KETTLE MORAINE, Wis. -- Mark Lurvey, chairman of the building committee for Bethlehem Evangelical Lutheran Church, announced on Nov. 19 the congregation plans to add 23,300 square feet of space to its existing sanctuary.

According to the Kettle Moraine Index, construction will cost $3.4 million and begin in the spring.

"We are in the process of implementing a stewardship campaign to raise funds," said Lurvey.

The church's existing sanctuary will undergo a major overhaul and redesign. Plans call for the 470-seat space to be expanded to accommodate 500 worshippers, plus an overflow of 90. A new nursery and cry room will have a direct line of sight to the sanctuary.

Some of the same sanctuary space will be remodeled to become a 3,100-square-foot fellowship hall with a new kitchen. The existing fellowship hall will be remodeled into a new reception area with office spaces and a multi-purpose conference room.

About 10,100 square feet of space will be renovated in the church's lower level to make 10 classrooms, a larger youth room and a music and fine arts room.

Additionally, the project will include a prayer chapel that will seat 30.

A brochure pointing out the need of a capital campaign for expansion stated that the church would need to hold four services were its entire membership to worship on a single Sunday. Total membership numbers, however, weren't provided.

The expansion reflects the growth of the congregation, which began as a small rural church known as Evangelisch Lutheranisch Bethlehems Kirche in North Prairie, Wis. Members first gathered in 1905 and a year later joined the congregation of the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod.

The present facility was dedicated in 1989 and an education wing was added in 1992.