An hour later he had heard from almost everyone in his congregation.

By 1796 the church had 3,000 black members in its congregation.

Most members in the congregation did not know one another.

I figure if you can tell a story the kids like, you've talked to everyone else in the congregation too.

Only one (white) man in the whole congregation asked me who the father was.

"And it was so good to have you in our little congregation on Sunday, too."

The 1970s saw development of strong lay leadership in the congregation and community.

The number of black families in the congregation has increased to 10 from 3, but some former white members have begun coming back, too.

"The family continues to be very interested in the congregation."

The church has approximately 1,000,000 members in 2,800 congregations across the country.