NATCHEZ &045; Joyfully singing &uot;Lord, I Lift Your Name On High,&uot; the New Hope Missionary Baptist congregation marched out of its old church on Morgantown Road and into a spacious new sanctuary next door on Sunday.

&uot;I believe we are in a little bit of heaven right here on earth,&uot; Bishop Stanley B. Searcy told the crowd of about 300 worshippers that flooded into the octagonal structure, led by a dozen colorfully-dressed praise dancers swirling brilliant streamers in the aisles. &uot;The Moses generation is dead. Now comes the Joshua generation to take over the Promised Land,&uot; Searcy said, as followers answered &uot;Hallelujah&uot; with their hands held high.

Searcy said he founded New Hope six years ago in the older, wood frame church, which was used at various times over the past 60 years as a store, a school and even as a meeting house for the Ku Klux Klan.

&uot;Out of that building, you see what we have today.

(People) have found out that black and white can live together in peace and love,&uot; said Searcy, who turned over leadership of the old church to New Hope’s youth ministry program.

The new church has been under construction for nine months, and some work is still to be done.

The parking lot is due to be paved by next week, and new uniforms and seats for the choir have been ordered.

&uot;When it comes to my house, it could be any old way.

But when it comes to God’s house, I believe we should strive for excellence,&uot; said Searcy.

Cameras fed live video of the service to two huge screens behind the pulpit, while the choir sang &uot;God Did It&uot; through microphones suspended from the ceiling.

&uot;I believe this church is called upon to do something different from any other.

We have a mandate,&uot; said Searcy, who envisions a worldwide outreach for New Hope.

&uot;We want to go into all the world and preach to all the nations and creeds that no matter who you are, you are somebody in the New Hope Missionary Baptist Church.&uot;