FAYETTEVILLE -- Another big church is coming to Fayetteville.
Cross Church received a donation of 13.2 acres southeast of Wedington Drive and Interstate 49 and plans to expand its ministry there, Nick Floyd, the church's teaching pastor, said Thursday.
The new campus eventually will replace a church farther west in the Shoppes at Wedington.
Floyd said the 15,750-square-foot building often serves more than 2,000 congregants during four Sunday services. Six separate parking lots are available for attendees.
"It's not unusual to have people sit in our lobby," Floyd said. "In order to reach more people with the hope of the Gospel, we have to have more space."
The new building will complement Cross Church's other four locations: on South College Avenue in Fayetteville; in Springdale, Pinnacle Hills, and Neosho, Mo.
Floyd said church officials are just beginning to design the new campus.
"We're not exactly sure how that's all going to shake out," he said. "It will be small enough to keep it intimate, and large enough to reach new people."
In a message delivered to churchgoers Sunday, Floyd said the church's building will likely be the same size as a 45,000-square-foot Walmart Neighborhood Market. The stores typically have about 175 parking spaces. Floyd said the church will offer much more space for vehicles, with double or triple the acreage of a Neighborhood Market, which is usually situated on 5 or 6 acres.
The actual size of the development will depend on whether Cross Church acquires an additional 9.1 acres owned by a company called 49 & Wedington LLC.
The company, registered to Travis Ruff of Springdale, bought the 9 acres from Little Rock-based Thomas F. James Realty in November for $3.2 million, according to Washington County property records. The owners of 49 & Wedington asked James Realty to donate the additional 13 acres to Cross Church as a condition of the purchase.
Floyd declined to name the owners of 49 & Wedington, but described them as "two men in the church."
"It was an incredible gift from God, and we're absolutely thrilled," he said.
Floyd said Cross Church will have three options going forward. Church officials could buy the 9 acres for $3.2 million at a later point. They could lease the land from a private developer who buys and develops the property. Or they could limit their development to 13 acres.
The land adjoins, but is not a part of, property owned for decades by the Marinoni family.
A number of developers have eyed the Marinoni land -- most recently an Alabama-based student housing developer that had planned to build a 702-bedroom, cottage-style development on about a quarter of the 108 acre Marinoni farm.
Mary Sue Shaw, the eldest daughter of seven Marinoni siblings, said in June a contract between the Marinonis and Capstone Collegiate Communities was terminated because of the specter of steep infrastructure costs city planners recommended.
Shaw said Thursday she was happy to hear Cross Church had acquired adjacent land.
"The family is pleased that it's a church going in there," she said. "We know it's a growing community of good people, and we think they're going to be great neighbors."
The City Council in January 2014 rezoned the church's land. Urban Thoroughfare zoning allows for a mix of residential and commercial uses. Jeremy Pate, city Development Services director, said Thursday a church could be built by right on the property with administrative approval from the city's Planning Division.
Floyd couldn't provide a timeline Thursday for when the new church will be built. "As soon as possible," he told congregants Sunday.
Floyd said he will be the lead pastor at the church, which will continue to offer multiple Sunday services.
His father, the Rev. Ronnie Floyd, is Cross Church's senior pastor and president of the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in the United States.
Outreach magazine, a Christian publication that tracks the country's fastest-growing churches, ranked Cross Church No. 48 on its 2014 list of the largest 100 churches in America, with average attendance of 8,987.
Another major addition to Fayetteville's faith community is Fellowship Bible Church, a nondenominational congregation that's building a 63,000-square-foot facility with nearly 800 parking spaces southwest of Van Asche Drive and Arkansas 112, across the street from the 112 Drive-In.
Joel Walsh can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWAJoel.
NW News on 01/23/2015