‘The Haven Cross’ Is One of 14 Giant Crosses in Mississippi Built by Mike Rozier
Along with a successful team at Rozier Construction, Mike Rozier lists churches as a major category of their commercial construction clients. According to its website, Rozier is a “company of enduring strength with an unmatched spirit. That spirit drives us to continually find new and smarter ways to build. Our talented team has a combined 100+ years of construction experience to offer our clients.”
The company has recently constructed its 14th giant cross in Mississippi. Rozier explained that the construction company doesn’t make any money on the crosses. Each one is built “at cost.”
Many of the other crosses also sparked controversy. Within the planning stages of each cross, churches and individuals need to obtain permits and zoning approval for such large structures. Often, city councils and churches disagree on the impact the crosses have on the surrounding communities. In fact, the city’s vote against a giant cross in Brandon, Mississippi, in 2013, was interpreted as an “attack on the Christian faith.”
“A lot of people ask me, ‘Isn’t $200,000 a lot of money to put up there when you could be spending it on a lot better places?’” Rozier told KCRG. “But if one person drives by that cross in Brookhaven and stops and thinks what Jesus Christ did for me…and they have a conversion moment, it changes eternity for that person.”
“It’s worth every penny,” he added. “I have not found anybody that can put me a value on one person’s soul.”
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There are more than 2,100 giant crosses across the United States. According to Crosses Across America, “The Roadside Cross Ministry began in 1984 when the late Reverend Bernard Coffindaffer erected the first trio of gold and blue Crosses in Flatwoods, West Virginia, about 65 miles north of Charleston.”
Throughout his career, Coffindaffer continued to raise money and build crosses in “29 states, the District of Columbia, Zambia, and the Phillippines.”
