PLANO — One of the state's biggest mega-churches had a big announcement for its congregation on Sunday morning. Prestonwood Baptist Church is returning to Dallas.
Prestonwood, with a congregation of 30,000, already has two locations, one in Plano — where it settled after moving from North Dallas in the late 90s — and another in Prosper.
Prestonwood is offering $18 million to buy the building which is now home to Hillcrest Church in North Dallas, at 12123 Hillcrest Road — just three miles south of the Baptist congregation's original Dallas location.
Hillcrest plans to move due to a drop in membership. Its sanctuary in North Dallas holds 2,000, but Prestonwood hopes to grow it far beyond that.
"There are so many young families in this region, and we believe so many of these are not gonig to church anywhere," said Prestonwood's pastor, Dr. Jack Graham. "I envision 5,000 to 6,000 people a week attending worship and Bible study at that location."
The Dallas campus is expected to be be up and running by the fall.
Prestonwood member Ernestine McClure isn't worried about getting lost in the crowd as her church continues to grow. "No, no; they're very careful about that," she said. "They're very careful to get everyone involved."
But the addition of a Dallas campus may trouble neighbors of the Hillcrest congregation.
For years, Hillcrest fought with homeowners over its size and the need for adequate parking.
While Prestonwood has plans to grow the church even larger, Pastor Graham said it will be proactive with area residents.
"We believe the church is going to add to the neighborhood, not subtract," he said.
Prestonwood Baptist Church isn't the largest church in the nation, but it is in the top 20, and this move could vault it much higher.
According to the Hartford Institute for Religion Research, the nation's biggest mega-church is Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church in Houston.
Fellowship Church in Grapevine is No. 3; The Potter's House in Dallas is No. 11 and Prestonwood is No. 20.
But if Prestonwood does add 6,000 members at its new location, that could make it the eighth largest church in the United States.
E-mail jbetz@wfaa.com
