The Bible Baptist Church in Prairie du Chien held a grand-opening service for their new auditorium on Sunday, Aug. 16, at 11 a.m. The service was the Church’s way of putting a bow on a project that began more than two years ago.

“We’re thrilled to finally get there,” said Pastor Andy Doll. “It’s been a grand adventure [over] the last 16–17 months.”

Doll said the Church began working with architects in 2023, and a satisfactory design was decided upon in 2024.

The new auditorium is an 11,000 square-foot structure with an occupancy of more than 400. Doll has said the new facility is a necessity for the congregation, which had outgrown their previous worship space. The old auditorium has a capacity of approximately 225.

Along with increasing capacity, the auditorium also gives parishioners a more comfortable space during services and dedicated areas for conference rooms, offices, bathrooms and other necessary functions of church operations.

“The new building has been a blessing in that it has provided what we needed most and that was space.  It also has allowed us to jump forward into modern technology. We are still adjusting to all of that, but it has been a great thing to have more space,” Doll previously said.

Expanding space allowed the congregation to remain together, rather than splitting people into separate services.

“I want to have a church family,” said Doll this past September. “I don’t want to divide that into different services, and our church family feels the same way.”

The cost for the project is approximately $3 million. Doll said the Church raised the entire amount, which does not include any public funding. During Sunday’s service, he announced that the project is fully paid off.

Along with the new auditorium, crews worked on landscaping the hillside and remodeling some of the church's existing facilities.

“There’s a ton of thought that has gone into this over the past couple of years,” said Doll. “We’re trying to make it so it serves everyone.”

During Sunday’s service, artist Steve Hovel presented the church with an original painting. He worked on the piece for several months, which combined inspiration from a building outside of Lodi and the Dead Sea Scrolls, among other sources.

The Bible Baptist Church was constructed in 1973 on land formerly used for farming. Before that, the congregation leased a small building in downtown Prairie du Chien. The church went through an extensive remodeling during the 2010s, including the expansion of the old auditorium and the construction of a bus garage. A groundbreaking ceremony for the new auditorium was held on March 16, 2025.