MONTEGO BAY, St James – THE Montego Bay Wesleyan Holiness Church broke ground last Sunday for the construction of a $31-million building in the inner-city community of Agate Lane in Montego Bay.

The 5,700 square-feet building, which is expected to be completed within two years, will house the worship area, a multi-purpose hall and a conference room.

A balcony will also be added to the worship area.

The new facility will replace the current 63-year-old structure which is deemed inadequate to serve the needs of the growing church population.

“The new sanctuary will include a state-of-the-art waterfallbaptismal pool, surrounded by a 450-capacity seating area. The well-overdue new building will enhance the church’s ability to meet the inner-city community needs and will ensure the safety of its beneficiaries. With the balcony, the church will better accommodate the crowds attending funerals, weddings, graduations and church programmes,” the church’s Pastor, Lascelles Robinson told the Observer West yesterday.

He noted that for many years the church has been positively impacting the Barracks Road and surrounding inner-city communities.

These communities, he noted, are benefiting significantly from the church’s Basic School and free CXC classes.

Noting that the existing building is in a unsatisfactory state, Robinson pointed out that it is characterised by eroded steel, rotten wood and a leaking roof.

He told the Observer West that the church has planned a raft of fund-raising events, in an effort to ensure that the facility is completed within two years.