SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Yellowknife's Pentecostal church is getting ready to open a public daycare centre and it has moved to a new, larger building to house the kids.

The pastor of Yellowknife Pentecostal Tabernacle hopes the church's new location in the Niven Lake subdivison will be a "blessing to the community," especially for many families in need of daycare services.

Pastor Chris Watkins gave his first sermon at the new church two weeks ago for about 85 people.

"The most rewarding part was getting to see all the happy faces when they entered the building," he said. "They've sacrificed a lot of their time and a lot of their money to do this."

Church membership budgeted a strict $1.4 million for the project, paid for through a mortgage and fundraising. Roughly 26 voting church members started planning the new building five years ago. The church had been located on 49 Street since 1975 and was founded in Yellowknife 20 years before that.

"The beauty of the new location is we have more property and parking," said Watkins.

Lee Sacrey, a longtime member and church liaison with the construction company Clark Builders, said the building will serve the public well.

"The location is ideal for what they had planned," he said, adding that he had fun working out the construction details but he's glad the five-year process is nearly over.

"It's good to be in the building," he said. "For now I'm relieved that it's finished."

Most members made the move smoothly, said Sacrey, but there are a few people who had been attending church at the previous building since it was built.

"They've got 30 years in the building so I think they'll take a while to get used to it."

When the daycare opens in September, it's expected to accommodate around 32 children and four infants.

The church has scheduled a grand opening ceremony for Sept. 7.