Minister plans '07 convention to fill MegaFest void

By JOHN BLAKE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 02/12/07

Bishop Paul Morton, one of the nation's most popular preachers and gospel singers, announced Monday that he will bring a convention to Atlanta this summer that he claims will fill the void left by MegaFest.

In November, Bishop T.D. Jakes announced he would put MegaFest on a one-year hiatus. At its height, Jakes' convention drew half a million people and contributed nearly $100 million in economic impact to Atlanta.

The MegaFest crowds, however, declined in successive years. Jakes said the convention will resurface in 2008 but has given no promise it would return to Atlanta.

Morton, senior pastor of Greater St. Stephen Full Gospel Baptist Church in New Orleans, said he will bring a convention to the Georgia World Congress Center June 24-29 that could draw at least 30,000 attendees.

That event will be the annual convention for The Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship International. Morton is the presiding bishop of the fellowship, a 13-year-old network of churches that began as a movement to encourage Baptists to embrace "gifts of the Spirit", such as speaking in tongues.

Morton recently opened a satellite church – Greater St. Stephen Atlanta – in south DeKalb County.

"We hope to fill the void created by the MegaFest conference in Atlanta and bring millions of dollars into the local economy," Morton said in a statement.