With the growth of the church and a student body that will reach 10,000 in the next six years, we feel a 12,000-seat church is more realistic. Thomas Road's existing sanctuary, built in 1969, has 3,300 seats. The new church will be five miles away on the city's Candler's Mountain near Liberty University, which Falwell founded in 1971. Future phases will include athletic facilities, a television studio, an outdoor amphitheater, a retirement village, a recreational vehicle park, and a conference center. Despite the colossal size, Falwell says the sanctuary will be cozy.
Eye contact is very important.
Falwell started Thomas Road in 1956 with 35 members. The church now has 22,000 members and 7,500 weekly attendees. Church officials have discussed the move to a new sanctuary since 1981. Falwell, who turned 65 in August, says the new church will be his last hurrah as he begins to hand over control to associate pastors, including son Jonathan.