Mack and members of the congregation at First Baptist Church of Basehor are planning for an addition that will house Sunday school classrooms, a fellowship hall and kitchen, and offices. The two-story addition a basement and main level will be constructed onto the west side of the existing 20-year-old church building and will stretch to the north.

“The new entryway will actually be on the west side of the church,” Mack said. “We will come in from what we know as the back end of the church.”

Little Friends Preschool, a fixture at the church for the past 11 years, will occupy all of the existing basement once construction is complete at the church, 1410 N. 155th Street.

“We are hoping within three years to have it done,” Mack said. “We’re not going to start construction until we have $150,000 on hand. We’ve got a little over $50,000 currently.”

According to estimates, the entire project will cost about $500,000.

“That sounds like a long way off, and it feels like a long way off,” Mack said. “However, money is coming in on a frequent basis. Every Sunday, we have money given to us. We’re hoping not to have to borrow anything. Borrowing is an option for us. But we’re hoping that when we have the $150,000 and start building that people will start supporting it more.”

Like many other organizations in Basehor, the church is anticipating additional growth.

“The church has, over the last seven years, grown significantly,” said Mack, who became minister at the First Baptist in 1993. “It’s grown about 50 percent. As the community grows, a church has to work hard not to grow.”

Presently, he said, the church is averaging about 65 people for Sunday school and about 130 for worship. Capacity is about 95 for Sunday school and about 230 for worship.

The decision to construct an addition to the church has its roots in a 1996 daylong planning session, when church leaders devised a three-phase plan for the next several years.

“We have completed the first two phases,” Mack said, “and this education wing is phase three.”

The first phases included a new roof, new lights, a completed stairway, a new sound system and window repairs. The second phase encompassed a storage shed and a 102-space parking lot.

“What we did have was just gravel, and we could only hold about 40 cars because nobody knew quite where to park.”

About a year and a half ago, parishioners visited other churches to talk with ministers and to view their buildings. Architectural work is complete.

“The next step is to get someone in here to do excavating,” Mack said.