Church leadership surprised the congregation during the service by telling them they were moving into the congregation’s new building. “We threw them a curveball and said we’re going on a road trip,” says pastor Philip Print. “They weren’t expecting to move until next weekend.”
Since 1992, the church has grown from 90 people in attendance to 2,000, Print says. Although the congregation moved into the new building a week earlier than they expected, they had waited for years.
“We were way overdue to move,” Print says. The congregation had outgrown its previous building at least six years ago. In order to accommodate the growth, the church held four services each weekend.
After finding land for the new development, the required approval process and construction took three years, Print says. The new building cost $11 million with National Covenant Properties providing a loan for the project.
The sanctuary seats 1,000 people. A separate area for youth accommodates 300 teenagers, and the children’s worship area also is large, Print says.
Print says the church wants to get used to the building over the next couple of weeks and will then have a major opening November 21-22. The church will continue to have four services each weekend because, “We’re in an amazing growth cycle,” Print adds.
Children’s worship will be held during each service. Junior high students will worship together at 9 a.m. on Sundays, and the senior high will worship at 11 a.m.
The church has undergone other major changes in recent months. In August, Bridgepointe Covenant Church of Eagan, Minnesota, merged with Crossroads.
The Eagan building has become a satellite campus for Crossroads, and services began September 28. The church already has seen significant growth.
Bridgepointe had a previous attendance of roughly 50 people. The new service attracted 225 worshipers last weekend – few of them previously attended Crossroads.
The church attracted a lot of people by handing out $20,000 worth of gas cards with information about the opening services printed on the back.
The satellite campus has its own pastor and worship leader, Print says. The messages are similar and the music the same as at the main campus. All of the offices are at the main campus.
The changes have kept the staff of both sites busy. “Just moving to a new campus is enough to drive you nuts,” says Print, who adds, “We’re grateful to God that he’s brought the people. That’s what it’s all about.”
