Greater St. Stephen Missionary Baptist Church (1972-1992)
In December 1974, Pastor Simpson died and the then Assistant Pastor Morton was installed as Senior Pastor in January, 1975. Upon becoming the church's new pastor, Morton began to commit to a mission to "help people reach their ultimate potential spiritually" in their relationships with Jesus Christ by teaching them to operate in "spirit over mind." Under Morton's leadership, both the financial growth and the growth of the congregation would increase dramatically.
In the early days of his pastoral ministry, Morton's sermons began to draw hundreds of listeners. Since becoming Greater St. Stephen MBC's senior pastor, he has incorporated several seasonal institutes and revivals, numerous community outreach programs, and implemented over 60 active-in-house ministries.
In 1997, the ministry purchased an Army Naval Base and renamed it St. Stephen City. This new development provides affordable housing to more than 75 families, also an apartment complex, St. Stephen Manor which provides housing to over 50 families. Also in 1997, the ministry purchased an office building which now houses the new corporate headquarters, home to the ministry’s daily operations, and to several other community businesses.
Bishop Morton continues to spread the Word of God through the "Changing A Generation" daily radio and weekly television broadcasts which air in several markets nationwide, including a nationally televised broadcast from Greater St. Stephen FGBC and Changing A Generation FGBC-Atlanta on Dream Television Network, Black Entertainment Television(BET) and Word Network. Morton has also made appearances on Trinity Broadcasting Network's Praise The Lord segments, and CBN's The 700 Club program.
Bishop Morton’s commitment to the community is evident by his participation on the board of One Church-One Addict and the nation’s leading gospel magazine, Gospel Today. He is also the president of the Paul S. Morton, Sr. Scholarship Foundation and president of the Paul S. Morton Bible College and School of Ministry.
In 1980, Greater St. Stephen MBC had begun its initial move from their original 600 seat sanctuary facility to a 2000 seat facility adjacent to the original edifice. During this period the church began to grow from 647 members to over 20,000 members presently, expanding to three church locations in the Greater New Orleans area. Collectively Greater St. Stephen FGBC offered eight worship services per week. five services on Sunday, and two Word Explosion services on Wednesday, and a Friday night Deliverance Service.
Read more about this topic: Paul S. Morton
Famous quotes containing the words greater, missionary, baptist and/or church:
“Every expansion of government in business means that government in order to protect itself from the political consequences of its errors and wrongs is driven irresistibly without peace to greater and greater control of the nation’s press and platform. Free speech does not live many hours after free industry and free commerce die.”
—Herbert Hoover (1874–1964)
“We crossed a deep and wide bay which makes eastward north of Kineo, leaving an island on our left, and keeping to the eastern side of the lake. This way or that led to some Tomhegan or Socatarian stream, up which the Indian had hunted, and whither I longed to go. The last name, however, had a bogus sound, too much like sectarian for me, as if a missionary had tampered with it; but I knew that the Indians were very liberal. I think I should have inclined to the Tomhegan first.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“You should approach Joyce’s Ulysses as the illiterate Baptist preacher approaches the Old Testament: with faith.”
—William Faulkner (1897–1962)
“You don’t decide to build a church because you have money in the bank. You build because God says this is what I should do. Faith is the supplier of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.”
—Jim Bakker (b. 1940)