For more than a decade, a Laurel-based sign company has been bringing a message to the cityscapes across the Southeast — the message of the cross.

Headrick, known as America’s premier manufacturer of signs and majestic crosses, specializes in building one of a kind cross creations. This month, the company finished installing a 199-foot tall cross at Central Assembly of God in Bossier City, La.

John Rebry, account executive for Headrick, said the 199-foot tall structure is only the second cross of that height the company has built. That first cross, which cost nearly $1 million, was constructed at First Baptist Church of Central Florida in Orlando, and was made of an aluminum composite called Alucobond, which allows for wind flex.

“The base is made of faux stone, what we call rhino stone,” Rebry said. “It’s the same stuff Disney uses to make a lot of the displays there.”

In a testimonial, Clayton Cloer, senior pastor at FBC Central Florida, said, “The cross has proven to add tremendous value to the entire community. People from all walks of life reference the cross as a daily inspiration for them. We have had funerals, marriage proposals, visiting families, as well as baptisms and the Lord’s Supper at the foot of the cross. Nearly every day someone shares another one of the millions of cross stories. I like to say, ‘One cross and a million stories.’”

 Rebry noted that the Bossier City cross, valued at around $700,000, was made of plate steel, allowing for an almost seamless design. Yet another project for 2009, a 170-foot cross at Sagemont Church in Houston, Texas, is 8-feet by 8-feet at the base and includes a stairwell that stretches to the top.

In a letter to Headrick, Dr. John D. Morgan, pastor at Sagemont Church, said, “I continue to hear good things about you, your company and your ministry. God has used the cross to increase the numbers of people giving their heart and lives to Jesus by 400 percent over the last six months.”

While construction only took about four months to complete, Rebry said the Louisiana cross project was in the making for about four years.

“That’s when the concept hit the pastor and that church,” he said. “Typically, it takes at least a year from start to finish. There’s always a fight with the city administration about permitting. Nobody allows for somebody to build 200-foot structures in a town. There’s a lot of red tape and bureaucracy, but once you get approval, it flows pretty easy after that.”

Perhaps the most famous of Headrick’s crosses are the three crosses installed at Bellevue Baptist Church along Interstate 40 in Memphis, Tenn. The center cross is 150 feet high, and the other two crosses are 125 feet.

The church’s Website quotes former pastor the late Dr. Adrian Rogers as saying, “I cannot tell you what a blessing it is to drive up on Sunday night and see those crosses illuminated against the sky. I am in the mood to worship when I get there. They say — come and hear about Jesus.”

Headrick was founded in 1927 by A. B. Headrick as a small sign company featuring hand-painted signs. Throughout the Great Depression, Headrick produced quality signage for the local market, and added a neon plant at the end of World War II.

In 1972, the company built a remote control price sign for gas station attendants, quickly expanding into a leading innovator of fuel pricing sign products for truck stops, convenience stores and travel centers.

Reby said the company entered the cross manufacturing business through the relationship with Bellevue Baptist Church.

“Richard said the Lord told him to do that, to work in that direction,” Rebry said. “He changed the business from mostly commercial signage to a leader and premier manufacturer of Majestic Crosses.”