La Croix Church recently celebrated its 35th anniversary, a milestone marker for one of Cape Girardeau's largest churches.

The church got its start at the old movie theater located inside West Park Mall. Senior Pastor Rev. Ron Watts recently told the Southeast Missourian they ran an advertisement in the newspaper seeking help from anyone in the community interested in starting the church. Eight individuals responded and started making phone calls to 36,000 people in the community. And on the first Sunday, Oct. 2, 1988, 210 people gathered for worship at Wehrenberg Theater.

A notable fact about the church is its leadership. Watts has been pastor at La Croix for all 35 years of the church's existence. That's significant and speaks well of his impact both within the walls of the church and in the community.

Over the course of the last 35 years, La Croix has experience significant growth. They hold two services at the Cape Girardeau campus, another at their Benton location and also livestream services on lacroixchurch.org.

"We are all about making disciples, inviting people who may not feel part of the church to come and follow Jesus," Watts told the Southeast Missourian. "I hope La Croix will always have the same posture of openness and receptivity to people."

This area is blessed with many churches doing important work to share the love of Jesus, both with the life-changing message of the Gospel and meeting physical needs. La Croix Church has been a leader in this effort. We extend our congratulations to the church's leadership and members on 35 years.