NILES — It seemed like a long road ahead for St. Paul’s Lutheran Church members when they discussed building an expansion more than six years ago.

“When I first got here in 2003, we pulled a few people together to talk and I said, ‘ministry expansion,'” said the Rev. Carl Bassett during a dedication Sunday afternoon.

A rendition was drawn, and “that model was sitting downstairs,” Bassett said. “We started thinking, ‘Lord, what would you want us to do?’ It was fitting that we started to put mission eyes on.”

A building expansion committee was formed five or six years ago.

“I got to say, there was a lot of skepticism here,” Bassett said.

The 6,000-square-foot, $750,000 Family Life Center is now complete, and Bassett believes that was possible because God put his congregation up to the challenge. About 20 percent of the project’s cost came from member pledges, he said.

In 2009, during the recession, the congregation launched a three-year pledge program. The church also partnered with the Church Extension Fund, which advanced funds for a construction loan. The economic downturn also meant construction prices would be lower  — a total savings of $250,000.

The church used general contractor Shelton Construction Co. of Benton Harbor, and architect CARMI Design Group, Inc. of Edwardsburg.

The stone facade, which helps the expansion match its original church building — built in the late-1950s — came from the same Wisconsin quarry used for the sanctuary.

The expansion will allow St. Paul’s to offer more programming, fundraising dinners and hire more staff, including a pastor-in-training, Joe Liss, who will begin in the fall. He will become an associate pastor after four years of training at St. Paul’s.