KINGSTON —  When expanding a church, typically it’s to allow more room for the congregation in the sanctuary.

But with Bayside Community Church, that’s not the case.

“I think our building program is a little bit unique,” said Lead Pastor Scott Montagne. “The sanctuary (usually) gets the lion’s share.”

While the 10,000-square-foot facility is doubling in size, the sanctuary will only expand enough for an additional 75 seats, Montagne said. The primary improvements will include a larger lobby, bigger church offices, more classrooms and additional room for music facilities.

“We are dying without the space,” Montagne said. “We didn’t have the money but we had to do it.”

Studies show that “when a building is at 80 percent capacity, you’re not going to grow,” added Administrative Pastor Brent Hirschy. “We have two services, obviously, in order to accommodate.”

With a variety of groups using the church’s facilities on practically a daily basis, everything but the sanctuary needed to be enlarged to meet the growing congregation.

The current kitchen will be turned into a new prayer room, Montagne said, and a new kitchenette will be built adjacent to the new sanctuary lobby. The main entrance to the facility will be shifted to the right of the existing one and more classrooms will be added below the sanctuary.

There will also be handicapped entrances on both the north and south sides of the building.

While it may not be expanding as much, the sanctuary will be getting a new look. Currently, the worship team, including musicians and pastors, stand on a platform at the east end of the hall during services. After construction, that area will become an entrance lobby and the platform will be shifted to the west end of the hall, allowing room for the 75 additional chairs. There will also be more room on the platform for musicians and instruments, including a grand piano and drums, as well as the pastors. The chairs the congregation currently uses during services will be replaced with much more comfortable and softer seats, Montagne said.

The $2 million expansion is being paid for entirely by the congregation. Members pledged to donate more than $770,000 during a three-year period to help with costs. So far, with six months remaining in the pledge period, the church has received about $550,000.

This project, which started in August, is considered Phase 2 of Bayside’s expansion program. Phase 1 included the completion of the addition to the Ed Moon Ministry Center a few months ago. Sunday services are still being held in the church. The congregation hopes to have the project completed by Thanksgiving.