ROBERTSDALE, Ala. — It’s a handsome taupe stucco now, but the First Assembly of God Church on Holland Street was once white.

The change came as a result of about a $730,000 makeover that provided the late 1940s-era building with new offices, a lovely lobby with an area for congregants to have a cup of coffee before services, a seating area perfect for small groups to meet, a new, larger sanctuary and an expanded youth worship area off the fellowship hall. The church, Michael D. Lynn, the church’s pastor believes, got its start near Chambers Hardware before the current building was constructed.

“It was all needed,” said Lynn..He said that about 10,500 square feet was added.

The congregation is inviting the community to come and celebrate the new building at a special service and luncheon that will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 6. It’s a good chance to see the new building and admire the work of hundreds of volunteers. Lynn credits Ed Evans and the “U.S. MAPS,” (Mission America Placement Services) program that places willing volunteers, mostly retirees, who travel to projects in R.V.s, and use those vehicles as housing while they are volunteering. Evans is from Silverhill. He and his wife, Mildred Krob Evans, have been building AG churches, and other facilities for years.

“We have started our 14th year doing this, and I finally get to build my own home church,” said Evans with a smile. The Evanses were profiled in an earlier Independent story. According to Ed Evans, 16 couples from all over the United States worked on the church addition.

The church also received help from the “Teen Challenge” program. The volunteer work (even the landscaping around the church is the result of volunteer labor) has created an impressive-looking complex of buildings.

“We had the support of the entire community,” said Lynn, noting that members of the congregation not only donated money but their talents as well, to help build and finish the additions.

The change was needed — with the old sanctuary holding just over 100 people, space was tight. The congregation numbers around 200, and for some services, it’s been necessary to set up chairs in the sanctuary. The old sanctuary will serve as worship and meeting space for younger members of the congregation.

“The congregation had outgrown the sanctuary,” explained Lynn, adding that while congregants were willing to pack in closer, large events such as weddings were posing a problem. Now, with a larger sanctuary area, and refurbished religious classrooms to serve as “bride’s rooms,” the church can handle just about any event. Worship has been enhanced with the addition of a state-of-the-art sound and lighting system .

Lynn describes the usual service in Robertsdale as a “mix” of traditional and contemporary worship.

Looking around the new and refurbished church, Lynn was reluctant to say what his favorite part of the work is. But, he has observed what his congregation seems to like best.

“It would be the sanctuary and the lobby. Definitely,” he said.