Packed tightly into the ornate, old sanctuary and spilling into overflow areas to watch on TV, members of First Baptist Church of Dallas heard the number Sunday that will guide them into the 21st century: $115,062,000.

That's the amount the congregation committed to contribute over three years to rebuild and reshape the historic downtown church, a record for a Protestant church in America, senior pastor Robert Jeffress said, and a huge show of faith by the 3,200 members who attend on an average Sunday.

The cause touched even the children. Nine-year-old Nathan Denman told the crowd that he had felt God calling him to sell some of his toys – even his favorite Lego set – to help with the project. The night before the garage sale, he broke down in tears because he knew he'd miss his Legos that much, he said.

"But I said after the sale that even with our very low prices, God really blessed our garage sale," Nathan said.

His donation, Jeffress added, was $505.

The church's building committee will go through the project again over the next two weeks, present plans to the board of deacons and, finally, go before the congregation for approval at an all-church business meeting June 6.
Groundbreaking would be July 11, Jeffress said, with construction completed in time for Easter services in 2013.

The project, originally projected to cost $130 million, has been tweaked to reduce costs. With builders eager for business, church leaders say, $115 million should be enough. The church already has $35 million in hand.

A new 3,000-seat sanctuary stands as the centerpiece of the project, along with a religious education building and parking garage, a sweeping glass-fronted concourse and a sky bridge over St. Paul Street. The revised campus will include an acre of green space and a soaring fountain, topped by a towering cross, that can be used for warm-weather baptisms.

1890 sanctuary stays

Five older buildings will come down. But the 1890 sanctuary will remain for weddings, funerals and other events.

The commitment to build comes at a time when many churches are cutting costs because of declining contributions in difficult times.

The amount committed is also far greater than a church the size of First Baptist would ordinarily be expected to provide, Jeffress said. Capital campaign consultants usually say a church can raise about two to three times its annual income; First Baptist brings in about $15.5 million a year.

Only three U.S. Protestant churches have raised more than $80 million in capital campaigns, the most being $85 million raised by Calvary Chapel of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., which has an average Sunday attendance of about 20,000.

"When we came to you in November and presented the proposed plan for our new campus, we said that the estimated cost would be around $130 million – far and above what any church of any size has ever raised and certainly a sum that was impossible for a church our size," Jeffress said. "But the vision was a compelling one, and you embraced it enthusiastically."

Dallas News