Oxford’s Pinelake Church congregation has taken the first steps toward building its own worship space.

The church, which has over 10,000 members across its locations in Oxford, Clinton, Flowood, Madison and Starkville, finalized the purchase of 12 acres of land off Highway 314 across from FNC Park on July 13. Pinelake first launched its Oxford location in 2015, and since then has been meeting on Sundays at the Oxford Conference Center. With as many as 1,800 people in attendance for worship services, executive pastor for communications Troy Page said it was time to find a space that will accommodate growth.

“Over the past three years, we’ve experienced an extraordinary amount of growth in our church as far as the number of people attending, and that sped up our process a bit,” Page said. “We could be a few years away from something, but we thought now would be a good time to begin, to facilitate a growing church.”

Each Sunday before and after services, members of the congregation work to set up and tear down all of the equipment needed to turn the conference center auditorium into a sanctuary. Having a permanent home is something Page said will create more avenues to serve others.

“We are limited to the time we are able to rent a temporary facility, so this opens up the door to more ministry opportunities than we can when we’re limited to a certain time and space,” Page said. “If you look across the board with our other campuses, you’ll see that all of our facilities facilitate ministry for all different ages and facilitate a style of worship and what we do. It wouldn’t be too unlike other campuses we have now.”

Each Sunday, services at Pinelake include worship and a sermon that is biblical and applicable to daily life, according to a recent news release. Pinelake offers weekly programming for all age groups from infants through adults, small groups, as well as opportunities for college students. Ministering to a cross-section of the community, Page said, is a sign they’re doing something right.

Jody Schmelzer, who has served as the Oxford campus pastor since its inception, said his hope for the church is that it will mirror the energy seen at its future neighbor, FNC Park.

“We are thankful for the Conference Center and will continue to meet there as we plan and develop our new location,” Schmelzer said in a news release. “One day we hope our church will mirror what you see weekly at FNC park: scores of people cheering on their family and friends. We hope one day there will be scores of people here at Pinelake cheering others on because of the life-change that has been brought to their lives through a personal relationship with Jesus. We can’t wait to see all that God has in store in the future.”

To learn more about Pinelake Church and the Oxford campus, visit www.pinelake.org or call 601-829-4500.