Christ Fellowship Palm Beach Gardens Campus

WESTLAKE — A growing church has its sights set on Palm Beach County's newest city.

Palm Beach Gardens-based Christ Fellowship has an option to buy 13 acres in Westlake to build a new campus, the church confirmed.

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It would mark another major step in the megachurch's ongoing growth spurt, which includes its Port St. Lucie campus and plans for "pop-up" church events in Vero Beach and Boca Raton that are testing the waters for possible future campuses in those cities.

It also would pair one of the fastest-growing churches in the county with the fastest-growing city in the county.

The land sits on the east side of Seminole Pratt Whitney Road, just south of Seminole Ridge High School, Minto Communities Vice President John Carter said.

A price was not disclosed. County records show recent sales of Westlake land by Minto include 63 acres to residential developer Label & Co. for about $10.3 million, 270 acres in April to Kolter Homes for $52 million and nearly 6 acres bought last year by Wellington Regional Medical Center for about $2 million.

Christ Fellowship plans to decide whether to buy the property by the end of this year, a church official said.

The church and Westlake developer Minto have been discussing a possible sale for about three years, Christ Fellowship senior pastor Todd Mullins said.

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"They have been incredible to work with and they have expressed a consistent desire for us to be a part of the community," Mullins said.

Carter said Minto is "absolutely ecstatic" about Christ Fellowship's interest in Westlake.

"The services they provide, they are the cornerstones to the type of community we want to build," he said.

Christ Fellowship has hundreds of families that commute to other locations to attend services, Mullins said. They would provide "a solid foundation" for a possible new campus.

The church counts tens of thousands of people who attend services in person and online. In 2017, it made 24/7 Wall Street's list of the 25 largest churches in America, ranking No. 16 with nearly 19,000 people attending weekly services.

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"With the thousands of additional homes coming to the region, we hope that we can make way for our church to serve them by establishing a new campus there," he said.

Christ Fellowship has campuses in Royal Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Boynton Beach, West Palm Beach, Jupiter, Belle Glade, Stuart, Okeechobee and Port St. Lucie.

The church late last year started doing pop-up services, where Christ Fellowship takes its service on the road to a new city for a few dates.

"The mission for our Church focuses on reaching as many people in our region as we can with the love and message of Jesus Christ," Mullins said. "A key part of that vision includes having campuses that are conveniently located where people can attend service regularly and have their whole family benefit from the variety of great ministries we have for them throughout the week."

Pop-up services have been in Boca Raton, Vero Beach and Westlake.

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More than 600 attended a Christ Fellowship pop-up in Westlake in the spring. The next Westlake pop-up will be 6 p.m., Sunday, Aug 25 at Seminole Ridge High School.

The church also has made a habit of repurposing long-vacant spaces for its campuses:

- In 2005, Christ Fellowship bought the old Target building at State Road 7 and Southern Boulevard for what then was its westernmost campus.

- It paid $4.6 million for the 127,000-square-foot former Dillard's space in the Boynton Beach Mall in 2013.

- In 2015, it paid $13 million in cash for the former home of movie studio Digital Domain in Port St. Lucie.

Since acquiring the Port St. Lucie campus, Christ Fellowship has added a 2,000-seat auditorium that frequently is packed, a church official said.

Having such a large congregation has given Christ Fellowship a national platform. Todd Mullins in September 2017 led a prayer before Congress. And founding pastor Tom Mullins was tapped in 2016 by then-presidential candidate Donald Trump to serve on the future president's evangelical advisory board. In 2015, the father and son team spoke before the United Nations.

"We have a bold vision," Todd Mullins told The Post. "We are called to lead a radical transformation for Jesus Christ in our region and beyond. It's not about how big Christ Fellowship can get, it's about how many people we can help know Jesus Christ and find their hope and purpose in Him."

Westlake is doing "extremely well" with new home sales, Carter said. The city's massive residents-only amenities complex recently opened, and Carter signed the paperwork this week to close a sale to 7-Eleven for a piece of land across the street from Seminole Ridge where the convenience store chain will build a new location.

More commercial development is on the way, Carter said.

"There are a number of exciting things in the pipeline," he said.

kwebb@pbpost.com

@kristinawebb

quirionunfinamess.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/local/2019/08/02/exclusive-christ-fellowship-churchs-next-mission-is-13-acre-westlake-campus/4552220007/

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