SUWANEE, Ga. - The pastor of a 13,000-member megachurch in metro Atlanta will launch a new church he anticipates may become even larger, according to a news report in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The Rev. James Merritt, pastor at First Baptist Snellville, will deliver the first sermon at Cross Pointe Church at Gwinnett Center May 4 at its temporary home in the Collins Hill High School commons area, the newspaper reported.

Merritt, who has been pastor at First Baptist Snellville for 17 years, will leave with the church's blessing once a new pastor is found. He will serve at both churches until then.

Cross Point Church will move to its new home on 70 acres near the Gwinnett Civic Center in Duluth within a year.

The 70-acre tract was bought by a group of businessmen for approximately $9 million and offered to Merritt. It was owned by the Boeing Co., which had an office and warehouse buildings that could be converted into a church, according to the news report.

First Baptist Snellville members pledged $5.1 million to the start-up church, as well as $4.1 million to help maintain the existing church.

Merritt's vision is for a church with a 6,000-seat sanctuary with a 125-foot steeple, topped by a cross visible to passing motorists on I-85, the newspaper reported.

"This will be a center for the Gospel, not just for Gwinnett County, but for people from Hall, Walton, Fulton, Cobb, Barrow, Forsyth and DeKalb counties as well," Merritt said. "I expect thousands and thousands of people to worship here each week."