Potter's House Celebrates 10 Years

By Audrey Barrick, Christian Post Reporter Saturday, July 01, 2006

The Potter's House, one of the largest megachurches in the nation, is celebrating its 10-year anniversary on July 2 with one "power-packed" Sunday service.

The 30,000-member church in Dallas will combine its usual two services into one anniversary service Sunday morning with Bishop T.D. Jakes leading the celebration. Featuring award-winning opera singer Angela Brown, the celebration will also be open to the public to join the congregation.

After starting out with a small group of 50 families, The Potter's House grew into a multiracial, nondenominational mega-church in the last decade and now has over 50 active outreach ministries and is considered one of the fastest growing churches in America.

The church is largely comprised of African-Americans (77 percent) with the remaining proportion being mainly Caucasian, Hispanic and other nationalities.

Jakes was included as one of Time magazine's "25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America" in 2005, four years after being dubbed "America's Best Preacher."

The head pastor is currently readying for the major annual festival - MegaFest 2006 - which is expected to draw tens of thousands to Atlanta July 19-22. The family event marks Jakes' 30th year of personal ministry as a best-selling author, megachurch pastor, playwright, and more.

MegaFest combines Jakes' trademark conferences - Woman, Thou Art Loosed! and ManPower - with youth events. This year's MegaFest will feature a youth-targeted "You're Not Forgotten Concert" on July 21 where musical performances will be led by Tye Tribbett, Kim Burrell, 21:03, Myron Butler & Levi, iroCc Williams and others.

"It is the responsibility and obligation of the Body of Christ to step up and reach out to our teenagers and emerging adults," said Jakes in a news release. "We owe it to our future to deposit meaning and significance into their lives, to reassure them that they have not been forgotten."