A longtime North Idaho Catholic church that serves 400 families is aiming to roughly double its building size to accommodate its growing congregation.

St. George's Catholic Parish at 2010 N. Bill St., Post Falls, in March commenced the three-year, $3.7 million "Making a Place to Gather and Grow” capital campaign to add 16,000 square feet to the church, which will include a new parish center, a large reception area, six classrooms, a fireplace, an elevator and a gathering area outside the sanctuary.

"We need it," construction manager Bob Ellis said Friday. "We hope to break ground this summer if possible."

The current parish was built in 1970, although St. George's has been around for at least 100 years. The building was expanded by about 25% to add new kitchen, congregation and church space in the late 1990s.

"This will probably be the last expansion for it,” said Ellis' wife, Debbie Ellis, who serves as the parish council president. "We’re kind of landlocked."

Congregation numbers were healthy until the COVID-19 pandemic, when a number of families, especially younger ones, went to larger parishes in the area.

"Some parishes were more restrictive than others, so a lot of the young people went there," Bob said.

St. George's has a packed event calendar, filled with Mass, the Friendship Kitchen, pregnancy resources and a number of other ministries.

"We have stuff going on all the time, which means we don’t have room to add any new programs," Debbie said. "Our facilities are being used day and night."

The Ellises, who have been parishioners since 2013, said they got involved in the expansion campaign because they see the need for more space.

"We don't want the parish to stagnate," Bob said. "We want it to grow, and Post Falls is growing exponentially."

Debbie said St. George's Father Sleeva Madanu was a leader in this project after he moved to the area from India.

"This is something that has been in the works for many years," Debbie said. "We happened to be able to sell some of the property off, which gave us a really good start."

The parish also received a large donation from a parishioner who died, which immensely helped, Debbie said.

"We started with $1.5 million, now we’re trying to raise the rest," she said.