BBC ONLINE 18 February 2012
Last updated at 22:33 GMT
Security was tight, with fans kept away - although the service was streamed live on the internet.
Houston, 48, was found dead in a hotel in Los Angeles a week ago.
Officials are waiting for the results of toxicology tests that will help them ascertain how she died.
'Private viewing'
During the service Kevin Costner, who starred opposite Houston in The Bodyguard, paid tribute to what he called the "sweet miracle" of her life.
"Whitney returns home today to the place where it all began," he said and urged the nation to "dry our tears, suspend our sorrow and perhaps our anger".
He spoke about how they built a friendship, despite their obvious differences, exchanging stories about their childhood and growing up in a Baptist church community.
Stevie Wonder performed the song Love's in Need of Love Today, and Alicia Keys Send me an Angel. There were also musical tributes from R Kelly, BeBe and CeCe Winans, and the Rev Kim Burrell.
Aretha Franklin had been due to sing at the service, but the Houston family said she would not be able to attend as she was unwell.
There were also tributes from Clive Davis, her musical mentor, and Houston's sister-in-law Patricia Houston.
The service closed with her best-selling single I Will Always Love You.
Houston will later be buried beside her father, John Russell Houston, at Fairview Cemetery in Westfield.
Houston's ex-husband, Bobby Brown, arrived at the service, but AP news agency reported that he left again shortly afterwards in an apparent disagreement over seating arrangements.
A number of Houston's relatives attended a private viewing service at the funeral home on Friday night.
Houston was one of the world's leading musical artists from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s, selling 170 million records worldwide.
Sales of her records have soared since her death was announced last Saturday.
Stars attend Whitney Houston funeral in New Jersey
Friends and family of Whitney Houston celebrated her life with moving words and performances
Some 1,500 family and friends have attended the funeral of music star Whitney Houston in Newark, New Jersey.
Houston's cousin, singer Dionne Warwick, presided over the
ceremony at the New Hope Baptist Church. Stevie Wonder and Kevin Costner
were among the celebrities paying tribute in person.Security was tight, with fans kept away - although the service was streamed live on the internet.
Houston, 48, was found dead in a hotel in Los Angeles a week ago.
Officials are waiting for the results of toxicology tests that will help them ascertain how she died.
'Private viewing'
Continue reading the main story
The young Whitney Houston found her voice at the New Hope Baptist Church in her hometown in New Jersey.
At her funeral in the same spot, hers was the last voice that was heard. The song that made her a superstar, I Will Always Love You, played as her silver coffin was carried out of the church.
During the service, family and friends shared stories about the singer. Kevin Costner, who starred opposite her in the film The Bodyguard, paid tribute: "You weren't just good enough, you were great."
Police cordoned off a wide area around the church but that didn't stop fans who will remember the singer for her achievements as well as her personal troubles from trying to get close and say one last goodbye.
At the scene
At her funeral in the same spot, hers was the last voice that was heard. The song that made her a superstar, I Will Always Love You, played as her silver coffin was carried out of the church.
During the service, family and friends shared stories about the singer. Kevin Costner, who starred opposite her in the film The Bodyguard, paid tribute: "You weren't just good enough, you were great."
Police cordoned off a wide area around the church but that didn't stop fans who will remember the singer for her achievements as well as her personal troubles from trying to get close and say one last goodbye.
The New Hope Baptist Church is where a young Houston sang in a gospel choir run by her mother.
Police cordoned off streets surrounding it, as pockets of
fans gathered outside the perimeter. A golden hearse was used to
transfer Houston's coffin from a nearby funeral home to the church.During the service Kevin Costner, who starred opposite Houston in The Bodyguard, paid tribute to what he called the "sweet miracle" of her life.
"Whitney returns home today to the place where it all began," he said and urged the nation to "dry our tears, suspend our sorrow and perhaps our anger".
He spoke about how they built a friendship, despite their obvious differences, exchanging stories about their childhood and growing up in a Baptist church community.
Stevie Wonder performed the song Love's in Need of Love Today, and Alicia Keys Send me an Angel. There were also musical tributes from R Kelly, BeBe and CeCe Winans, and the Rev Kim Burrell.
Aretha Franklin had been due to sing at the service, but the Houston family said she would not be able to attend as she was unwell.
There were also tributes from Clive Davis, her musical mentor, and Houston's sister-in-law Patricia Houston.
The service closed with her best-selling single I Will Always Love You.
Fans of Whitney Houston in her hometown of Newark paid tribute to her musical legacy
Houston's ex-husband, Bobby Brown, arrived at the service, but AP news agency reported that he left again shortly afterwards in an apparent disagreement over seating arrangements.
A number of Houston's relatives attended a private viewing service at the funeral home on Friday night.
Houston was one of the world's leading musical artists from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s, selling 170 million records worldwide.
Sales of her records have soared since her death was announced last Saturday.
Whitney Houston 1963-2012
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