NORTH MIAMI, Fla. – A North Miami megachurch has attracted thousands of followers and lots of attention for its size and $60 million price tag to build.
The Haitian-born pastor says he has the power to heal people from deadly illnesses.
The sprawling church campus spreads across six acres in northern Miami-Dade County.
Every Sunday, in comes car after car as they arrive by the thousands.
The Tabernacle of Glory is a non-denominational, multilingual megachurch boasting of more than 25,000 active members and capable of seating 2,500 in its new fellowship hall in North Miami.
And the senior pastor, Bishop Gregory Toussaint, who knows how to fire up his followers, is by far the main attraction.
Local 10 News Anchor Calvin Hughes asked Toussaint what the secret sauce is for his church.
“Number one is the presence of God,” he said. “People come to church to encounter with the divine. And the second element that attracts them is I would say practical teaching.
From starting a business to expanding their education, worshippers can find divine solutions to their problems in classrooms inside the 60,000-square-foot church.
“How does my faith help me become a better student, how can I be successful in school applying certain principles,” said Toussaint. “My approach is very simple. What I find in the Bible I teach and what I don’t find I don’t teach.”
Toussaint was born in Haiti. He says he first got his call to teach and preach when he heard a voice at 14 years old.
“I kept hearing that voice, that was the beginning for me,” he said.
And there were small beginnings for the now big-time pastor.
For years, he held church in homes, at a Bank of America building in North Miami and then North Miami High School, always renting space.
“There is something about renting that threatens the longevity and life of a church,” said Toussaint.
The church began to fundraise in 2015, with members donating more than $1 million from its more than 60 campuses, and online, where more than a million follow on YouTube alone.
And some who follow have stinging rebukes of the church’s size and cost.
One person called it a “cemetery led by Gregory Toussaint” and another questioned, “Why not build a beautiful restaurant or a supermarket?”
“Had we built an office building, I think it’s a question of value,” Toussaint said. “God is worth it.”
Toussaint has faced even more fiery feedback for what he says are miracles in the church, or supernatural healings.
From the bishop’s prayer, one woman said her cancer was cured.
“It is your faith connecting with the presence of god. That makes it happen,” said Toussaint. “And you know what’s bizarre? Most happen online in their homes. We receive thousands of them a year. When we first started, anybody would have believed we can do this as a church. Look at Haiti and can do this.”
