Promiseland Church

Promiseland Church San Marcos, which began in 2000 as a branch of the Austin Promiseland Church community, quickly grew from its original 30 founders to a church community of several hundred. The church purchased and retrofitted a warehouse in 2005 for its growing congregation, but soon outgrew that as well.

Promiseland contacted Haddon + Cowan to discuss a possible expansion. Haddon + Cowan developed a plan – based on those design talks and visits to church services – to add a new sanctuary building and renovate the existing church building so that it could house classrooms and administration.

The church community knew it wanted to be mindful of costs, but also needed a sanctuary that could accommodate more than 500 people. Haddon + Cowan designed a large, single-sloped metal building that will hold 700, and also includes a full sound and lighting suite and a green room to help with the church’s musical performances, as well as a baptismal room.

While the sanctuary itself is large, the entrance to the new addition is built on a human scale, with a series of outdoor walkways. Wood elements on the roofs of those walkways as well as rain chains and stone from a local quarry bring a natural, feel to the entrance, and a glass façade lets natural light into the front of the church. The single-slope design gives the church a more modern aesthetic, and minimizes drain piping by making rain water collection on the building’s west side possible.