A month after moving into a newly-built church building, Parkway Fellowship has more than doubled in attendance and is adding a second Sunday service to accommodate the growth.

"Opening weekend exceeded all of our expectations and we had an over-packed house," said Parkway Fellowship Pastor Mike McGown, who kicked off services in the new building Feb. 14. "After the second week at this location, the crowds were so big and due to the demand we’ll be going to two services."

Starting March 21, Parkway Fellowship will offer two services at 9:15 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. at its new location at the corner of FM 1463 and FM 1093 in the southwest part of the Katy area. The church previously met at Cinco Ranch High School once on Sundays at 10:30 a.m. and had an average attendance of about 350.

After several years of meeting in its temporary sanctuary, McGown said more than 860 people were in attendance on opening Sunday in the new building with 850 people returning the following Sunday for service.

“That first Sunday represented a 72 percent increase in one week, which is huge,” said McGown, who started Parkway Fellowship seven years ago with a few other Katy-area families. “We always knew we'd eventually be in a building but it never seemed it was real until I stepped onto the stage that very first Sunday.”

Resting on a 66-acre wooded piece of property, Parkway Fellowship’s new 700-seat building features a worship center for Sunday services, space for children's ministry and youth ministry programs, and offices.

As part of a capital fundraising campaign, church members contributed $2.6 million for the building project which has so far used only 10 of the 66 acres.

McGown said he believes the jump in attendance is due to several factors including church service projects, word-of-mouth publicizing by members and the building’s location in the middle of rapidly-growing residential communities.

“We found ways to serve the community and invite people to church, and we’ve had a lot of people that said they were driving by and saw the construction,” McGown said, adding that members passed out snacks at Katy-area park and rides while inviting commuters to church.

Leaders of Parkway Fellowship, known as The Park by its members, say the location of their new church building will serve residential areas including Cinco Ranch, Seven Lakes and Cross Creek Ranch, as well as neighborhoods in Fort Bend County.

Demographic studies show that in the next five years, more than 37,000 people will move into the areas located within a 3-mile radius of the church, McGown said.

“We are at the nexus of literally multiple communities – Katy, Fulshear, Richmond and Rosenberg – and we’re drawing from the four communities at the same time,” McGown said. “We're at the front end of very rapidly expanding areas.”

Parkway Fellowship member Ken English said he is excited to see what God has planned for the church now that members are in the new building. Along with McGown, English was one of the founding families that helped get the new church off the ground.

“I think from where we started to where we are now and it’s been amazing,” said English, who remembers starting out with less than 30 people. “God has been preparing us. If we would’ve had the number of families we have now come and serve initially we wouldn’t have been able to handle it.”

In the next few years, Parkway Fellowship leaders see the church growing in membership as new families move into the area. The church’s new property will eventually include more space and buildings for educational and recreational activities.

“What we have here is our starting location but our final location will be more in the center of the property,” McGown said. “We will build a permanent youth facility and after our church grows even larger we’ll build a permanent worship center deeper into the property.”

To learn more about Parkway Fellowship visit the church online at http://www.parkwayfellowship.com/.