ATLAH World Missionary Church

ATLAH World Missionary Church (formerly Bethelite Missionary Baptist Church) is a Christian church and ministry located in Harlem, New York. James David Manning is the chief pastor.[6] The church campus is the site of the unaccredited ATLAH Theological Seminary, where classes are offered on preaching and prophecy.[7] The church also has a studio that Manning uses for his Internet radio program The Manning Report.[8][9] The church's YouTube channel had over 72,000 subscribers as of March 2018[10] but was shut down by YouTube later that year.[11]

ATLAH World Missionary Church
Location38 West 123rd Street
Harlem, New York City, 10027
CountryUnited States
DenominationIndependent
Previous denominationIndependent Baptist
Membership600 (2007)[1]
100 (2011) estimated[2]
History
Former name(s)Bethelite Community Baptist Church
FoundedJune 10, 1957 (1957-06-10)
Founder(s)Millard Alexander Stanley
EventsMother Keturah Breakfast Program[3]
C.I.A. Columbia Obama Sedition and Treason Trial 2010[4]
"No Dew! No Rain!"[1]
Architecture
Designated1888-89
Architect(s)Lamb & Rich[5]
Architectural typeClub
StyleQueen Anne
Specifications
Materialsred brick and terra cotta
Clergy
Minister(s)Elizabeth Sarah Manning
Senior pastor(s)James David Manning

History

The church was founded and organized in Harlem on June 6, 1957, by Reverend Millard Alexander Stanley as the Bethelite Community Baptist Church.[6]

In early June, just a few days before the first worship service was held, Pastor Stanley was sitting in front of a storefront on 8th Avenue in Harlem. A local heroin addict spoke to him and said, "If y’all gonna be a church, you better 'Be-The-Lite.'" Thus, the mission was formed and named Bethelite.[6]

In 1981, Pastor James David Manning replaced Stanley as chief pastor. Under Manning's leadership, the church name changed to ATLAH ("All The Land Anointed Holy"), and ministries were established.[12]

Newest Ministries – The Temple Hour of Prayer May 29, 2008; and The Manning Report August 25, 2008.[12]

  • ATLAH Men's Business Association: Men's group established in 2003.
  • ATLAH Superior: Started as a group of 70 women in 2003 for the establishment of a specialty food service supermarket in New York.
  • ATLAH Theological Seminary: Established in 1994 as an adult-education, Bible, business, and social studies institution.
  • ATLAH World Ministries: Established in 1992 as a half-hour Christian teaching radio, expanded to a weekly TV broadcast heard on several networks, and currently on YouTube and several other venues.
  • Great Tomorrows Elementary/Middle School and ATLAH High School: The school was established in 1994 for the purpose of educating young people from elementary to high school focused upon a private Christian education founded on the M.A.D. Curriculum. The school is not registered and has been pending since about 2013.[13]

This building was erected in the 1890s as the Harlem Social Club. Father Divine (c.1876–1965) and his International Peace Mission Movement were located here during the 1930s.[14]

Four-story stone building on the left, unpaved street on the right
Harlem Club in the 1890s, looking south from the corner of West 124th street and Lenox Avenue, Harlem.

Controversy and finances

The messages on the church letter board used anti-gay epithets and stated a Christian imperative to kill gay people by stoning. They gained notice on several websites, including some that promote gay rights and oppose hate speech.[15]

In early 2014, the church posted a series of messages on its letter board sign that asserted that Barack Obama is a Muslim and that he is not legally president. Example messages that were documented on the websites include:

  • Obama has released the homo demons on the black man. Look out black woman. A white homo may take your man.[16]
  • The blood of Jesus against Obama. History made November 4, 2008, a Taliban Muslim illegally elected president USA: Hussein[17]
  • Many of these homos moving into Harlem looking for some black meat[18]

In March 2014, local lesbian and transgender activist Jennifer Louise Lopez knocked on the church door to ask for her stoning.[19]

In August 2014, Manning promised that President Vladimir Putin of Russia would release information collected by the KGB that would prove that President Obama is homosexual.[20]

In November 2014, Manning claimed in a video presentation that Starbucks was "Ground Zero" for Ebola. He warned people to stay away from Starbucks if they did not want to get Ebola.[21] In a follow-up broadcast, he claimed that what "Starbucks was doing, is they were taking specimens of male semen, and they were putting it in the blends of their lattes. Now, this is the absolute truth."[22] He based this on an article in The Inquisitor.[23]

On November 5, Manning claimed that in "a few days' time," there would be no homosexuals in Harlem and Starbucks would close.[22]

In January 2016, a state judge ordered ATLAH Worldwide Church to be sold at a public foreclosure auction after failing to pay creditors more than $1.02 million, court records show.[24] The Church maintains they are afforded tax exempt status by the New York Supreme Court and are not liable for the fines[25] citing the Court's ruling in December 2004.[26] The Ali Forney Center announced their interest in acquiring it for the purposes of an LGBT youth homeless services center, and raised $200,000 in two weeks from a fund-raiser to achieve that goal.[27][28] A temporary stay on the sale was granted pending a full hearing on April 21, 2016. Carl Siciliano of the Ali Forney Center planned to use the time to research the property.[29] In September the judgment of foreclosure was vacated.[30]

In 2019 the Southern Poverty Law Center added ATLAH Church to the national Hate Group List.[31]

Staff
  • Chief Pastor: James David Manning
  • Coordinator of the Women Ministers and Ministries, Counselor, and Sunday School Teacher: Elizabeth Sarah Manning[32]

References
  1. Altman, Mara (April 3, 2007). "Do the Dew: Prophet Loss in Harlem". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on October 21, 2012. Retrieved November 22, 2012.
  2. Feeney, Michael J. (August 25, 2011). "Harlem pastor James David Manning preaches 'Obama Is Evil' on church signs, angering local residents". New York Daily News. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
  3. "Mother Keturah Breakfast Program Today". ATLAH Media Network. November 18, 2012. Archived from the original on November 27, 2012. Retrieved November 22, 2012.
  4. Weigel, David (March 12, 2010). "Obama on Trial". washingtonindependent.com. Archived from the original on June 11, 2010. Retrieved November 22, 2012.
  5. "Bethelite Community Baptist Church originally the Harlem Club". New York Architecture. Retrieved November 21, 2012.
  6. "Our Mission Statement". November 1, 2010. Archived from the original on January 10, 2012. Retrieved November 21, 2012.
  7. Seminary page Archived October 25, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  8. "- YouTube". www.youtube.com.
  9. "ATLAH Media Network | the Manning Report Live and 24/7 Encore Presentations". Archived from the original on November 22, 2012. Retrieved November 22, 2012.
  10. ATLAH Worldwide profile on SocialBlade.com
  11. https://atlah.org/amn4/2018/09/11/banned-on-youtube-and-facebook-snowflake-generation/ "Banned on YouTube and Facebook: Snowflake Generation"
  12. "Pastor James David Manning Bio". ATLAH Media Network. June 2, 2010. Archived from the original on October 21, 2011. Retrieved November 22, 2012.
  13. Klein, Rebecca (April 29, 2019). "The Harrowing Inside Story Of A Harlem School Run By A Hate Group". HuffPost Canada. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  14. From Abyssinian to Zion: A Guide to Manhattan's Houses of Worship (illustrated ed.). Columbia University Press. 2004. p. 124.
  15. Nichols, James (March 20, 2014). "Jennifer Louise Lopez Asks Anti-Gay Harlem Church To Stone Her". HuffPost. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
  16. Coscarelli, Joe (February 27, 2014). "'Obama Has Released the Homo Demons,' Church Sign Warns". New York Magazine. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
  17. "Photograph". Regressivewatch.org. Archived from the original on March 24, 2014. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
  18. Diaz, Arnold (June 9, 2015). "Neighbors confront controversial Harlem pastor over 'hateful' church sign". WPIX-TV.
  19. Nichols, James Michael (March 20, 2014). "Watch What Happens When A Lesbian Asks This Anti-Gay Church To Stone Her". The Huffington Post. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  20. Putin Will Out Obama As Gay Within 100 Days. YouTube. August 6, 2014.
  21. Stay Away From Starbucks. YouTube. October 28, 2014.
  22. Starbucks Using Sodomites' Semen In Lattes. YouTube. November 5, 2014.
  23. Omega, Jan (October 26, 2014). "Were Semen Samples Really Found In Starbucks Drinks Nationwide, Initiating An FDA Investigation?". The Inquisitr News.
  24. Otis, Ginger Adams (January 28, 2016). "Controversial church in Harlem may go up for public auction". NY Daily News. Retrieved February 2, 2016.
  25. "Court Rules ATLAH Church Water And Sewer Tax Exempt". The Manning Report. February 11, 2016. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
  26. Supreme Court, New York County, New York (December 28, 2004). "IN RE: BETHELITE COMMUNITY CHURCH". caselaw.findlaw.com. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
  27. "LGBT Group Eyes Purchase Of Anti-Gay Church Building In Harlem". newyork.cbslocal.com. CBS New York. February 1, 2016. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
  28. Ellefson, Lindsey (February 9, 2016). "Activists Achieve Goal of Raising Enough Money to Buy Church With Famous Homophobic Signs". Mediaite. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
  29. Duffy, Nick (February 22, 2016). "Closure of 'Jesus would stone homos' church delayed amid legal challenge". www.pinknews.co.uk.
  30. Clark, Dartunorro (September 1, 2016). "Controversial ATLAH Church Avoids Foreclosure Once Again". DNAinfo New York. Archived from the original on September 19, 2016. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  31. "Hate Map by State". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved June 18, 2022.
  32. "Elder Elizabeth Sarah Manning Bio". ATLAH Media Network. June 2, 2010. Archived from the original on February 18, 2012. Retrieved November 22, 2012.

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