Two years ago, the church purchased 7.5 acres at 16928 Evans Road.

Now, if church members give the official go-ahead in Sunday’s vote, construction will begin at the site this fall, according to the Rev. James Jobst, the church’s associate pastor.

Jobst, who lives in Tonganoxie with his wife, Vivian, and their daughters, Beth and Krista, oversees mission development for the church. Jobst said the new building would be a $1.3 million two-story multipurpose facility.

The kitchen, Sunday school rooms and a daycare area would be in the lower level, which will have a walkout entrance, and the worship services will be held on the upper level.

Both levels of the building will be handicapped accessible through outside entrances, Jobst said.

The church, which members refer to as the south campus of Trinity Lutheran Church in Leavenworth, is pastored by the Rev. Damian Snyder. The two churches share the same directors, Jobst said.

He explained that if construction proceeds, it’s scheduled to begin this fall, and it is hoped the new church would be complete by late spring. A ground-breaking ceremony tentatively is set for 10:30 a.m. Sept. 24.

If the building plans go through and construction takes place, the church plans to operate a daycare, as well as a before- and after-school program, Jobst said.

Five years ago, when the southern Leavenworth County church began meeting at Glenwood school, the church had about nine families who lived in the area and attended regularly. Now the membership has grown to include about 115 individuals, Jobst said.

In studying southern Leavenworth County’s demographics, and in seeing all the new home construction in the area, as well as new businesses going up in western Wyandotte County, Jobst said he believes the church membership will continue to grow.

“We’re hoping to be able to continue to reach out to the community through fliers,” Jobst said.