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KEARNEY — A wall in the gymnasium, where worship services are held at the Kearney Evangelical Free Church, had to be knocked out to seat an extra 100 people.

But it’s still not enough to seat the 500-family congregation.

“We’re just getting too big for this building,” said Pastor Mike Shields.

The gymnasium seats about 650-700 people with almost no aisles, Shields said. The added worship area will seat 900 people.

The new addition will also feature a finished basement for children’s ministries and a greeting area.

Funds for the expansion project came mostly from church members.

“We don’t have a denomination that sends us money,” Shields said. “It’s all God’s people here. … People are going to be here for the long run, so they want to give because they believe it’s something God’s doing.”

Shields said the design of the addition will be very welcoming and not cathedral-like.

“It will be very open, a lot of glass on the front.”

Seating in the new worship area will be similar to the theater seats in the Kearney High School auditorium.

“There’s nothing biblical about a pew,” Shields said with a laugh.

Shields said one of the church’s goals is to have multiple worship services happening at the same time — in the new worship area and in the gymnasium.

Shields said the added worship center will give the church room to grow.

“We could actually double in attendance,” Shields said. “It’s about wanting to reach more families through Christ.”

e-mail to:

sarah.mulder@kearneyhub.com

Kearney Evangelical Free Church

Cost: $6 million

Location: Adjacent to current church at 4010 Seventh Ave.

Contractor: Lacy Construction

Seating: 900

Total square feet: 32,271

Ground breaking: July 12, 2009 

Estimated completion: January 2011

Congregation: 500 families