WICHITA FALLS, Texas — Hundreds of church members were looking up Sunday as a 70-ton hydraulic crane lifted a 54-foot-tall, 2,500-pound steel cross to the top of Wichita Falls' First Baptist Church's new $21 million worship center.

According to the Times Record News, worshippers came from Sunday morning service to watch the cross rise during a short ceremony that was the first of several mini-celebrations the church will host for "milestone events" during the construction of the new building.

"The cross is a symbol of not only who we are, but whose we are," Judge Roy Sparkman told the crowd. Sparkman oversaw the planning of the building and its construction.

"To most people, the cross means suffering and death. But Christ said, 'If I be lifted up, I will draw all men to myself.' This represents his victory over sin that provides hope for everyone," he said.

First Baptist Pastor Dr. Robert Jeffress spoke of the symbolism in the construction of the new building and the cross. "We're lifting up his salvation to our community and the world," he said.

The building is on schedule to open Easter Sunday of next year. Once finished, the cross will stand 92 feet above ground level and will be visible from the interstate. Eventually, the tower will be illuminated from inside.

Russell Dilday and his wife, Betty, drove up from Dallas for Raise-the-Cross Sunday. Russell Dilday grew up at First Baptist Church and was glad to see the new cross go up.

"I thought it was a beautiful union of modern technology and the ancient story," he said. "It gives a view from the freeway that no one can miss."

He was happy to see children in the audience, he said. "Years from now they will say, 'I was there when they put that cross up.' "

Cash Fields, a seventh-grader, said he was glad he witnessed the cross-raising. "I thought it was awesome," he said. "I'll remember this for the rest of my life."