April 10, 2008
Section: LOCAL/STATE
Edition: Final/All
Page: B03
Church plans an upgrade
RICK NEALE
Staff
RICK NEALE
FLORIDA TODAY
WEST MELBOURNE -- A rapidly growing Palm Bay church is on a pilgrimage to a planned larger chapel on Minton Road.
Palm Bay Seventh-day Adventist Church has outgrown its home on Americana Boulevard.
Sanctuary capacity is 498 people -- but, sometimes, 700 worshippers attend, spilling into an adjacent fellowship hall and other rooms, Associate Pastor Tim Henderson said.
The church wants to move northward to West Melbourne, and build a 24,500-square-foot facility just southwest of Minton Road and Interstate 95. This 14-acre tract, which contains four single-family homes, lies immediately south of the Carriage Gate subdivision entrance.
"We also see it as a community cultural center as well," Henderson said during an interview in his church office. "We believe in outreach, and we believe in cultural programming.
"So, often, edifices like that are not used to the fullest."
Last month, the West Melbourne City Council unanimously approved an initial site plan for the project. The first construction phase calls for a 1,250-seat sanctuary, 318 parking spaces and two retention ponds. An assembly hall may be built in the future.
The property is being rezoned for institutional use.
Jake Wise, a civil engineer with Construction Engineering Group of Melbourne, said a portion of the property fronting Minton Road will remain zoned for commercial purposes.
He said the church eventually may open a gift shop, bookstore or other ventures on the land.
Wise compared Palm Bay Seventh-day Adventist Church's growth to that of Calvary Chapel of Melbourne.
In February, the West Melbourne planning and zoning board unanimously approved the church's construction plans.
Mark Vorce, one of the board members, told council members that no endangered animal species would be threatened.
"I did walk the property. As you know, I'm quite concerned about our wildlife. And all I could find was a few 'mices' and things like that," Vorce joked, drawing laughter from the audience. "There's no turtles out there. I didn't see any Florida panthers. So, I think, from my standpoint, I was satisfied."
Henderson said church officials were scheduled to meet with an architect this week to begin design work.
The pastor of Palm Bay Seventh-day Adventist Church is Wintley Phipps, a two-time Grammy Award nominee.
Phipps founded the U.S. Dream Academy, a nonprofit organization devoted to providing mentors for children whose parents are incarcerated. Oprah Winfrey donated $1 million to the group in May 2005.
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Yep, sure sounds like this church is having real problems due to its Pastor not performing up to Bob's standards. Should we speculate on how other SDA churches would like to have this terrible problem of not enough room?