After about a year and a half congregating in a high school gym, the charismatic One Life Church Naples has received the go-ahead to move forward with a new 400-seat church in East Naples.

The decision by Collier County Hearing Examiner Andrew Dickman allows the Pentecostal church to obtain a site-development permit to start construction. The church has been meeting at Naples High School because its Parkway Life Church property on Golden Gate Parkway, next to David Lawrence Centers, was sold. After that, the church changed its name.

Church members, including contractor Brooks Witcher of Fort Construction Group, said they looked at dozens of properties before finding the site, at the northwest quadrant of the intersection of Santa Barbara Boulevard and Crews Road. Falling Waters, a 31-acre gated condo community, is to the north, and Santa Barbara Boulevard and Christ the King Presbyterian church are to the east. It’s also surrounded by undeveloped property and other communities.

“I’ve known Pastor Randy [Holden] for years now and watched their journey,” Witcher said after the June 12 hearing. “This has been a gift from God. We looked at dozens of sites and got serious about three or four, and when we found this one, the stars aligned.”

Church member Barry K. Blankenship, who sits on the church’s state council, estimated it will take six months to go through the permitting process, then 12-18 months to build.

That limits the activities the church can offer, he said, and it also had to lease office space on Radio Road.

The construction comes at a time when churches are decreasing nationwide. The National Council of Churches estimates 100,000 will close in the next few years, about onequarter of churches. One Life Church Naples is the second new church to be approved for construction countywide this year. It joins Naples Community Church, near Naples City Hall, which razed half of its current building in June to begin construction on a 416seat, 30,000-square-foot church in two phases.

One Life Church Naples is part of the international One Life Church of God, which has 8,000 churches, with about 400 in Florida. The Naples church has existed since 1982.

Property records show that under the name Parkway Church, it purchased three properties in 2023 totaling $3.75 million, land that was transferred last September to One Life Church Naples by church trustees Paul Bellofatto, William Spencer and Armando Vazquez.

Dickman rendered his decision last month, approving a conditional use on 14.8 acres of land currently zoned Estates and residential- multifamily — zones that allow a church as a conditional use. In addition to reviewing the land-development code, Dickman ensured the church’s proposed conditions complied with federal laws governing religious uses.

In March, the church held a Neighborhood Information Meeting; neighbors didn’t object to the church and were assured that if it ever wanted to expand, it would have to apply for another conditional-use permit. The church’s main entrance will be to the north, along Cruz Road, with a secondary access on the south, toward Whitaker Road. There will be 10-15 feet vegetative buffers, in addition to 15-foot setbacks along Santa Barbara Boulevard and Crews Road.

During the hearing, testimony by representatives of Fort Construction Group and RVi Planning + Landscape Architecture outlined plans and showed the only outdoor activity will be a small outdoor playground for children; other uses and activities will be conducted indoors.

Dickman had to find the conditional use will not adversely affect the public interest or neighboring properties and it met all conditional- use requirements. County Planning & Zoning Director Mike Bosi testified that county staff recommended the conditional use after considering all factors, including neighboring properties and increased traffic.

The church, playground and parking lot will sit on about 4 acres, with 11 acres set aside for open space.

Dickman said he’d review all the conditions that allow a conditional use, noting it’s permissible with certain conditions, and each case is considered individually, depending on its location. He said he’d “massage the language” on the church’s stipulated conditions in his decision.

“Churches, temples, houses of worship … evolve, they change,” Dickman said at the hearing. “The board of directors comes up with new ideas, they want to succeed, and to succeed they can’t be corralled in so much with conditional language.”

Among conditions outlined in his decision are:

• The church will be limited to a 25,000-square-foot floor area and a maximum of 400 seats.

• The conditional use is limited to a 400-seat church with up to 300 members.

• The church office’s hours are limited to 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Sunday, and church and related services are limited to 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Sundays and 5-9 p.m. for nightly meetings, with allowances for Christian holiday services.

• There will be two Sunday services and one youth group, and childcare is limited to supervision of church members’ children during Sunday services.

• The building cannot exceed 25,000 square feet.

• The church will repair Crews Road along its frontage to allow vehicles to connect to Santa Barbara Boulevard.

• For services and other events that generate significant traffic, the church shall provide traffic control by law enforcement or a law enforcement- approved service provider, if the county requires it.

• The church must obtain any applicable state or federal permits before construction.