A Baptist church based in Falls Church is looking to move to Manassas with a new 11,000-square-foot three-building complex on Centreville Road.
The International Bible Baptist Church is seeking a special-use permit from the city to remodel the current building on the property at 9025 Centreville Road – which houses a furniture store – for an assembly space and to build an auditorium and church offices.
The church’s application to rezone the 1.1-acre property to a general commercial designation is under review by the city’s Department of Community Development and will ultimately go before the Planning Commission and City Council for approval.
“The existing building has served as the home for a few different businesses in the past, and now International Bible Baptist Church has the opportunity to give it another chance,” the church’s application reads. “The church use and buildings will use a combination of landscape areas around parking areas and travelways, and quality architectural materials to bring a comfortable, modern feel to the proposed buildings.”
According to city records, the church bought the property last October for $1.4 million, roughly the same value it was assessed at this year. The group will have to demolish a warehouse space at the rear of the property to build its three-part home.
Led by Filipino-born pastor Jerico Tumang, the congregation has met in Falls Church since 2003, first meeting in a member’s basement, then in a hotel complex.
Last year, it sought to raise $165,000 to help with the purchase of the property.
“In the attempt to do more, we are pursuing a place that will provide permanence and stability. It seems that this is the season that we are being led to a more permanent facility,” Tumang wrote to the congregation. “We have found a place that requires closing at the end of the year, and because of this overtly impossible task, God has to perform a mighty miracle as we raise $165,000 in two weeks!”
Tumang told InsideNoVa that the church had been forced out of a number of locations because of various circumstances, but when they found the Manassas location he knew it could be the permanent home for his 100-member congregation. Most congregants, Tumang said, are spread throughout Northern Virginia, and some come from as far away as Maryland.
Tumang, who lives and works as a dental technician in Manassas, said of the deal to buy the property: “No one can believe it … It’s really a miracle. … [Manassas] is a smaller community, up and coming, and hopefully has less traffic than Fairfax County.”
Jared Foretek covers the Manassas area and regional news across Northern Virginia. Reach him at [email protected]
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