In 2012, Hurricane Sandy devastated the New Jersey Coastline. Ocean Grove, a town whose peak population is 8,000 during the busy summer months, was one such town affected. The town lost its pier during the hurricane, a beloved part of the community. Soon after Easter, the town decided to unveil its new pier, which has a unique feature: it is in the shape of a cross. Michael Badger, president of the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, called the design “organic.” “The more we thought about it [and] prayed about it, [the more] the inspiration came for the present design,” he said. Ocean Grove is a Christian vacation community with deep Christian roots dating back to 1869 when the town was founded by a group of Methodist ministers. The community had once been known as “God’s Square Mile,” and all the land and houses are owned by the Methodist Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association. 

The project cost $2 million and began in September 2022. Badger stated the project was 100% donor funded. The new pier is also meant to be “stormproof.” “It’s functional. But it became obvious to us that it is in the shape of a cross — and how fitting it is for our Christian mission,” said Badger. “So, this is just a culmination of a design process that sought to create an optimal pier — and we do see the blessing of God’s hand in this.” Speaking to CNN, Badger said, “In 2012, we started working and thinking about what’s the best pier we could do. We wanted to do the best for the Lord. We also wanted to make the best offerings possible for people to come and be at this family-friendly, Christian seaside resort.” The new pier will also be one of the few fully publicly accessible piers in New Jersey. The previous pier had been owned by a private fishing club, which had prevented the public from accessing it. “It’s about the only publicly accessible pier in New Jersey where you can walk all the way to the end, where there’s no fence, there’s no private club or banquet hall on the end of it. Anybody, regardless of their faith, regardless of where they’re from, they can walk all the way out to the full extent and not be excluded,” said Badger.

The project did face some criticisms. Douglas Grote, a local retired Presbyterian pastor, stated last year that he worried about non-Christian neighbors who might feel bullied. “I am so deeply concerned. And I am so concerned about my neighbors who are scared and bullied.” Camp Meeting Association COO Jamie Jackson made no apologies. “We make no apology for that we love the fact that it looks like a cross. This is a religious town founded as such in Ocean Grove, and most people are excited we will be able to have this pier shaped this way for these purposes.” Badger said the community’s mission is to create a place of “holy leisure.” ‘We see that as what God’s mission for us to do is to create opportunities for spiritual birth growth and renewal, and that’s done through educational, recreational worship and similar means,” he said. The pier was opened to the public after a ribbon-cutting ceremony on April 15th.