THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 21, 1994 TAG: 9410200152
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM HOLDEN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 58 lines
The field is quiet now, but come November the whir and rumble of construction machinery will signal the beginning of something big: a new Rock Church, 6,000 seats big, next door to the original Kempsville landmark.
Last Sunday the congregation broke ground for a new church on its 26th anniversary, hardly a blink in the eye of Christianity's long march forward but a local milestone nonetheless.
``We hope to be in the building by October 1996,'' said the Rev. Tim Campbell of Rock Church. ``We have money and we're also raising money. Once we start it, we're going to finish it. We have a small construction loan, but our main desire is do what we've done with the previous church, which is on the day we move in, we move in debt free.''
The new building will be appraised at between $8 million and $10 million but it is not expected to cost that much to build. Contributions from congregation members, some of whom are experienced contractors, will cut the construction costs, Campbell said.
``Our history is through faith giving and contributions of the congregation,'' Campbell said. ``It's proven in the past and that's what we're planning on with this building.''
In addition to the 6,000-seat auditorium, there will be a 500-seat chapel, rooms for classrooms and administrative offices.
Building new space with little or no reliance on construction loans is a tradition at the church. In 1971, after three years in an abandoned Pentecostal church, the Revs. John and Anne Gimenez opened a $100,000, 450-seat sanctuary - debt free - and soon added an educational wing.
In 1977, they built the $2.4 million, 3,000-seat church - again, debt free - that quickly became a Kempsville landmark with its huge dome topped by a lighted blue cross.
Original plans for a three-story, 50-unit apartment building for the elderly have been postponed because of a need for parking space for the new church.
When the work is done, the area along Kempsville Road will have a cluster of buildings: two domes of Rock Church and the Rock Church Academy, which has about 325 students from kindergarten through 12th grade.
Once the building is completed, the existing Rock Church will be converted into a three-level family life center. On the lower floor will be a banquet and social hall, the second level will be a combination of classrooms and nursery day care center and the third level will be a gymnasium and weight room with a short running track, Campbell said.
The congregation has about 3,500 members who regularly attend Sunday services at either 8 or 10:15 a.m. There will be no disruption of the Sunday worship during construction. ILLUSTRATION: Staff Map
Rock Church Expansion
by CNB