LONGMONT, Colo. -- The Lifebridge Christian Church is envisioning a big future for its congregation.
According to the Greely Tribune, since beginning more than 100 years ago as a hodgepodge of home Bible studies, the Longmont church has grown steadily and then sharply -- from 700 in 1991 to 2,700 at present.
Lifebridge now is considering using 315 acres it bought for $5 million in 2001 as the site of a new church campus.
The open farmland would become a 150-acre church campus including three chapels, a 5,000-seat outdoor prayer garden, a worship and learning center, a 6,000-seat auditorium, a performing arts center and a recreation center, plus space for activities, adult education and administration offices.
The remaining 165 acres would be used for housing, parks and trails.
"What the church is looking to do is to create a space to grow into over the next 50 years," administrator Bruce Grinnell said.
Grinnell said that, while the church is nonprofit, a separate financial church entity would be established so Lifebridge could sell and rent housing for seniors and families for a profit.
But mega-church projects such as this aren't always welcomed happily. In similar instances around the U.S., nearby property owners and neighborhood associations have battled the construction of such complexes because of the enormity of the buildings and the traffic they draw.
To date, the Weld County planning department has received 14 letters of protest, and opponents in the three subdivisions surrounding the property have campaigned against the project.
The land is zoned for residential homes, and Lifebridge is requesting a switch to public utility district, which allows a mix of homes, shops and church space.
Resident Wendy Wahlin doesn't mind having a church in the neighborhood, but she fears a huge increase in traffic and such drastic changes to the surrounding countryside.
"Our neighborhood group came to the consensus that it's not the church we have a problem with," she said. "It's what they're doing with the land right next to us."
