Zachery Tims, senior pastor of New Destiny Christian Center, one of the largest congregations in Central Florida, was found dead in a New York City hotel room on Friday, according to several news sources.
  "He was a great man," said Shirley Jackson, as she drove into the Apopka church property Sunday where dozens of people had gathered in the parking lot, many with tears in their eyes.

New Destiny had a growing membership of more than 7,500 worshipers. And the congregation was very active in the community, longtime Apopka Mayor John Land said.

"He's going to be missed," Land said about Tims. "I'm very sorry to hear that."

It was not clear why Tims was in New York City. But WESH-TV reported that New York City Police confirmed that the 42-year-old pastor had died after being found unresponsive at about 6 p.m. in a room at the W Hotel on Broadway Avenue. The New York City Medical Examiner's Office had not yet determined a cause of death.

Tims and his wife, Riva, started the church in 1996 in an Orlando hotel room, and the congregation quickly began to grow.

In 2001, the church purchased 21 acres off East McCormick Road in Apopka after outgrowing a church on Powers Drive in Orlando.

Just four years later, New Destiny built a $3.4 million, 34,000-square-foot center as a safe place where area youths could hang out after school. By the age of 19, Tims had been in and out of jail and he said he hoped that the outreach center would help keep young kids away from crime and drugs.

According to the Web site Black Christian News, Tims and his wife, Riva, ended their 15-year-marriage in 2009 after Zachery Tims admitted to a yearlong extramarital affair.

The site said Zachery Tims admitted to "an indiscretion" in 2007, stepped down from his post at New Destiny and sought counseling from a group of ministers. Tims later returned to the pulpit, the site said.

In an email addressed to its congregation, New Destiny said Sunday was "filled with rumors and speculations regarding Pastor Zach" and announced a meeting tonight at 7.

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From: WFTV Orlando

WFTV has confirmed the death of well-known Pastor Zachery Tims of the New Destiny Christian Center in Apopka.

The New York City Police Department confirmed Tims died on Friday, August 12, 2011.

Tims' body was found in room number 3711 at the W Hotel in New York's Times Square at approximately 6 p.m.

The New York City Police Department reports Tims was found unresponsive on the floor in the room. Emergency responders pronounced him deceased.

The New York City Medical Examiners office is awaiting results of an autopsy.

Stay Tuned to Eyewitness News for more information on this Breaking News.

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From: Charisma Magazine

UPDATED: Megachurch pastor Zachery Tims died on August 12 in a New York City hotel room the New York Police Department (NYPD) confirms. He was 42. An NYPD representative says "criminality is not suspected." Tims was found alone in the W Hotel by hotel security.

Charisma has confirmed with the New York Medical Examiners Office that a man by that same name was brought in on Friday night at 6 p.m. As of Sunday night, Ellen Borakove, director of public affairs at the New York Chief Medical Examiner's office could not confirm that it was the same Zachery Tims. She said the family was en route to identify the body.

"A man by that name was brought in Friday, August 12 from the W Hotel in Times Square," Borakove said. "I cannot confirm that it is the same Zachery Tims from Orlando until the body has been identified."

The cause of death is unknown. Borakove said an autopsy has been ordered.

Tims pastored New Destiny Christian Center in the Orlando-area since 1996. The church has grown to more than 7,500 members. Charisma will continue to update this story.