Members of Anchor Church in McKinney will celebrate in their new home beginning Sunday, March 26. It’s the first phase of an $11.5 million construction project, including the 26,200-square-foot church.

Services at the non-denominational church will be at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. at 3921 Community Ave.

The church includes 600 seats and capacity for 150 children. There’s also room for middle school and high school students, college students and adults to meet in small groups and host events and for administrative offices and a media production studio.

The second phase, which church leaders could begin planning this year, will expand Anchor to 55,000 square feet and will include room to host more than 1,300 adults and more than 400 children per service. It will include a preschool for 270-300 students and more space for global missions and outreach. The next phase will include additional land for a community outreach center and a university for missions and establishing other churches. Construction could begin in a few years.

Anchor has more than 500 active members, drawing most from Collin, Denton and neighboring counties. Members come from as far away as Hopkins County and southern Dallas County.

Anchor merged recently with the former The Ark Church in McKinney, a predominantly African American congregation. Charles E. Bethany Jr. of Aubrey, Ark’s founding senior pastor, now is active as Anchor’s pastor of prayer and outreach ministry and more than 80 other former Ark members attend Anchor too.

Bethany will be part of a prayer service at 6 a.m. Sat., March 25, at Anchor to officially dedicate the new building. Anchor, partnering with Anna-based nonprofit Above All Things Dream Foundation, also will distribute hot meals and bags of food to those in the church parking lot from noon to 2 p.m. Books and household items also may be distributed. 

Anchor members have been meeting at Cockrill Middle School in McKinney.

Members donated enough money for Anchor to purchase 8.2 acres in July 2019 from Jim Jr. and Nedra Williams and A.J. and Gloria Reed; the families also donated 2.7 acres to the church.