A number of churches and religious worship centers are growing their presences in the Cy-Fair area as a result of residential growth.
Two Baptist churches are under construction on large tracts of land along the Grand Parkway in Cypress and are expected to open over the course of the next 12-18 months. Other churches opened new worship centers in Cypress and Hockley at the end of 2015, and a Sikh center is under construction along Beltway 8 in Cy-Fair.
Under construction
Houston’s First Baptist Church began construction on its Cypress campus in early February, located on a 32.4-acre plot within the Bridgeland master-planned community. The church will consist of 100,000 square feet of space and will also include a 1,300-seat worship center. Construction is set to finish in March 2017, officials said.
The church, which opened its Cypress campus in 2013 to better serve the area, meets Sundays at Smith Middle School on Fry Road.
“We felt like there was an opportunity to have a physical presence and get everyone in the [Cy-Fair] community involved, and this enables us to reach more people,” Communications Director Steven Murray said. “We look forward to a permanent home in Bridgeland. It’s a growing community, so it is an exciting time to be there and be next to the Grand Parkway and the new [Cy-Fair ISD] high schools.”
Second Baptist Church is also constructing a new facility in Cypress to house the worshippers temporarily attending services at the Berry Center each Sunday. Construction on the campus, located at the intersection of Hwy. 290 and the Grand Parkway, is expected to be completed in late 2016, Senior Social Pastor Gary Moore said.
The facility will almost be an exact replica of the church’s new FM 1463 campus in Katy, which features an auditorium-style worship center as well as an educational center for children from birth through 18 years of age.
“It’s going to be Texas-style architecture and very contemporary,” Moore said.
In August, construction is expected to wrap up on Christ Family Church’s new location at 22722 Schiel Road in Cypress, Pastor Paul Russell said. The 21-acre site will be home to the church’s new worship center, which will offer seating for 475 people.
The church’s lobby will have a fireplace, coffee service and Wi-Fi. Features for the facility also include a hospitality kitchen, outdoor baptism fountain, a room for new mothers and a children, and nursery space. Outdoor features include a playground, a front porch and a covered patio for dinners, wedding receptions and other gatherings.
A second phase of construction will include a 1,200-seat worship center, wedding pavilion, prayer garden, park area, and additional parking spaces, Russell said.
Construction is also underway on the Sikh National Center’s new temple, located on a 20-acre site at 7500 North Sam Houston Parkway West, Houston. Phase 1 of the project will include a 37,000-square-foot temple that will house religious halls, worship rooms and a private service room, officials said. Phase 2 includes school buildings, a museum, library, sports field and a single-family residence for the priest.
Finished projects
Although many new church projects are just now getting underway, construction wrapped up on several projects at the end of 2015.
Community of Faith Church, located on Becker Road in Hockley, recently finished construction on a brand new auditorium-style worship center with seating for around 3,000 people in December. The worship center, which was completed just before Christmas, can be expanded to fit 4,000 people, church officials said.
“We had been out of room for quite awhile,” Pastor Mark Shook said. “We’ve seen a lot of growth, and we needed some room to grow into.”
In October, Good Shepherd United Methodist Church celebrated the grand opening of its new 1,200-seat auditorium-style worship center at the congregation’s Cypress Campus, located on Cypresswood Drive. The building includes administrative and nursery spaces connected by a large daylit lobby.
