CRESTVIEW — North Okaloosa residents have the opportunity to hear evangelist Mark Cahill speak this weekend at a local church.

The best-selling author is a former Auburn University basketball player who encourages, equips and challenges Christians to share their faith with those who don't know Christ.

Cahill will speak at the 9 a.m., 10:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Jan. 10 services in the sanctuary at First Baptist Church, 171 Hickory St. W., Crestview.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Evangelist Mark Cahill to speak at Crestview church

CRESTVIEW — Following this morning's ribbon-cutting, Crestview’s newest church is open for worship.

In less than a year, Crosspoint North Crestview, a 19,815-square-foot campus of the former, Niceville-based First United Methodist Church, went from a wooded lot to a modern, high-tech, multi-functional church.

With its modern design, including a lofty entry common area with a café and lounge furniture, the new church seeks to attract young families raised on technology, he said.

The sanctuary has moveable seating for 400 worshipers, and a stage with enough sound and light equipment to host a small rock concert.

“It’s kind of a multi-purpose room,” Terry Harpool, Crosspoint project manager, said. “Now, people want sound and lights. People have grown up with technology and we have to compete with that. This is an approach that works well for us. We even have a fog machine. It’s quite a show.”

The church's pastor, the Rev. Rurel Ausley, said he hopes the community will respond favorably to the church’s informality.

“We invite people to come as they are, but we hope they don’t stay as they are,” he said, indicating he hopes worshipers will grow in their spirituality.

The church particularly seeks to attract younger families with children, who will be nurtured in a travel-themed “Crosspoint Kids” wing that features cartoon murals depicting countries where the church has missionaries at work, Ausley said.

“We’re all about the next generation,” he said.

Crosspoint campus pastor the Rev. Jeff Burnett said the church seeks to integrate itself as part of North Okaloosa County.

“We are here for the community,” he said. “Our goal is to come beside you to further along Okaloosa County and Crestview.”

What: Crosspoint North Crestview grand opening worship service

When: 9:30 a.m. Jan. 10

Where: Crosspoint North Crestview, 6268 Old Bethel Road, Crestview

Notes: Celebrate the completion of Crosspoint’s newest campus and tour the church. Call Erika Oetman, 678-4411, ext. 216, for information.

WANT TO GO?

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview's newest church opens for worship (PHOTOS)

CRESTVIEW — A new church opening in north Crestview this morning has a startup congregation of 200 members, and plans for expansion.

Groundbreaking on Crosspoint North Crestview on Old Bethel Road occurred on Jan. 13, 2015. In December, the 19,815-square-foot church held “a couple (of) dry-run services” and another on Jan. 3, administrative assistant Erika Oetman said.

This is the second Crestview branch of the First United Methodist Church of Niceville, following the expanding St. Mark United Methodist Church on P.J. Adams Parkway. Those churches also now include the Crosspoint brand in their names.

Now, Crosspoint has set its sights on Bluewater Bay, where it recently acquired an 18,000-square-foot, two-story building at Merchants Walk.

Terry Harpool, Crosspoint North’s project manager, said all the development says something about Northwest Florida's spiritual needs. 

“I have never in my life seen growth in a church like I have at Crosspoint,” Harpool said. “People are hungry for spirituality now, and we seem to have a gift for getting people into the church.”

'IT'S QUITE A SHOW'

The north Crestview campus got underway with 200 “seed people” from Crosspoint South Crestview, Harpool said.

“The important thing is to have experienced people to start up a campus,” Harpool said. “I fully expect it to increase. By next month, I expect we’ll have to have two services.”

With its modern design, including a lofty entry common area with a café and lounge furniture, the new church seeks to attract young families raised on technology, he said.

The sanctuary has moveable seating for 400 worshipers, and a stage with enough sound and light equipment to host a small rock concert.

“It’s kind of a multi-purpose room,” Harpool said. “Now, people want sound and lights. People have grown up with technology and we have to compete with that. This is an approach that works well for us. We even have a fog machine. It’s quite a show.”

'VERY MISSION-ORIENTED'

Harpool and Oetman said many young families the church seeks to attract are military affiliates.

“They want to be able to attend church while their children are in a nice, safe environment,” Harpool said.

The “Crosspoint Kids” section is colorfully decorated in a travel theme, beginning with a half-size yellow biplane rocking above an airport-themed entrance.

Kids “check in” at the lobby area's “flight kiosks," receiving an identification badge. Parents must present an accompanying pick-up slip before children are released to their care.

“We went with a travel theme because our church is very mission-oriented,” Oetman said.

Sunday school classrooms are named for different countries where Crosspoint does mission work, including China, Congo, Israel, Siberia, Ecuador and Tonga.

Cartoon murals created by Oldsmar-based Wacky World Studios embellish each classroom.

“Life’s a destination and the murals reflect that,” Harpool said.

A graphic between the two “hangars” — multi-purpose meeting rooms — reveals the biplane’s pilot.

“Our pilot is Jesus,” Oetman said, and, noting the Lord’s flight suit, added, “And it fits our military community.” 

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Editor's Note: A previous version of this article included a completely different story (about CHELCO) due to a content management system error. 

We apologize for the mixup if you clicked through to that article, and we hope you enjoy reading this feature about Crosspoint North Crestview's campus. 

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: New Crestview church focuses on tech-savvy families (PHOTOS, VIDEO)