LAND OF PROMISE: CHURCHES CONGREGATE AT MT. AURBURN-LEXINGTON MEECA; PASTORS SAY THEY ARE FOLLOWING CITY GROWTH

The Christ Evangelical Presbyterian Church is one of nearly a dozen churches that have found a home in the north end of Cape Girardeau near Lexington Avenue.

As the residential mecca of Cape Girardeau's north side continues to grow, so does the number of churches there.

Specifically, areas on and around Lexington Street and the northern parts of Mt. Auburn Road seem to be more attractive to church leaders. About 10 of Cape Girardeau's nearly 60 churches are in that area with the construction of others to begin soon.

Some churches have moved there from previous locations in other parts of Cape Girardeau, while some new churches have opted to build on property in that part of town as opposed to elsewhere.

Local pastors say it is the obvious area for new churches because it's where Cape Girardeau is growing, and there is lot of land ripe for development.

"I think this is where people are moving to so this is where churches are moving to," said Wes Wright, pastor of Mt. Auburn Christian Church and president of the Cape Girardeau Ministerial Alliance.

The number of people going to church is also growing, Wright said. He said a church can no longer build a church on half an acre of land.

"The era of the little church on the corner is over," Wright said.

But Cape Girardeau is not an urban area so large that parishioners are unwilling to drive to attend their church of choice, Wright said.

At least one more church has plans to move to north Cape Girardeau in the future and two new churches coming to Cape Girardeau plan to locate there, too.

Lynwood Baptist Church, 1712 Randol, will relocate to Lexington Avenue as soon as its new church is complete. Construction is to begin this spring. New churches such as the Gospel Assembly of God Church and Christ Evangelical Presbyterian Church will build new structures in the area in the coming months.

Mark Anderson, pastor of Lynwood Baptist, said parking is limited at the Randol Street location. So many people attend the four Sunday services at the church that they have to park at a nearby school. The church shuttles people from the school to the church by bus.

"We just had to move to meet our church's needs," Anderson said.

The move of First Christian Church from the 800 block of West End Boulevard to a more northern location at 2411 Abbey Road was also one of necessity, said Pastor Philip Curran. First Christian Church was dedicated in December.

The decision was made eight years ago that the building on West End was not effectively serving the church's ministry. To stay there would have required major renovations for handicapped-accessibility, something church leaders thought was important.

"It would have been costly to do that," Curran said. "Instead of making a huge investment, we thought it would be wiser to build a new building."

Curran said he is aware that not everyone favored the move and that some members stopped attending afterwards.

"It was never our intention to leave anyone behind," Curran said. "Unfortunately, some people couldn't get past leaving that building."

He said property closer to the old building was unavailable for purchase.

"A church is the members, not the building," Curran said.

Pastor Ron Watts of LaCroix United Methodist Church saw his church's membership double when its building at 3102 Lexington was completed. Members of LaCroix had met in the movie theater at West Park Mall for several years while the church was being built.

National Methodist leaders told Watts that Lexington seemed like a good part of town for a new Methodist church because Methodist churches already serve other parts of town, he said.

Lexington is also appealing because it's a busy street and easy to find, Watts said.

"After all, we're in the people business," Watts said. "If people can't find you, they can't come to church."

While meeting in the theater, LaCroix's average Sunday attendance was about 220. Since the move to Lexington, the church has grown to an average attendance of 450 people.

"We came out here and liked what we saw," Watts said.