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DALLAS—Members of the storied First Baptist Church of Dallas were reminded to turn outward in their mission by two very different messengers during dedication services on April 7 for the church’s new $130 million expanded campus that aims to be a “spiritual oasis” downtown.
Billed as “the largest church building campaign in modern history,” the project aesthetically complements its surroundings in an area of downtown where new multi-million dollar theaters, museums and parks dot the landscape.
David Jeremiah, pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church in El Cajon, Calif., whose relationship with the church dates back to his days as a Dallas Theological Seminary student, and Texas Gov. Rick Perry, known for his bold evangelicalism, headlined the list of dignitaries attending the first in a series of April services marking the church’s new facilities.
“The temptation will be to take a deep breath and to say ‘We finally did it,’” Jeremiah told a packed audience in the new 3,000-seat, state-of-the-art worship center with a 150-foot-wide IMAX-quality screen spanning the stage.
Jeremiah’s selection to preach the dedication was a historic fit. W.A. Criswell, legendary pastor of First Baptist Dallas, went to San Diego years ago to preach dedication services for Jeremiah at Shadow Mountain Community Church.
Jeremiah, a Southern Baptist with an international broadcast ministry called “Turning Point,” told of being captivated by Criswell and First Baptist Dallas while he was a student at Dallas Theological Seminary. In recent years, Jeremiah and First Baptist Pastor Robert Jeffress have become friends, with Jeremiah encouraging Jeffress to expand his “Pathway to Victory” media ministry, Jeremiah said.
It was announced during the service to applause that “Pathway to Victory” began in late March with broadcasts into mainland China with a potential audience of 1 billion people.
To illustrate his sermon, Jeremiah turned to a Vincent van Gogh painting called “The Church at Auvers” that depicts a church building without doors to go in and out of and which sits in its own shadow, neither reflecting nor emanating any light.
Like the church in the painting, the danger for the modern church is that it would become a “lifeless relic that the people bypass to avoid its dark shadow,” Jeremiah said.
But with diligence toward the purpose of the church (“the glory of God”), the program of the church (reaching out to those on the outside), and the priority of the church (“the Great Commission”), First Baptist Dallas can become “thousands of points of light illuminating the darkness,” Jeremiah said.
Through 40 years of ministry and eight building projects, “I’ve come to believe that all of the benefits the nuclear family accrues from having a place to call home” also applies to churches. But much work awaits on the outside, Jeremiah reminded.
“God has not just put this church in this community so if can be a beautiful, a monumental, place for people to visit. This is not just a place where people should come into the church, but remember, the doors are open both ways. The church must go out of these doors, into the community and touch the lives of the people who are needy and are needing what Jesus Christ alone can bring,” Jeremiah said.
Perry began his six-minute address to the church by saying he was wowed by the facilities as a “beacon” where “our Savior and our light can truly be seen.”
Noting his own depravity and his need for a savior, Perry said his Austin pastor often says church is a “hospital for sinners.” In the same manner, the mission of the church is not to condemn people “but to point people to the one who is the way, the truth and the life. We as fellow sinners will never condemn someone to salvation, but God can use us to show them grace and love them to it.”
After reading Matthew 7:3-5—the passage about judging without first removing the “plank in your own eye”—Perry added, “We cannot condemn certain lifestyles while turning a blind eye to sins that in God’s eye are just as grievous. We must love all, welcome all.”
Perry also noted, “God is the same yesterday, today and forever … and so are his truths.”
Though Perry didn’t refer to it, Jeffress and First Baptist Church received national media attention in February after NFL quarterback Tim Tebow withdrew from speaking during the church’s dedication celebration following public pressure from homosexual activists and liberal pundits.
A statement from the church at the time disputed characterizations that Jeffress’ message was hateful, noting that “contrary to editorializing in the media, Dr. Jeffress shares a message of hope, not hate; salvation, not judgment; and a Gospel of God’s love, grace and new beginnings available to all.”
The First Baptist expansion includes a glass sky bridge connecting the worship center to the five-story Horner Family Center and parking garage.
An outdoor cross-tower and fountain—officially announced during the dedication service as the Jeffress Fountain Plaza—includes a baptismal pool and is surrounded by three-fourths of an acre of community space for pedestrians. The cross towers 68 feet with multiple fountainheads that can be synced to orchestral music.
Also dedicated were the Jennifer, James and Geneva Donald Preschool and Children’s Suite and the Donna and Hollis Sullivan Media Center—which will broadcast services and serve as home to the “Pathway to Victory” ministry.
Among the dedication service dignitaries were Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings and two former First Baptist Dallas pastors, O.S. Hawkins, who offered a dedication prayer, and Joel Gregory, who read Scripture.
Jim Cymbala, pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle, was scheduled to fill the pulpit on April 14, followed by an April 21 luncheon featuring Focus on the Family founder James Dobson.
More information on the expanded First Baptist Dallas campus may be accessed at firstdallas.org/.
