It takes faith to make the seemingly impossible reality.

The congregation at Grace Evangelical Free Church in Viroqua has faith, and part of that faith is manifesting itself in new church, being built on Viroqua’s west side.

In an era when almost all church denominations are seeing fewer people attend services and the United States is in the grips of its worst economic environment since the Great Depression, it would seem impossible for a new church to be built.

The construction of Grace Church has been no overnight project. It’s taken careful planning, untold amounts of sweat equity and long-term commitment.

"For a long time we were between hope and a plan," Pastor Rich Maurer, who has been at Grace Church since 2001, said. "We didn’t know where the money was going to come from. We’ve owned the land for four years. About a year-and-a-half ago we began fundraising and we had good pledges. It was at that point we knew we could go ahead."

Grace Church has had a congregation in Viroqua since 2000. It originally met at Cornerstone Christian Academy, then held services in the Viroqua Elementary School cafetorium for three years. After that, it rented two rooms in the Landmark Center and held services in the auditorium there.

While it’s well-known that attendance at many churches is falling, attendance at evangelical churches is growing.

"These are Bible-believing churches, where people are coming to know the Lord and getting saved," Maurer said. "They want the eternal, absolute truth."

For example, on any given Sunday, Grace Church averages about 100 people in attendance. Yet, the church has about 35 members.

"We set our membership bar high, it’s a covenant, that’s why membership is less than attendance," Maurer said.

Maurer estimates that the new church will cost $450,000. It will be able to have about 300 occupants. The sanctuary, where services are held, will be able to be arranged to be used for multiple purposes. It will have seating for about 150. There is a large gathering space in the basement, which could also seat about 150. The church has other rooms many people are familiar with, from offices, to classrooms, to nurseries.

One common indoor motif is stone that was used in forming part of the stairwell. It will also be used in the sanctuary and at the front entrance. Maurer said about $35,000 in stone was donated to the church.

Church attendees and members, along with others in the community, have been helping build the church. Solid Rock Builders, a sweat-equity ministry out of La Crosse, has been helping, Maurer said. Also, other Evangelical Free Church congregations have helped. There have been about 200 different volunteers who have helped at the site, with 40 participating on any given day. Maurer said about 95 percent of the volunteers have been those who attend Grace Church or other EFCA churches.

Building committee chair and church elder Tony Baxter said that most of the work at the church has been getting done on Fridays or Saturdays.

"The volunteers have been absolutely great," Baxter said. "We’ve had so much cooperation. It’s amazing. It seems like the Lord provides exactly the number of volunteers we need for each and every job we do."

Baxter said volunteer workers are currently putting the finishing trim in the sanctuary and foyer.

Baxter said that while people have sometimes had their differences working together on such a large project, for the most part it has brought the church closer together.

Both Maurer and Baxter said they’re looking at having the church ready to host services in August.