DATE: Friday, May 2, 1997                   TAG: 9705020595

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B5   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY LIZ SZABO, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   73 lines

FIRST BAPTIST'S PLANS FOR NEW CHURCH MAY HAVE TO WAIT THE SENIOR PASTOR IS EXPECTED TO LEAVE; THERE'S NO BUYER FOR THE PRESENT FACILITY.

The looming departure of the senior pastor at First Baptist Church of Norfolk will likely slow the congregation's plans to build a multimillion-dollar church in the heart of Greenbrier's business district, in Chesapeake.

The Rev. Robert E. Reccord has been nominated for the presidency of the Southern Baptist Convention's new North American Mission Board. The SBC is the nation's largest Protestant denomination, with 15.6 million members. His nomination, which has heavy support, must be formally accepted by the mission board's trustees on June 19.

Reccord, who is 45, has led the 5,000-member church through five years of dramatic growth.

In October 1995, church leaders unveiled a concept for a new full-service family center - including a 3,500-seat worship center and sports facilities - to rise next to Greenbrier Mall before 2000. It was a broad-brush blueprint without a specific price tag.

That plan has been delayed in the past four months as the 30-member task force dealing with the new church's design awaited word on Reccord's decision.

Now, as the congregation faces a search for a new lead pastor, it is also seeking a way to pay off its debts.

First Baptist still owes $750,000 on the $1.9 million cost of the Chesapeake land, said Ken Blankenship, a task force member and project director of the Greenbrier development. In addition, First Baptist has outstanding debts for its current facility on Kempsville Road. The church has not yet finished paying for an addition built in 1990.

Those debts need to be paid before the congregation can begin construction of its new home, Blankenship said. First Baptist is trying to sell its current facility to finance its future growth. It has not yet found a buyer.

``If we could sell this thing tomorrow, we could start building tomorrow,'' Blankenship said.

First Baptist may need to scale back its plans for Greenbrier if it does not sell its current church, he said. Its master architectural plan for Greenbrier is modular, so that the congregation could build their new church in stages. Instead of building the grand new home of its dreams - one that's large enough to hold three weddings at once - First Baptist may have to settle temporarily for a small ``satellite campus'' in Greenbrier to supplement its current facility in Norfolk, Blankenship said.

The satellite campus could serve First Baptist's growing congregation in Chesapeake, who now commute to Sunday services in Norfolk.

The current church is reaching its limit. To accommodate all of the worshipers, the church holds three Sunday worship services and three Bible study classes each week.

``Our building is just too small; it's very restrictive,'' said the Rev. Len Taylor, minister of students. ``We need about 1,500 parking places. Right now our meetings and worship services start at 8:30 and don't end until 12:30 because we just don't have the room.''

While most church members agree that First Baptist has outgrown its Kempsville home, some worry about the cost of moving.

``Some people have been concerned that, when we make a move like that, it's financially secure, that we aren't getting into a debt and getting ourselves into a bigger hole,'' said church member Randy Stephens. ``I think the church wants to get everything financially squared away before we move forward. . .

Church members want to move slowly in their new venture.

``There's been a lot of thought put into it, a lot of prayer,'' Stephens said. ``I believe it's a good project.''

Reccord said he does not expect the congregation to reverse course after his departure. The relocation has been planned for years and has membership support.

``This is a congregationally determined church,'' Reccord said. ``It's not a leader who determines what we're going to do. It has always been and always will be in the future the church's determination.''

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