The church’s planned 1,000-seat auditorium and other buildings would require about seven acres, Juarez said, leaving about 21 acres for the other uses.

He said he knows of a Chicago-area church that has a similar development, but none in Oklahoma.

Juarez stressed that the plan is in the early development stages, and changes are likely.

Bixby city planner Marcae Hilton said she has had one “very general” discussion with an architect about the church’s plans but has not received anything in writing about it.

The Bridge now meets in a leased strip mall just across Memorial Drive from the planned development.

The church started on Easter Sunday 2009 with 118 people, grew to 300 people in the first year and now has attendance of about 650.

Juarez said when the church leaders began to think about moving into their own facilities a couple of years ago, they didn’t want a traditional church, but something different, something that was more a part of the community.

He said they talked the idea over with Bixby Mayor John Easton, and he was excited about the concept.