Church jumps on city's growth

Tri-City Baptist Church is on the move. The church, based at 2150 E. Southern Ave. in Tempe, broke ground recently with a ceremony at Chuparosa Park in South Chandler, taking a small step toward an 180,000-square-foot campus.

Dr. James Singleton started the church in his home in 1969. Since its humble beginnings, the church has spread to a facility with 68,000 square feet and planted two churches outside of Tempe.

"We have to give the Lord credit," Pastor Mike Sproul said.

Demographically, Chandler has many young families, a fact that attracted church leaders.

"We knew it was a major place of growth, and the opportunity was just given to us," Mr. Sproul said.

In addition to a 600-plus member congregation, Tri-City Ministries offers the International Baptist College, an accredited ministerial college; Tri-City Christian Academy, Time for Tots day care; and International Baptist Missions. All of these services will have a permanent home at the Chandler center.

Two dormitories are being built to accompany the college, along with a student center and eventually a senior-care center.

"The senior-care center is still at the dream stage, but it's definitely something we feel the community needs," Mr. Sproul said. "There are a lot of families that don't know what to do with Grandma when she's not able to live on her own. It's a real strain on the family."

The enrollment at Tri-City Christian Academy has fluctuated over the years. Five years ago, the student population was in the 400s. This year's enrollment is at 285 students, up from last year's total of 279.

"I attribute the shift in numbers to the explosion of charter schools in the Valley," said Dan Bewley, head of the academy. "We do charge tuition, and at the same time we're sending information out to the community, they're (residents) getting pamphlets for free charter schools. But it's not all about enrollment. We're more concerned with ministering to the families. I'll be the first to admit that we're not for everybody. We really take a hard look at Christian character."

The new facility will be able to hold about 500 to 550 students and will have state-of-the-art computers and equipment.

"I expect to see an increase in enrollment at the new facility because of the newness of it all, but at the same time, I'm sure some people will just be keeping an eye on us," Mr. Bewley said.

As Chandler grows, Jerry Tetreau, president of the International Baptist College, expects to see the college grow as well.

"I expect to see a 25 percent increase at the college, and that's being conservative," he said. "We see a tremendous spiritual need in an expanding population like this."

The college has an enrollment ranging from 80 to 120 students throughout the year.

The dormitories will be the greatest help in increasing enrollment, Mr. Tetreau said.

"The dorms will help establish a campus environment that young people are more familiar with when they think about going to college," he said. "It will be a great ease on our resources, too."

The college must transport its students to the current college location with a buslike system because the students often share apartments or houses away from the campus.

Construction of the dormitories is expected to be complete by the beginning of September, and the academic building should be finished by next spring. Transitioning the whole church to its new location will take an estimated three years.

"I'd like to make the move in two years, but God doesn't always work on my timetable," Mr. Sproul said.

For more information, call (480) 838-5430 or visit www.tricityministries.org.

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News Editor Carla Brown can be reached at (480) 497-0048 or cbrown@newszap.com