This is part of a series highlighting some PCA churches with significant building projects underway.
There has never been a Sunday at Faith Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Alabama, when staff have turned away worshippers, but there have been plenty of days when they have worried where exactly they will put everyone.
“On Sundays, it can feel like there’s a ‘No Vacancy’ sign in our church and that you almost have to fight in order to find a seat,” says Executive Pastor Martin Wagner. “We’ve encouraged our congregation to make room for new people.”
The church has experienced atypical growth, with membership ballooning from 583 communing members in 2019 to 1,331 in 2025. An average Sunday sees almost 1,000 people pass through their doors.
“We’re not doing things that are a lot different than we have in the past 20 years, but for whatever reason, the Lord is bringing more people, and we’re seeing more fruit from our labors than we have in other years,” Wagner said, noting that many of these new members are in their 20s.
Growth like they’ve witnessed is a good problem to have, Wagner says – but a problem nonetheless.
Every Sunday, Faith holds two services and uses an overflow space during both. Children fill every classroom. In the parking lot, vehicles quickly occupy every available spot.
“We joke on our staff that every Sunday feels like a crisis for us because we’re trying to squeeze a lot of people in a facility that is less than ideal for that number of people,” Wagner said.
But in the first quarter of 2026, space won’t be a stressor anymore. The church is nearing completion on a new sanctuary and supporting space that will provide more elbow room for worship.
The new sanctuary will double the square footage of the current one and will seat 1,100 people. The expansion will also feature a designated area for nursery and children’s ministry, which will be more secure and convenient.
“We want as many people to come and to hear the gospel on Sundays as possible, and we think this will give us an opportunity to do that,” Wagner said.
Provision
Wagner says signing up for a $31 million project was not something the church entered lightly. As leaders of the church considered rising construction costs and high interest rates, it felt discouraging to the point some wondered if they’d be able to do it. But every step of the way, Wagner said, they’ve seen God provide, from people pledging and giving generously financially to others offering their expertise.
“The Lord has just been really gracious to give us unity in the project and to have as many people supporting it as we do,” Wagner said.
While the leadership has worked to effectively communicate the plan, Wagner believes it was God who has given that overall sense of leading. He marvels at how God has provided the right people for the right roles. The church finance team had members who understood ways to finance the project and how to properly communicate with banks, which was crucial in stepping forward with the project.
“Seeing their gifting and how they went about it has really brought a lot of comfort to our leaders,” Wagner said.
The PCA Foundation, which Wagner serves as chair of the board, also helped effectively facilitate donor dollars to help the church.
A key person helping to advance the project is James Goree. He works for a large construction company and specializes in preconstruction consultation. He’s also a deacon at Faith. Goree reduced his regular work hours so he could dedicate time to managing this project part-time.
“He has been an unbelievable blessing to our church, and to me personally,” Wagner said.
Goree said he felt God’s leading to fill the role.
“It was just something I had a sense that I should offer to serve as, knowing that we didn’t have anybody on staff who was extremely equipped or had the amount of time needed,” Goree said.
He’s thankful that his employer was willing to allow him the time away from his regular duties to take on the additional responsibility. Goree was able to oversee various aspects of the construction from design to cost management and used his industry expertise to make sure everything went smoothly and nothing was lost in translation.
“I think my preconstruction planning background, plus just my knowledge of how Faith operates from having been there, has helped a lot with that,” he said.
He said it feels rewarding to be able to use his experience to benefit the church and help the congregation be good stewards of what God has given to Faith.
Lessons Learned
Wagner said he’s learned valuable lessons throughout this project. One thing the session has done well, he said, was to present a vision for the property that dates back 25 years.
“It gives them a sense of security that this is not something we just thought up overnight,” he said. “There’s a plan in place and it gives a sense of confidence in our leaders.”
Throughout the process, those leading the project have made sure everyone knew what was going on.
“We felt like that was important for us to be transparent about the process; to overcommunicate when we needed to with the congregation and with our leaders and with our staff,” Wagner says. “To be honest about where we were in the process, what we were thinking, and then to ask people to pray and to participate in the project.”
Asking people to help was a key part of the success of this project. Wagner admits that in previous projects, he did not ask enough for people to participate and help.
“In this project, not only has it been a blessing to me to have other people help in the workload, but it’s actually been a joy to them for them to be able to participate,” he says.
Looking Forward
Wagner believes God will use the new building as they seek to minister well to Birmingham, and members look forward to blessing the community in new ways.
For now, he has the joy of driving by and watching as it all comes together.
“Every day you drive by, you see more progress and you see new things coming up. There’s the tangible aspect of the fruit of the labor that you’ve had in the campaign.”
In 2023, the church celebrated its 50th anniversary, and it was a great opportunity for the members to reflect on God’s faithfulness. People who have been around since the early days share about hard days – times they thought they might have to close their doors.
“But the Lord sustained his church through those hard times, and we get to reap the benefits of people who have been really faithful for years,” Wagner said. “We rest under trees we didn’t plant, and we get to partake of good things that we didn’t participate in.”
He knows the same God who carried the church through its early days will provide moving forward.
For his part, Goree looks forward to the day when all Faith’s members can sit together in one room again.
“I’m really looking forward to having combined worship and not having a need to push people into overflow.”
Read the other articles in our Building Projects Series: