HOUSTON, October 18, 2005 - On Wednesday, October 19, 2005, Bishop Neil C. Ellis of Nassau, Bahamas will present a one million dollar check to Bishop Paul S. Morton of the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship for victims of Hurricane Katrina. A multi-cultural and multi-denominational organization, the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship was founded under the leadership of Bishop Paul S. Morton in 1993. The event will take place during a press conference at 2:00 PM at the DoubleTree Hotel in Houston. At the Conference, Bishop Joseph Simmons will describe the role of the Full Gospel Economic Development Corporation and Bishop Morton will explain the four-point plan for distribution of the donation. Over $600,000 in relief supplies have been previously distributed to victims of Katrina through the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship. In the Southern Region of the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship (of which Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama are a part), approximately 90% of the pastors in these states have lost either their homes or their churches and in many instances some have lost both. The four-part plan addresses both the short term and long term needs in the form of: Relief, Reassurance, Reconstructionn, and Refocusing by setting up offices, distributing the $1 Million funds, rebuilding their headquarters in New Orleans, and getting evacuees to focus on what they have left.

Since its inception, the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship has expanded and now has headquarters in the United States, Bahamas, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, Africa, Asia, India and Japan. The Fellowship offices in New Orleans were significantly damaged and are now uninhabitable. As a result of this catastrophe and the many tragedies witnessed by hurricane evacuees from their New Orleans congregations, the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship is taking an active role in supporting and rebuilding the lives and communities of those devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Currently the largest growing African American denominational fellowship in the world, Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship seeks to be heard as the “Faith Voice of Katrina.”

Bishop Paul S. Morton is the Pastor of the Greater St. Stephen Full Gospel Church in New Orleans and has been doing pastoral work there since 1975. He currently has a television program broadcast nationally every Sunday at 9:30 PM EST on the Word network called “Changing a Generation.” He has written “Why Kingdoms Fall” and “Enemy Inside the Mind.” Bishop Neil C. Ellis is the Pastor of Mount Tabor, a 7,000 member church in the Bahamas. Bishop Ellis is the third presiding Bishop of Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship. An internationally acclaimed speaker, he is also the author of nine books including, The Power Of The Blood and Living In Your Promised Land. Bishop Ellis studied at the New York School of Theology, earning a Master’s Degree in Pastoral Ministries.

Dr. Joseph E. Simmons, Senior Pastor at the Greater St. Paul Baptist Church in Oakland, California, has a Doctorate of Ministry Degree from the United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, with a concentration in Urban Economics. A consecrated bishop, Dr. Simmons is the General Overseer of Economic Development for the Fellowship, responsible for redevelopment of areas devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Bishop George W. Brooks is also an important component of the project, currently serving as Bishop of Administration for the entire Fellowship. Bishop Brooks currently serves as Senior Pastor of the Mount Zion Baptist Church of Greensboro where he began preaching in 1975. He received his Master of Divinity from Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina, and his Doctorate of Ministry from Friends International Christian University in Merced, California. He is co-founder of Welfare Reform Liaison Project, which enables welfare recipients to become self-sufficient. He produces a television show, “Fresh Fruit” which airs weekly on Tri-State Christian Television (TCT-61).

Bishop W. Oshea Granger is the Bishop of Public Relations for the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship International. As such, he will take a role in orchestrating the press conference. He has been the Pastor of Mt. Calvary Full Gospel Church of West Palm Beach, Florida for 19 years. He is the co-author of “The Apostolic Reformation.”

The DoubleTree Hotel is located in Houston, Texas at 400 Dallas Street. For more information, call Jan Norris at 713.819.6775; Karen Covington at 713.927.1724 Cell or 713.524.0661 Office; email karen@elmorepr.com; or The Intellect Group, Attn: Douglas Milton, dmilton@intellectualcurrency.com, cell 404.625.9549.