Plans Underway To ‘Build The Cross’ In Prentiss County

PRENTISS COUNTY, MISS. (WCBI) – A group is raising money to raise a symbol they believe will bring hope and healing to drivers across the region.

Inspiration for the “Build the Cross ” project began a year ago when a retired Mississippi Department of Corrections parole and probation officer had a conversation with God.

“In my talks with God I told Him if He had something for me to do, I’d be glad to do it, I repeated that a time or two during the pandemic,” said Deryl Saylors.

After seeing a picture of a cross on the side of a Mississippi highway on Facebook, Saylors put action to his commitment.

Since then, Saylors and others, including Prentiss County Sheriff Randy Tolar, have formed a nonprofit to collect money that will put a cross on a prime piece of real estate at Highway 45 and County Road 7000. Land for the project has been donated by farmers Bill and Marie Spain. The cross will be identical to others across the state, most of those are off of Interstate 55. The Prentiss County cross will be the first in Northeast Mississippi, standing 120 feet tall and 64 feet wide, with a seating area at the base and parking.

Saylors believes the project will be a testament to the faith of many in the region and a beacon of hope for motorists who travel the highway every day.

“It’s going to be a permanent reminder of what Jesus did for us, there are thousands of people who pass that road there, some of them will come here, I hope they will get to know God a little bit better,” Saylors said.

The budget for the project is $200,000. In his line of work, Sheriff Tolar encounters people daily who have lost hope. He believes the cross will help those who are hurting.

“Who knows, somebody may be at the lowest point in their life and no telling what kind of thoughts in their mind, they see this cross, once it’s constructed , and that may be the only sign of hope they have, they may pull in the parking lot here, the Lord may touch them,” Sheriff Tolar said.

Donations are closing in on $60,000. Once they reach$100,000, talks will begin with the contractor who will then have a timeline for construction of the cross.

An anonymous donation of $25,000 in the past few days means more than $80,000  has been raised so far for the “Build the Cross” project.

You can find out how to donate to the project by going to the Facebook page for “Building the Cross Prentiss County”