Services start Sunday at Christ Fellowship's Jupiter campus after church buys building nearby

JUPITER — Christ Fellowship Church will be moving into a new Jupiter location much sooner than expected following its purchase of a second building in the Jupiter Creek Shopping Center along Indiantown Road.

Leo Abdella, Christ Fellowship’s senior director of real estate, said the church will begin holding services at 1224. W. Indiantown Road, west of Military Trail, on Sunday. Services are scheduled for Sundays at 8:30 a.m., 10 a.m. and 11:15 a.m.

Ascend Church, pastored by the Rev. Steve Barry and his wife, Gill, bought the 9,450-square-foot building for $3.075 million in March 2018 and sold it to Christ Fellowship in August for $4 million, Palm Beach County Property Appraiser records show.

The 200-seat facility lies directly to the west of the first Jupiter Creek building that Christ Fellowship purchased for $8 million in May. That 20,000-square-foot building at 1200 W. Indiantown Road was the Jupiter Fitness Center for more than 20 years. There is an access road between the two buildings.

The seller was BGTG Properties LLC, the real estate arm of the fitness center’s owner, Benjamin Glinsky. BGTG Properties paid $3.3 million for the property in March 2014, property records show.

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Christ Fellowship has been meeting at the Wyndham Grand Jupiter at Harbourside Place since the spring of 2020. Prior to that, it held services at Jupiter High School for three years. Both venues required a large number of man hours to set up and take down chairs, sound systems and other equipment.

“The Wyndham Grand was getting too tight. This worked out perfectly,” Abdella said. “Our location in Jupiter seems to be growing quicker than anticipated. We were at the Wyndham Grand and that was getting to be challenging. We did not have enough room for our children’s ministry.”

Barry could not be reached for comment, but Ascend’s website states it has moved to the Maplewood Center at 401 Maplewood Drive. It now holds its service at 6 p.m. on Saturdays instead of on Sundays. It meets in a space used by The Sanctuary Church at 10:30 a.m. on Sundays.

The Sanctuary’s pastor is William Graham Tullian Tchividjian, the grandson of the late evangelist Billy Graham. The Sanctuary was started in 2019.

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Christ Fellowship, with 16 locations from Boca Raton to Vero Beach, draws close to 30,000 people each week.

Pastors Todd and Julie Mullins lead Christ Fellowship. Like Ascend and The Sanctuary, it is an evangelical, non-denominational church. It started in 1984 as a Bible study and spent seven years looking for a permanent location in Jupiter.

At the June 6 council meeting, church members urged the approval of the location in the former fitness center and outlined some of the ways the church serves people in the community and builds up families, children and young people. It offers them hope and provides everything from meals for teachers and first responders to ice distribution after a storm.

The Rev. Ethan Shockley and his wife, Erin, lead the church's Jupiter campus. Ethan Shockley spoke at the June 6 meeting and quoted the Bible passage Jeremiah 29:7, which refers to seeking the welfare of the city in which one lives. He said the church’s intention is to do the best it can for Jupiter's welfare.

The former Ascend building, constructed in 2001, required a refresh, but no remodeling.

“They were using it as a church for the last five years. We did new flooring, paint and sound system and a new platform and renovated the kids’ area,” Abdella said.

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As for the former fitness center, it is undergoing an extensive renovation slated to be completed by December 2024 or January 2025, Abdella said. It will include a 368-seat auditorium and space for a children’s ministry and offices.

In June the Jupiter Town Council approved a special exception and a site plan changing the former fitness center’s use to church from indoor recreation.

Its main concerns were parking and traffic control. Between the two buildings, the church will have 288 parking spaces. The church will have its own traffic team, and cars exiting the services will be required to turn right onto Indiantown Road. Police will be hired if needed, and drivers will be directed away from nearby residential streets.

Jupiter planning and zoning officials had directed Christ Fellowship staff to communicate with Ascend Church to make sure there would not be any conflicts dispersing traffic after services.

The Barrys said they were changing their platform and wanted to move to the Maplewood location, Abdella said.

“They were pleasant to work with and deal with. When it works out and lines up like that, it is so exciting,” Abdella said.

Once the former gym is remodeled, church services will be held there. Then the church will use the former Ascend Church for staff offices and for adult and student ministries.

No approvals were needed from the town for the second building because it was already being used as a church.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Christ Fellowship to hold first Jupiter campus services this Sunday