Members of Good Shepherd Assembly of God will be worshiping at their pastor’s home until they finish construction of a new building.

Church members are building a new place of worship on an eight-acre lot on Highway 20 south of Coupeville. They have already completed landscaping and they are presently installing the frame. The building, complete with sanctuary, Sunday school room, nursery and offices, should be ready in October or November.

“We’re making some good progress on it,” Pastor Mike Coleburn said.

The new building will replace the modular church formerly located on South Main Street across the street from Coupeville Elementary School. That building was recently removed, several months after the land was sold to Island Transit, which uses it for a park-and-ride.

The church had to remove the modular building because the conditional use permit it had with the town was expiring. That permit allowed the church to keep a modular building on the lot temporarily. The modular building didn’t meet the town’s design standards. Once the permit expired the church would have had to either relocate the modular or build a new church on the property that would meet town guidelines.

The modular building won’t follow church members to their new location. It’s heading to Tacoma and will be used to house another new church.

Coleburn thanked the town for its patience with the modular building, which had been on the property at least as long as he has been pastor. He came to Coupeville 14 years ago.

He also thanked Island Transit for allowing the church to stay on the property after it was sold last fall.

The new church is being built by volunteers and, when complete, the church will own the building won’t have any debt, Coleburn said.

The church is being built off Highway 20 near Race Road. A sign advertising its location has been there for years. It took approximately two years to obtain the permits that allowed for construction. Coleburn said it also took a long time to sell the Coupeville property.

As for the vacant lot, Island Transit want to continue using the property as a park-and-ride, said Martha Rose, director of Island Transit, which acquired the property last fall.

She said Island Transit would like to work with the community to make sure the parking lot is visually appealing, Rose said.

“We want it to be the community park-and-ride,” Rose said.