ROBERTSDALE, Ala. — There’s a whole lot of hammering and sawing going on Holland Avenue in Robertsdale.

A new sanctuary for the Assembly of God Church is going up, and there’s going to be an addition to the fellowship hall.

In all, there will be about 9,500 square feet remodeled and added, says Michael Lynn, pastor of the church. Lynn is hoping the job will be done in time for Easter.

But the church isn’t being put together by a cadre of hired workers. Instead, Lynn and his congregation turned to “U.S. MAPS,” (Mission America Placement Services) an Assembly of God ministry that places willing volunteers, mostly retirees, who travel to projects in R.V.s, and use those vehicles as housing while they are volunteering.

For the Robertsdale church, the workers are saving the church a great deal of money. According to Lynn, $1 per worker per day is paid to a central office to cover administrative expenses.

“The project is going to cost about $500,000,” said Lynn. “It would cost $750,00 without the RV’ers.”

Work started, Lynn recalls, late last summer with the construction of a small RV park for the workers.

The RV contingent is led by Ed Evans of 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.

He added that 16 couples, from all over the United States, are now working on the church.

The Ed and Mildred traveled across the country building for AG affiliated organizations. They spend about seven and a half months of the year volunteering.

“You have to make a commitment to Jesus Christ,” said Evans.

Evans is quick to stress that a MAPS member can be of almost any faith, but the organization works exclusively for AG projects.

“It’s a call on your life,” said Evans. “To do this work, it has to be a call.”

The Evanses did not start out working on church projects. Ed made a career of the Army. He was a forward artillery observer for the Army, and was injured while serving in Korea.

He’s sold insurance, and you’d think he and Mildred had earned the right to take it easy in their golden years.

Until they tried it.

“When we retired,” said Evans, “we had an RV and traveled, but you have to have a purpose in life.”

The couple heard a missionary speak of the MAPS program. They were intrigued, and started on one project.

They are still working on projects. They are putting everything they have learned into building their home church.

The Evanses have also worked on local projects, and helped with building the Robertsdale Kids’ Park, Evans says.

The Robertsdale Assembly of God church, formed in 1936, has through “five editions,” said Evans.

The expansion is badly needed, said Lynn.

“We are out of room,” he said. The congregation numbers around 200, and for some services, it’s been necessary to set up chairs in the sanctuary. The expansion should take care of that. Lynn added that the church has received help from a number of entities, including the city of Robertsdale.

“We’re at one of those points were we need to keep growing,” said Lynn. “These guys have made it possible. They are a real joy to work with.”