Antioch Mission Baptist Church of Miami Gardens

The Antioch Missionary Baptist Church of Miami Gardens is a Baptist megachurch in Lake Lucerne, Miami Gardens, a suburb of Miami, Florida, USA that provides a blend of traditional and contemporary worship.
The senior pastor is Arthur Jackson, III.
In a 2008 survey, ''Outreach'' Magazine ranked the church 97th largest in the USA based on average weekly attendance of 7,000. It also has a campus in Pompano Beach, near Fort Lauderdale.

History

The church dates back to 1957, when a group of Christians which at first including both Baptists and Methodists began holding services in a small house.
The next year the group agreed to hold separate services for the two denominations, but continued to share the premises and to collaborate on fund-raising drives.
The Baptist group was able to open their new church, which they had built themselves, in 1961.
Pastors in the early years were the Reverends James A. Rudolph, Albert Essex, John C. Cherry, and Floyd W. Larkin who was pastor from 1985 to 1990.

With a growing congregation, Cherry arranged to purchase two lots adjacent to the church.
Construction of a larger building began in 1973 and was finally completed under the leadership of Rev. Larkin in 1985.
The congregation continued to increase, and the church purchased three more lots, on which the present building stands, during Larkin's tenure as Pastor.
The $2 million 2,000 seat sanctuary and administrative building was built in 1998, and seven years later all debts had been paid off.

The Miami Gardens Campus was in the Lake Lucerne census-designated place, - Page
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an
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- Compare this map to the address of the church. in an unincorporated area, until Miami Gardens incorporated in 2003.

By 2010 membership had risen to 7,500.

Community involvement

The church holds an annual Family Fall Festival, which offers families games, rides, prizes, costume contest, music, candy and refreshments.
In December 2009 the Antioch Missionary Baptist Church held a National Mentoring Training Day event to encourage adults to become more engaged in the community as mentors.
In January 2010 the church held its Annual Fresh Start Fitness Health Fair. The purpose was to encourage activities that help eliminate or reduce blood pressure levels, diabetes, and high cholesterol.
The church joined the 50 Million Pound Challenge, a weight loss competition, coming first among churches.

The former Vice-Mayor of the city of Miami Gardens, Aaron Campbell, Jr., is a member of the church.
In January 2010 the church was working with the city of Miami Gardens to collect donations for Haiti relief efforts following the major earthquake in the island. The church acted as a collection center for donated goods.

See also

*List of the largest churches in the USA

References

{{Pompano Beach, Florida
Churches in Miami-Dade County, Florida
Churches in Florida
Baptist churches in Florida
Evangelical megachurches in the United States
Megachurches in Florida
Christian organizations established in 1957
Churches completed in 1961
20th-century Baptist churches in the United States
Miami Gardens, Florida
Pompano Beach, Florida
1957 establishments in Florida