When Scott Anderson talks about the experience of worshiping with 2,000 people at Eagle Brook Church, which is emerging as one of the nation's largest congregations, he uses the word "connect" a lot.
Kids connect with each other at a lively game room. Volunteers connect in a cozy meeting place before fanning out to their duties. Other adults connect at a coffee shop — "What we really want to do is create a comforting environment," he says. "In Minnesota, coffee is part of that." And, as four weekend services are simulcast to Eagle Brook's church campuses across the Twin Cities, making people feel an intimate connection to God amid that grand scale remains paramount.
"We strive always to be that church, that connection," said Anderson, executive pastor of a congregation with nearly 20,000 members. "What we hope people feel is a sense of relevance — this feels relevant to me, this feels like home."
After meeting for the past two years at East Ridge High School, Eagle Brook Church is about to get its new home in Woodbury, a $25 million, 75,000-square-foot building on 40 acres with a 1,500-seat worship center. Construction at the junction of Settler's Ridge Parkway and Brookview Road will begin this spring, with fall of 2014 the target date for completion. The Woodbury City Council is expected to give final approval to the site plan on Wednesday.
The auditorium-type seating, the large stage where the exuberant style of worship and electric guitar-driven live music takes place, and the large screens for the simulcast message, will be part of the new building, Anderson said. It will also have a spacious lobby to encourage mingling and a resource center where members can check out educational materials.
Much of the church's ministry focuses on young families and children, so there will be plenty of classrooms and space for child care and places that invite kids to do what they do best, just hang out.
"All of our campuses have these same elements, but each one looks a little different depending on where they are and when they were built," Anderson said.
The site in northeast Woodbury, culminating years of planning and a $20 million capital campaign, will become Eagle Brook's fifth campus, joining others in Blaine, Lino Lakes, Spring Lake Park and White Bear Lake.