It points out the 300-plus-seat Connections Cafe, where you can buy a small cup of "LCBC Brew'' for 90 cents. And the church's Scripts Bookstore, which offers books, compact discs and LCBC tote bags for sale.

But, if you're still confused about navigating this newly expanded 130,000-square-foot house of worship, sign up for the guided tour.

Meet at the south main auditorium entrance, under the sign that reads "Tours Start Here 15 minutes after the close of the 6 p.m. and 10:45 a.m. services.'' Tours, maps, directional signs -- they're just part of the routine now at LCBC, which has grown to the size of two football fields.

The church recently finished a $13 million expansion project that includes the largest auditorium ever built in Lancaster County.

"We have the potential to reach a whole lot more people,'' said senior pastor David Ashcraft, as he stood and surveyed the enormous auditorium Thursday.

Filled with gray-cushioned, movie theater-style seats -- with Bible racks beside each of them -- it has the capacity to hold 2,500 people.

That's 335 more seats than Calvary Church in Manheim Township has. That church finished its new $18 million, 184,000-square-foot structure in 1999.

LCBC's auditorium also has 431 more seats than Sight & Sound's Millennium Theatre, which draws thousands of people to Strasburg for its productions.

The independent Lancaster County Bible Church, founded in 1986 with the philosophy that it should seek people who don't attend services, is drawing people by the thousands as well.

It's been growing by 25 percent each year and continues to swell, according to church leaders.

Just last weekend about 4,100 attended three worship services.

But now, the weekend attendees have much more room in which to spread out.

This Sunday, to celebrate the project's completion, LCBC will offer a community open house from 3 to 5 p.m.

Visitors are welcome to tour the facility and have a free cup of coffee at the cafe. Volunteers will be stationed throughout the building to answer questions.

"It's all about reaching other people and inviting them so they can get to know Jesus,'' Ashcraft said.

LCBC, with its 1,000 "partners'' or members and burgeoning Sunday attendance, had simply outgrown its old auditorium, which could only seat 900.

The church also wanted space to host large Christian concerts. Already, popular Christian artists Zoegirl, Superchick and Joy Williams are scheduled to appear there March 12.

The church leaders also envision becoming the venue for Christian seminars one day, Ashcraft said.

They want to find new ways to reach people who wouldn't normally attend a church, he said.

"As we moved in and even as we prepared for all of it, we kind of described the church as a lifeboat and said we are just building a bigger lifeboat, so more people can get into the boat and be introduced to Jesus,'' said Ashcraft, who leads a 10-member pastoral staff.

The $13-million project gives the Rapho Township church a new contemporary auditorium with a 30-foot vaulted ceiling and a floor that slopes toward the stage.

It now seats 1,600 people, but there is space for another 900 seats.

"Eventually it will seat 2,500. We can add those any time that we need. At this point, with three services, it allows us to spread things out,'' Ashcraft said.

But last week, about 1,100 people filled each of the three services, one on Saturday evening and two on Sunday morning.

"So it's starting to fill up pretty quick, so we may do it sooner than later,'' Ashcraft said.

In two fund-raising campaigns LCBC raised $11 million in pledges and contributions for the project. The remainder will come from additional contributions or a mortgage.

The new expansion also includes classrooms, dressing room areas for the worship team, a control room for the audio and video technicians, a cafe and a bookstore.

The cafe and bookshop are open during the services and on Wednesday evenings and Tuesday mornings, when other activities are filling the church. The church building is located at 2392 Mount Joy Road and visible from Route 283.

The cafe, in a large, open atrium with light streaming in, looks like a fancy coffeehouse. It has tall tables and chairs, Internet capability and elaborate machines that make cappuccinos and cafe latte.

The church even sells its own brand of coffee -- "LCBC Brew'' -- in one-pound bags stocked from a vendor in Hershey.

The bookstore -- called "Scripts'' -- could rival any Christian bookshop. It sells copies of books that small groups at LCBC are studying, along with jewelry with Christian themes and Christian CDs and DVDs.

A full-time, paid manager, Carolyn Griess, runs both locations with the help of about 60 volunteers.

Both places are great for visitors to meet new people and get familiar with the church, said Ashcraft.

"As the church got bigger it was tougher and tougher for people to make connections and be able to meet each other and talk to each other. The atrium idea was a place for people to congregate. ...The bookstore is there really as a resource,'' Ashcraft said.

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