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In 1939, a group of Christians founded a new church in Scottsdale, Georgia, Travelers Rest Baptist Church. The name was inspired by the fact that members had traveled to various places for worship before construction of their first church building. Over the years, membership grew under the leadership of four pastors: Reverend Hezekiah E. Smith, Reverend Theodore R. Smith, Reverend Eugene Bryant and Reverend Chester L. Carter. In October 1982, Reverend Kenneth Samuel became the fifth pastor as the church continued to grow. In the summer of 1983, Rev. Samuel and a group of Deacons began looking for a new church to handle the growth. In January 1984, they announced to the Travelers Rest congregation that Life and Praise Tabernacle, located at 2778 Snapfinger Road in Decatur, Georgia, was available.
Although some Travelers Rest members chose to remain at their church in Scottsdale, later that year, on Sunday May 20th, about 150 people gathered at 2778 Snapfinger Road for their first church service in the new building. At the recommendation of Reverend Samuel, the congregation unanimously approved a most befitting name, "New Birth Missionary Baptist Church." New Birth continued to grow as many changes took place, some very difficult, as the Lord began to mold and shape this new church body into His perfect will. Part of that change brought a new pastor. The Lord led Reverend Eddie L. Long to New Birth, and he was appointed pastor in July 1987.
Under the dynamic leadership of Reverend Long, New Birth experienced tremendous growth spiritually, economically and numerically. Reverend Long realized the need for a new sanctuary and accomplished this vision just three and a half years after becoming pastor. In January 1991, New Birth dedicated their facility worth over two million dollars to the glory of God.
By 1992, New Birth had grown from 300 (in 1987) to over 8,000 members. "God had to teach me and grow me," said Reverend Long. "As I'm growing the congregation is growing. Now He's given me more responsibility. God said, 'I've sheltered you, and you were the preacher; now you've been here five years, and I have taught you many things. Now you are the pastor. Be pastor.'” Reverend Long took those words from the Lord and put them into action. He broke "religious traditions," constantly teaching the word of God in an uncompromising way. He was a bold, yet loving shepherd of a church that called itself "The Church that Shares and Cares."
The next year New Birth was cited as the fastest growing church in North America, and many new ministries were born, including the opening of New Birth's Christian school, Faith Academy. The school opened by welcoming students from kindergarten through third grade, with plans to expand each year. The church theme for 1993, "Vision to Victory," as explained by Reverend Long, represented their purpose to do ministry throughout the community and this country. The next five years would see an unprecedented growth of new members and new ministries.
In His sovereignty, God chose New Birth to be a major forerunner for the body of Christ, planting its powerful leader, Reverend Eddie L. Long, for such a time as this. Each year a different theme was unveiled as God spoke vision into His prophet, who led the New Birth church family from glory to glory.
In 1994, the new theme, "Taking Authority," was adopted based on Matthew 16:19. The year began with an unforgettable service. On Wednesday, January 13th, Rev. Long was consecrated as the third presiding Bishop of the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship. This historic period was the year Bishop Long introduced the community to Project Destiny (formerly Project Impact), a comprehensive family restoration program that provides services to youth and their families who are challenged by the demands of their environment. Also in 1994, Bishop Long expanded his ministry through television and began the New Birth News broadcast on a local television network.
Bishop Long began "Building God a House" in 1995 based on Psalm 127:1. New Birth News gave way to the weekly Taking Authority broadcast, aired internationally on several networks, reaching over 170 countries, and Bishop Long led New Birth in a bold stand for God when he publicly challenged the Muslim-led Million Man March.
After building God a house, it was time to set it in order. Ezekiel 43:10 inspired the theme for 1996: "Setting the House in Order." This year saw a myriad of spirit-filled messages by Bishop Long released as audio and video series, one of which still claims the highest number of sales in the New Birth Called to Conquer Bookstore: "I Don't Want Delilah, I Need You." Because Bishop Long was obedient to God in setting the house in order, the church received tremendous favor and was able to purchase 170 acres of prime property worth over ten million dollars for only three million dollars. During a caravan to the new land, Bishop Long stated that, "God spoke to me in reference to putting the church in order, that it would become His church and not man's church. God said “upon this rock I will build my church and the very gates of hell will not prevail against it.' So whatever hell threw up, it could not stand because it was God's movement.”
Bishop Long's tenth anniversary year, 1997, brought a growth in membership to over 18,000. Early in the year, New Birth and several area churches opened a joint credit union, the South DeKalb Federal Church Credit Union. Later that year, after selling the 170 acres acquired in 1996, the church made a profit of eleven million dollars. With this profit, they were able to purchase over 240 acres for a new multi-million dollar church complex, pay all church debts and deposit two million dollars in the bank. A perfect representation of God's favor and the new theme "Thy Kingdom Come," based on Matthew 6:10. Growing from a newspaper into a magazine, the New Birth Voice captured these and many other blessings bestowed upon New Birth.
Although experiencing much favor with God, the New Birth family still had to go higher and higher in Him. In 1998, they were led by Bishop Long to "Launch Out Into The Deep," based on a message from Luke 5:4. New Birth reached out to the world through all forms of media, including commercials, international television and radio broadcasts as well as a new book by Bishop Long, I Don't Want Delilah, I Need You. Bishop Long spoke to members of the Georgia State Senate and prayed for the United States House of Representatives. God was expanding the ministry of New Birth throughout the country, that His glory would be revealed to all. On October 17th, thousands of members rejoiced at the official ground breaking ceremony for the new church complex, and building plans were underway.
"It's On In '99!" This exciting theme was a testament to the whirlwind of blessing and growth for New Birth in 1999. Membership grew to over 23,000. Bishop Long wrote a new book, Taking Over, and God elevated New Birth to a new level in its ministry outside the four walls of the church, even as far as Japan and Africa. On the home front, the New Birth Family celebrated the grand opening of its new Family Life Center on October 4th and 5th. The center served as a temporary worship site while construction of the new sanctuary complex continued.
New Birth entered the new millennium stronger than ever with over 28,000 members. Called to Conquer, a new book by Bishop Long, hit the scene in the year 2000. New Birth moved into a magnificent new place of worship, the New Birth Cathedral, in spring 2001. The $50 million dollar complex seats 10,000 people, and contains administrative offices, a library, a 1700-square foot bookstore, a computer lab, a kitchen, audio and video studios, a nursery and more. New Birth sponsors various programs and events that minister to people locally, nationally and internationally. Thousands have discovered their destinies due to the continual sacrifice of Bishop Eddie L Long, a man after God's own heart.
In March 2003, New Birth-Charlotte was planted by Bishop Eddie L. Long as the first church plant for New Birth outside the state of Georgia. He appointed Elder Terrell L. Murphy as Senior Pastor and the church is located in Huntersville, NC, a thriving Metropolitan Charlotte suburb. New Birth-Charlotte is presently impacting the Charlotte Metro area and has become a worship center for many.
New Birth-Charlotte began holding its worship gatherings in the North Mecklenburg High School Auditorium in Huntersville, NC. Seven hundred people attended the first worship gathering and 90 people joined on that day. Beginning with his family members and two others from Atlanta, New Birth-Charlotte has since grown to over 9,000 members since March 2003.
On April 18, 2004, Bishop Eddie L. Long officially installed Bishop Terrell L. Murphy as Senior Pastor of New Birth-Charlotte. Since then, Bishop Murphy has been well pleased with the function of ministries and leadership that have been developed under the umbrella of New Birth-Charlotte. Each ministry continues to evolve into significant components of the New Birth vision. Those who have worked along with him have been arms that undergird the progressive movement of ministry. By means of active servant leadership, Bishop Murphy desires to build a people that will serve in the kingdom without title but with a heart turned towards the sacrifice of Christ.
On Sunday, June 26, 2005, New Birth-Charlotte moved to a temporary worship location at the Shriners’ Headquarters located next to Sam’s Club in the University Area in Charlotte, NC – New Birth-Charlotte at University Place. Currently, two Sunday worship gatherings are held in this location at 9:30 AM & 12:30 PM, with Mid-week Empowerment (Life Application Principles) held on Tuesday nights at 7:00 PM. During the celebration of his 4th Pastoral Anniversary in March 2007, Bishop Murphy released his inaugural book, It Had Already Happened. This resource invites the reader into an insightful reflection of his or her past to see how God has been seamlessly ordering their steps to move them into destiny. It Had Already Happened clearly articulates that God has already completed our lives and now He just needs us to participate with Him, so that we can discover His original intentions for us.
On Sunday, August 10, 2008, New Birth-Charlotte launched a campus in Huntersville to continue serving Huntersville, Lake Norman, Cornelius & Davidson as we “make our way back home.” This campus, located at 100 Ranson Street, is host to one Sunday morning worship gathering at 8:00 AM.
On August 1, 2009, New Birth-Charlotte occupied their new facility in Huntersville, NC – New Birth Cathedral. This state of the art facility provides seating to accommodate over 2,500 people in the main sanctuary/auditorium, a Called to Conquer Bookstore & Café, staff offices, a Nursery for the Kingdom Seeds Children’s Ministry, and a Family Life Center named after Bishop Eddie L. Long. This facility has better positioned this apostolic body of Kingdom Citizens to actively serve & empower each other, the community, the nation and the world.
On October 16, 2009, Bishop Long, First Presiding Bishop of the newly formed Global Apostolic Council (GAC), consecrated Bishop Murphy as the 2nd Presiding Bishop of the Global Apostolic Council. This cohesive organization will bring visible impact to major initiatives nationally and internationally within the Christian community. While the GAC has a global focus, it will also serve Greater Charlotte though a variety of initiatives that support the local Church.
Bishop Murphy sees New Birth-Charlotte as a continued place of manifested love with cutting edge and transforming relevant ministries. New Birth-Charlotte is a congregation progressing in a mature understanding of the Kingdom of God, as evidenced by walking out Kingdom principles daily in our lives and having significant influence on Huntersville and Charlotte as it relates to social, political, financial, and other mainstream structures that exist. New Birth-Charlotte focuses greatly on being a relational ministry, building & strengthening family, being a safe haven for youth, and being a developer of strong church leadership.
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