CRESTVIEW — Members and officials of the Niceville United Methodist Church gathered in a clearing in the woods off Old Bethel Road Tuesday morning to break ground for their new church.
To be called the Crosspoint North Crestview Church, it will be the Niceville church’s second Crestview campus.
The church’s St. Mark United Methodist campus serves families in South Crestview. Now, church leaders are focusing on the north end of town.
“We’ve been watching Crestview for a long time because the harvest is plentiful here,” the Rev. Rurel Ausley, pastor of the Niceville campus, said.
GOD’S LAND
His wife, the Rev. Lisa Ausley, said the new campus’ location — across the street from Davidson Middle School and near Cresview High School — will benefit the church’s children and student ministries.
“We do a lot of school ministry,” she said. “There are 2,500 children within 100 yards of this campus.”
During his remarks, Rurel Ausley said the groundbreaking reminded him of Biblical stories.
“I was thinking about the children of Israel going to a new land,” he said. “The water (of the Jordan River) didn’t stop them until when? Until they stepped in it. You have to take steps.
“The Promised Land was important, but once they took the land, the focus was on becoming people of God. This is a step in establishing a people of God in North Crestview.”
CITY APPROVAL
At Monday’s meeting, the Crestview City Council, in two unanimous votes, approved sending rezoning of the almost 11-acre campus site to the state for approval, and approved construction plans for the 19,815-square-foot church.
City zoning consultant Jack Dorman said because the zoning changed from residential to “public lands,” there will be less impact on traffic. The rezoning also discourages “urban sprawl,” Dorman’s study states.
The church will receive water from Auburn Water System, but will tap into an existing city sewer line servicing the Winn-Dixie shopping center across Old Bethel Road.
Lisa Ausley said the congregation hopes to move into the new church sometime in fall.
“It’s going to go up as fast as it can go up,” she said.
The Rev. Jeff Burnett will be pastor of the new church.
Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Niceville church breaks ground on newest Crestview campus