On Nov. 5, 2006, a handful of people gathered at the old Oak Park movie theater for Church of the King’s first service. Now almost seven years later, with more than 500 people attending the church’s two Sunday services each week, the church has outgrown its auditorium and wants to raise money to complete an expansion.

According to Todd Schumacher, lead pastor at Church of the King, construction began on a new auditorium in 2012.

The church needs more than $637,000 to complete the expansion, which will seat 800. The current auditorium only holds about 230.

To help raise these funds, Church of the King is promoting a campaign called “Fifty-Two — Building Tomorrow, Today.”

“We are asking for members of our church to partner with us to finish what we started,” Schumacher said. “Fifty-two is based out of the book of Nehemiah — how God opened his eyes to see the broken city, and he left what was comfortable around the court of the king to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. And he did it in 52 days.”

Schumacher said that as much as the church would love to have the expansion completed in 52 days, it’s aiming for by Easter. What 52 means in the campaign, he said, is the church asking members to compare and donate what they would normally spend on 52 cups of coffee at a coffee shop, 52 dining-out meals with their family, or 52 weeks’ worth of their grocery budget.

In a pamphlet provided to the American Press, the church stated: “Our calling is to provide a place where the lost, the lonely and the left-out can come and find a home. And that is what we are creating — a place for those who aren’t here — just like someone else made a place for you weren’t here either.”

According to Schumacher, previously the church raised enough money to complete all the structural phases of the new auditorium. But the $637,000 is needed to fully complete the project, he said.

Church of the King. (Kara Carrier / American Press)