By RaeAnn Slaybaugh
First Baptist Church in Rogers, Ark., has a lot to celebrate.
Most recently, it finished a new, 1,800-seat sanctuary — twice the size of its previous worship space. Now, leaders and members alike are excited for the original single-level sanctuary to be reimagined into a two-story administrative and education building, as well as much-needed, expanded parking areas.
“It’s moving along pretty rapidly at the moment,” says FBC Rogers Pastor Dr. Wes George. “They have all the footings for the new columns, and I would say 80% of the beams and the floor joists, and all of the trusses, are in.
“It’s an interesting project,” he adds. “We’re putting a second floor inside an existing building that already has a roof and everything else.”
As he talks, Dr. George sounds relaxed — and, relatively speaking, he probably is. After all, he has spent more than half of his 23 years as the church’s pastor adding building after building after building to the 60-acre Pleasant Grove Road campus. This latest phase of expansion — though massive — isn’t his first rodeo.
Perhaps, if pressed, he could call to mind some construction hurdles. Or maybe he could pinpoint some administrative speedbumps along the way. But, thanks to the church family’s extraordinary generosity — and a rock-solid, long-standing relationship with the church’s lending partner — one thing FBC Rogers hasn’t had to worry about is a big one: funding.
THE RIGHT LEADERSHIP, AT THE RIGHT TIME
With a civil engineering degree and several years spent in that field professionally, Dr. George was uniquely gifted to help determine what forms expansion of the 60-acre Pleasant Grove Road campus would take.
“I’m kind of a numbers guy,” he acknowledges. “I enjoy construction projects. But certainly, I also pay special attention to attendance hinge points, parking capacity, and so on. Those trigger the ‘What’s next?’ question.”
For example, an astounding 80% of worship attendees at the Pleasant Grove Road campus are active in an onsite LIFE Group. On any given Sunday, that means more than 2,000 people are on hand well after worship services. As a result, expanding the sanctuary and adding education spaces were clear priorities.
These same metrics were applied at the Siloam Springs campus, where parking has become a real issue. “We can keep doing more services, but services overlap; the parking lot doesn’t get emptied in between,” Dr. George explains. “So, it was very obvious that we couldn’t grow beyond a certain spot at this location, based on what we’d already seen happen at the church, plus the growing population.”
So, the church purchased 20 more acres in Siloam Springs off Highway 59, a high-potential corridor. A master plan for the acreage is imminent.
Beyond FBC Rogers’ local and regional reach, it also does a lot of international mission work. Currently, 27 adults and their families are either in the pipeline or on the field of the International Mission Board in places like South Asia, where they are launching churches and providing training. This includes mentoring young pastors — an endeavor spanning 10 years already.
Of course, making a real impact locally, nationally and globally comes with a price tag. At the Pleasant Grove Road campus, that cost is a $31.8 million expansion project.
A BRIEF HISTORY
1883: First Baptist Rogers is founded in downtown Rogers, Ark.
1967: The church relocates to 13 acres just one-quarter of a mile away on Olive Street — an area which, at the time, is considered the edge of town.
2002: Dr. Wes George becomes senior pastor. Uniquely, he holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering in addition to an M.Div., as well as a Ph.D. in New Testament. He has also served in various leadership roles within the Southern Baptist Convention.
2004: Now landlocked on Olive Street, the need to buy more land and eventually relocate becomes evident to Dr. George and his team. The city is growing rapidly — but in another part of town. They identify and buy 60+ acres located on Pleasant Grove Road, located off of a busy interstate in a rapidly expanding part of town. A master plan is drawn to occupy all this acreage.
2010: Site development and construction begins on the Pleasant Grove Road property, starting with a new sanctuary. Several more buildings are added, as needed, over the next 15 years.
By design, establishing itself at the Pleasant Grove Road site enables FBC Rogers to become a more regional church. Case in point: at the previous Olive Street location, four services in several languages continue every Sunday, as does the operation of a food pantry, essentials closet, and other vital local outreaches.
2023: Church leaders purchase a five-acre campus 40 minutes away in Siloam Springs, off U.S. Hwy 412, from a struggling congregation. There, a Hispanic church is immediately launched, followed two years later by an English-speaking church. This site now welcomes an average of 300 people per weekend.
2023: Expansion of the Pleasant Grove Road campus — as detailed in these pages — gets underway. It is the largest building project ever undertaken at once by FBC Rogers. The first priority is completion of a new worship center and commons area, effectively doubling the church’s seating and fellowship space.
Meanwhile, the previous single-level worship center is being transformed into a two-story meeting and administration building. This will provide much-needed space to host on-campus LIFE Groups. Completion is expected for early 2026.
2025: FBC Rogers buys 20 more acres in Siloam Springs for future expansion. The acreage is located on Highway 59, which experts expect to be a major growth corridor through Northwest Arkansas in the not-too-distant future. A master plan is pending development, with construction likely to start when the Pleasant Grove campus expansion is completed next year.
EXTRAORDINARY GENEROSITY HELPS BUILD THE VISION
To fund the vision, Dr. George and his finance team focused first on capital stewardship efforts.
“Obviously, the more you can raise up front, it’s just a good financial decision to make,” he says. “And certainly, through our history, there have been times when we didn’t have the capacity that we have now, and so we probably weren’t in as good of a position as we were in this campaign.
“But you’ve just got to follow the Lord; you’ve got to trust Him,” Dr. George adds. “Sometimes there’s a fine line between faith and foolishness, but we have a lot of business-minded, business-savvy people in our congregation. I’ve often said that they’ll keep me out of the ditch. And this time, it was pretty obvious that we should move forward.”
These fundraising initiatives were no doubt buoyed by the long tenures of its leaders. In the past 50 years, FBC Rogers has only had two pastors: Dr. George, who has been at the helm for 23 years, and his predecessor, who served for 27 years.
“It says a lot about the church, the people in the church, and I think it’s been a main vehicle for the growth of the church that we’ve seen over the past 20 years,” Dr. George points out. “That stability and singular focus and continuity has been a good thing.”
With all indicators pointing to “go,” the church was able to raise a staggering $20 million in member pledges toward the Pleasant Grove Road campus expansion. Of that amount, $14 million was collected within the first five months. Today, it’s nearly 100% funded.
“I think it’s a testimony to the generosity of our people, and really a commitment to believing in what we’re doing, the mission of the church — not only for what has been accomplished but also a vision for what’s ahead,” Dr. George shares. “We always say we’re not building for us; we’re building for the people who aren’t here yet.”
A LIKE-MINDED, LIKE-HEARTED APPROACH TO FUNDING
Clearly, the church was in an enviable position when it looked to secure the remainder of the $31.8 million project cost, having led an extremely successful capital campaign.
“We were out of debt. We had a large pledge amount in. We had several lenders that would have wanted our business,” Dr. George recalls. “We didn’t really have obstacles finding a loan. We were just trying to find the best one for us.”
To this end, he and the church finance committee researched various possible pathways to funding, including local banks, larger national banks, and even a global lender. When finished, Oklahoma City-based WatersEdge emerged as the best choice.
For one thing, WatersEdge was a known quantity for FBC Rogers: its Ministry Accounting arm was already working with the church in a few different capacities, including payroll.
“When we were introduced to their services through the Arkansas Baptist Foundation, they were providing those services primarily for church planters,” Dr. George recalls. “But they were capable of doing more and so they began branching out with some larger churches, like ours.
“We were in contact with the WatersEdge people daily, weekly,” he recalls. “I got to meet [WatersEdge CEO] Robert Kellogg, and we developed a friendship.”
Through this relationship, Dr. George learned that WatersEdge also provided loans. From there, familiarity and comradery streamlined the loan process in myriad ways.
“First, we felt like we had a good relationship and good communication,” Dr. George says. “That customer service side is important.”
Beyond this, WatersEdge was intimately familiar with FBC Rogers’ finances — its previous building projects, relocations, debt-free assets and so on. Along with the 60 acres on Pleasant Grove Road — already bought and paid-for — the church also owned, debt-free, 125,000 square feet of buildings at one campus and another 13 acres of property.
As such, there was no need for an expensive appraisal.
“With some financial institutions, those assets might not have mattered, and an appraisal still would’ve been required,” Dr. George points out. “All that costs time and money.”
Aside from the appraisal, FBC Rogers leaders were able to cut through other areas of red tape because of the existing relationship with its lending partner. Effectively, this fast-tracked and streamlined the loan process.
For example, Dr. George credits the WatersEdge team for helping the church prepare to secure its loan.
“Sometimes, a lender will help you with the process, but others will just say, ‘Hey, good luck,’” he says. “But WatersEdge was very helpful along the way.”
The loan package offered was “exceptionally professional and very competitive,” according to Dr. George. Multiple bank employees and presidents on the church’s finance committee confirmed this. “We were told, basically, that this was a very, very good rate — competitive all the way around,” he says. “Some said their own banks couldn’t match the rate, even. So, even without the relationship we already had with WatersEdge, we felt like it was a good business decision for us.”
Last but not least, unlike traditional lenders, the interest from WatersEdge loans is returned to churches and other like-minded ministries that have invested in Kingdom causes.
“IT’S JUST THE NEXT STEP”
In March 2023, FBC Rogers was approved for a $15-million loan through WatersEdge — roughly half the total project cost, and even more than was required.
Now, the church is enjoying its new sanctuary, common spaces, and expanded parking. Leaders hosted a grand opening in May, with WatersEdge CEO Robert Kellogg in attendance.
“The sanctuary is twice as big as before, but it’s not a formal room; it’s all very well designed for community and closeness,” Dr. George says. “It has been well received. I think people are excited about it. In another couple of months, when summer is over, it’s just going to seem like home again.”
Meanwhile, the vastly expanded commons area is driving a greater sense of community and fellowship.
“We really feel like this area has contributed to a great spirit, a lot of excitement, and a lot of new folks coming in,” he says. “We were able to do a Vacation Bible School in that space. It has been a true blessing.”
Indeed, even as the church family awaits completion of the reimagined education / administration building, leaders are already seeing tangible ministry results. According to Dr. George, attendance has grown by 10%, and giving has also increased.
Still, as ever, he and his team are looking toward the future.
“The bottom line is that the Worship Center is not the end goal; it’s just a tool for us to reach more people and to fulfill our mission of making disciples of all the nations,” he says. “There’ll be more room for people to come, and so there’ll be more people sent to plant churches, go to the mission field, to be discipled. So, it’s a vehicle that is there for us to utilize and to fulfill the mission that God has given us.”
QUICK FACTS ABOUT FIRST BAPTIST ROGERS
Year established: 1883
Number of locations: 3
Staff: 97
Average attendance: 3,000
2025 budget: $10 million
As it stands today, FBC Rogers already has five different languages meeting in 10 services on Sunday. Fortunately, as the church’s reach expands locally, nationally and globally, it has a like-minded, like-hearted ministry funding partner in lock step.
“The spiritual value of money is zero — but money indicates a lot of things; it can direct your heart,” Dr. George asserts. “For us, it’s a part of our spiritual journey, but not its entirety. It’s indicative of our commitment to the Lord along the way. And obviously, it has allowed us to expand ministry and the footprint of impact for the Kingdom.”
“The mission drives everything,” he adds. “It drives what we do in ministry and the way we do it, but it also drives our facilities — the kinds of buildings we have and how we use them. No building project we’ve done has ever been an end in and of itself; it’s just the next step.”
