By Rob Jennings, Daily Record

MONTCLAIR -- Christ Church clearly isn't giving up on its mega-church building plan in Rockaway Township, despite heavy resistance from township residents and the likelihood that a new local zoning law will impact the proposed site.

The 5,000-member church's pastor, David Ireland, encouraged worshippers on Sunday to donate anywhere from $25 to $1,000 per week above their regular tithe during the final 12 months of a three-year, $14 million fundraising campaign for the building plan.

Ireland did not directly refer to Rockaway Township opponents at the 1:30 p.m. service. Instead, he delivered a 40-minute sermon playing off a biblical passage about how a few objectors failed to dissuade the Israelites from seeking their promised land in Canaan.

Ireland concluded by vowing to "go through" anything standing in the way of the church's relocation.

"This is the season. Not one year from now. Not five years from now," Ireland told about 250 worshippers.

Prayers in support of the building plan were posted on the wall outside the 900-seat sanctuary. One called for "the removal and elimination of all spiritual and natural obstacles regarding this campus project."

Outside Christ Church's cathedral on Trinity Place, church members said they remained committed to the Rockaway Township project. Several said they were convinced that traffic and environmental considerations were not the real reasons why so many were opposing a mostly black, evangelical Christian church.

"There's a lot of prejudice up there, I think. A back draft -- one of the reasons they don't want us," said Samuel Osborne of Hackensack, a seven-year church member.

Building plan opponents in mostly white Rockaway Township have said that bigotry is not a factor. They have accused Christ Church of exploiting demographics in order to undermine the opponents' position.

Tonight, the Rockaway Township planning board will hold a 12th public hearing on Christ Church's proposal for the 107-acre, former Agilent Technologies site on Green Pond Road. The church's plan includes a 2,512-seat sanctuary, private K-5 school, a fellowship hall and recreational facilities.

The hearing may seem anti-climatic. A zoning ordinance that would hinder Christ Church's plan was introduced last week and might be approved within a month.

Church spokesman Marc Weinstein declined to speculate last week on whether a lawsuit might be filed. Both Christ Church and Rockaway Township have retained attorneys specializing in the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), the five-year-old federal law that likely would be the centerpiece of any court battle.

Sunday's service, the fifth of the day, began with Ireland urging donations for the church's "Touching Tomorrow Today" campaign, aimed at raising money for the building plan.

Worshippers reviewed cards suggesting 12 levels of weekly donations, from $25 to $50 on the low end to $750 to $1,000.

To encourage people torn between two amounts to choose the higher figure, Ireland told a joke.

"The low one is the devil. The high one is God," Ireland said, chuckling.

Shahidah Pasha, a schoolteacher from Clifton, said she will have contributed thousands of dollars by the end of the three-year campaign, even though she doesn't plan on attending services in Rockaway Township.

"That's going to be too far for me," Pasha said, explaining that she was supporting the project because she believed in the church's mission.

"Wherever they go, they'll be an enhancement to the community," Pasha said. "They'll be a positive thing no matter what."

Ifyeme Nuga of West Orange said she welcomed the Rockaway Township project because she and her family soon will be moving to Jefferson, a decision unrelated to the church building plan.

Nuga said Ireland provides regular updates on the planning board hearings, which included a five-month inquest into whether Christ Church's large size should preclude it from consideration as a conditional use and a more recent discussion about the religious significance of steeples.

"For them to slow down this project is quite disappointing," said Nuga, a Seton Hall University student.

Osborne, a bus driver who performs in the church orchestra, said he plans on attending services in Rockaway Township. He said Ireland had remarked that the church might have to sue in order to protect its rights.

"It's been hurtful," Osborne said of critical comments about Christ Church.

Osborne said Christ Church, which started in 1986 and had only 500 members when it moved to the 94-year-old Montclair cathedral in 1994, needs additional space and means no harm.

"We've been looking for a place for eight years. Out of all that time, this is the only place that came up," Osborne said of the Rockaway Township site.

Ireland entered the church as the orchestra performed, "Your Love is Extravagant."

The pastor went straight to promoting the building plan. He said no Fortune 500 company is underwriting the church. He asked people to think about how they might adjust their lifestyles in order to contribute more money.

He then moved into his sermon and the discussion of the Israelites, and how "10 guys" who thought it was a bad idea nearly deterred them from moving to their promised land.

Ireland used words that many supporters would say also apply to the church's plan in Rockaway Township.

"It was God's will for them to get this land, was it not?" Ireland asked.