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TechnoratiMegaFest 2005, one of the country's largest religious gatherings, came to a close with a stamp of accomplishment last weekend.
The messages shared at MegaFest’s ManPower event helped motivate and inspire men from all ages and backgrounds. (Photo: Demoss News Pond)
The family-friendly event included several components: conferences for each family member, Grammy-winning artists, a products expo, relevant seminars and workshops, and entertainment events that shared the Gospel.
Over 100,000 people attended the four-day fest in Atlanta - an estimate lower than the 140,000 that showed up the previous year. But Bishop Jakes believes it's not the numbers that matter most.
"We don't quantify success by how many people we have," said Jakes, main organizer and speaker at MegaFest. "We quantify success in how we provide them with services, and the tools to help families leave MegaFest stronger than when they arrived."
This is true for the African-Americans, who comprised most of the attendants.
"I think I see positive things happening, but we're still complaining about what happened 400 years ago," said Bishop Paul Morton, popular speaker whose new book "Enemy Inside Your Mind," empowers people to rise above Satanic messages fed to the mind. "Pastors are here from every denomination trying to reach the African American community and bring them to the next level."
Speaking of the impact MegaFest had, Pam Perry, 45, said, "It is an opportunity for our community to network - to come together economically, socially, and politically. I'm sitting in the middle of thousands of booths with products. There's no way I can be this exposed unless I come here. African-Americans don't own a store; we can't even get our Bible products into a store. This is a way we can connect."
But for Darlene Bishop, a keynote speaker whose seminar was about people's hunger for God, MegaFest was a mega victory for all of Christ's community.
"This has shown America that when God's people get together, we can make a difference for Christ," she said. "It's not like 'I'm white and they're black.' We are all one people. Jesus is our common denominator."
Actor Stephen Baldwin, master of ceremonies at the Livin' It extreme sports performance said, "It's common sense that there will be more African-Americans here than anybody else, but the appeal of Jesus Christ, more than anything else, is what MegaFest is about."
Rather than focusing on relationships with people, Kim Barnett, 24 said her favorite part about MegaFest was "Hearing the Word."
She continued, "It's just great to hear the Word ministered in such a powerful and anointed way," referring to T.D. Jakes, who hosted "Woman Thou Art Loosed" and "ManPower," while hundreds of other pastors preached in workshops throughout the event.
MegaFest remains as one of the few large-scale Christian events for the whole family. The enthusiastic response to MegaFest by the people attending the conference and the city of Atlanta prompted Jakes to announce dates for next year's MegaFest, July 19-22, 2006.
