The founder of the church that Soul Survivor and the Naturally Supernatural festivals grew from led a campaign alongside senior pastor Andy Croft to raise funds to have more space for worshippers.
In a video released before Sunday's gift day, the co-pastors said the current building in Warehouse 5 felt "claustrophobic" and left newcomers questioning "whether there was room for them".
Speaking on Sunday morning in the special service which saw the children join in with praise and worship, Pilavachi said the large number of children struggling to fit in the front of the church illustrated why another building is needed.
Attendance of children has increased 20 per cent each year for the last three years, with an average of 150 attending Sunday morning services. According to the website, the church is sometimes forced to turn families away - which are often those that are newcomers.
The plan is to demolish Warehouse 5 and build a new, better designed space that will accommodate a lot more people.
The total estimated cost - including architects' fees and fitting out the building is £5.1m.
The amazing Church I have the joy of serving have just had our gift day. The total given to the building fund is £1,789,628. All I can say is HALLELUJAH!
— Mike Pilavachi (@mikepilav) June 17, 2018
Thank you Jesus and thank you magnificent, generous and faithful Soul Survivor Watford!
Aside from the money raised by the church congregation, the church may take out a mortgage against their existing assets; apply to Christian trusts interested in supporting building projects and phase parts of the build and the furnishing of the new warehouse so that they are completed only when the resources become available.
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