique has impacted Christian men and women across the world.
Captured by the phrase "The Right to Choose", that
freedom is based on the belief that the Gospel of Jesus Christ
must be promoted by recognizing the free expression of the
gifts of the Spirit as a viable part of the Body of Christ.
The Fellowship is convinced that the choice to exercise these
spiritual gifts is imperative for the local New Testament
Church to fully function as the dynamic organism God has intended.
The Holy
Spirit first impressed the vision for the Full Gospel Baptist
Church Fellowship upon the heart of its Founder, International
Presiding Bishop Paul S. Morton, Sr., in 1992. At that time
Bishop Morton was experiencing the liberating power of the
Holy Spirit at work in the transition of his own Baptist church
congregation, Greater St. Stephen Baptist Church. The Lord
made it clear that He intended to use Bishop Morton to bridge
the gap between Baptist and Pentecostal traditions not simply
on a local level, but nationwide. Just as the Lord planted
the seed that would grow to become the Full Gospel Baptist
Church Fellowship within Bishop Morton, He orchestrated the
Presiding Bishop's connection with national and international
leaders with the same heart and mind. Along with Bishop Morton,
twelve men; Bishop Odis A. Floyd, Bishop Larry D. Trotter,
Bishop Carlos L. Malone, Bishop J.D. Wiley, Bishop K.D. Johnson,
Bishop Larry D. Leonard, Bishop Kenneth Robinson, Bishop Kenneth
Ulmer, Bishop Fred Caldwell, Bishop Robert Blake, Bishop Eddie
Long, and Bishop A.R. Williams, would become the Founding
Fathers of the movement.
The Full
Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship builds upon the traditional
Baptist Church as its foundation. That Baptist heritage is
embraced yet balanced with more charismatic influences. It
is the desire of those who have been drawn to this movement
to experience every Biblical command and inheritance promised
in the Word of God. Full Gospel Baptist is one of the first
Christian fellowships with such an inclusive nature. It encompasses
the scope of the Pentecostal movement for its spirituality,
the Baptist Church for its structure, and the Word Church
for its emphasis on the Word of God.
The multi-cultural
and multi-denominational Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship
is structured with an Episcopal Hierarchy. The "Tiers
of Leadership" include the Bishop's Council, College
of Bishops, General, State and District Overseers, Financial
Assistance Council, and Senior Pastors. A truly international
movement, hundreds of Full Gospel Baptist Churches exist in
Africa, Asia, the Bahamas, Germany, India, Canada, Great Britain,
Italy and of course North America.
The Fellowship's
rapid growth has surpassed even Bishop Morton's greatest expectations.
Its formation out of a spiritual rather than carnal need has
been blessed manifold times. Each year the Annual Full Gospel
Baptist Church Fellowship Conference ministers to nearly 30,000
people through its School of Ministry classes, spirit filled
worship services and community outreach efforts. The Fellowship's
major initiatives since 1994 include: church planting in Africa
and India; the dispensation of multiple $5000 grants to struggling
churches; the development of the Full Gospel Baptist Sunday
School Curriculum, which supports the Christian Education
Ministry throughout the world.
The Full
Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship is a movement that has swept
across the United States and abroad, blessing corporate and
individual lives in immeasurable ways. The Fellowship continues
to answer the call to "Change A Generation" through
its commitment to submission and empowerment by the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit of the Living God guides the Full Gospel Baptist
leadership and member churches in making a difference throughout
the world.
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