ZILLAH, Wash. -- Six months ago: a 5-acre dirt field covered with cheat grass and tumbleweed.

Six months from now: the site of the newest Mormon church in the Yakima Valley.

Next April, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is scheduled to begin services in Zillah -- the first such Mormon church to be built in the Valley in 30 years.

The church will be at 500 Nathaniel Lane, at the corner of Nathaniel Lane and Carlsonia Road.

"We're really happy, that's for sure," said Zillah resident Kathryn Allsop, who, along with husband Judd, will be attending the new church when it opens.

About 300 people from Zillah and Granger -- known as the Zillah ward -- are expected to attend the new church, or chapel, when completed. For now, they meet every Sunday in the Toppenish Latter-day Saints church, which has become a study in crowd control, or finding room, parking space and time for everyone to attend.

Currently, three units attend the Toppenish church: Toppenish, Zillah and a Spanish-speaking branch. Toppenish members go from 9 a.m. to noon on Sundays; Zillah members attend from 1:30-4:30 p.m., and Spanish-speaking members meet from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

So it's no wonder Zillah and Granger folks have been looking forward to their own building, said Zillah Bishop Rock Winters.

"It's the talk of our church every Sunday," he said.

The Zillah chapel is part of the Yakima Stake, one of two in this area of Central Washington (Selah is the other.) The Yakima Stake includes eight wards -- two each in Yakima and West Valley, and one each in Zillah, Toppenish, Grandview and Sunnyside. Three smaller branches also meet in ward chapels.

More than 3,200 people belong to the Yakima Stake, according to stake president Doug Button of Yakima.

"This particular new building (in Zillah) is right in the middle of the stake and will be a great resource for us," Button noted, adding that the stake is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

Serious planning for Zillah's new church began about three years ago. The Latter-day Saints headquarters in Salt Lake City determines where and when new churches will be built around the world and also supplies the funding, Winters explained.

That money come from tithing, with members generally giving 10 percent of all earnings to the church.

The exact cost of the Zillah building was not disclosed. "The church asks that we not release the cost of construction," said Jordan Cammack, project manager.

Although Button said he, too, wasn't apprised of the total cost, he noted that before Latter-day Saint buildings are erected, they are completely paid for and are never financed.

Construction began last April, headed by Jacobsen Construction Co. from Salt Lake City. This is the 20th-plus church project for building superintendent Larry Nussbaum, also from Utah.

The design was selected by church headquarters, with Yakima architects Stecker Design & Consulting also contributing.

The 14,200-square-foot building will have a kitchen, chapel, about 20 classrooms, a baptismal font and a hardwood-floor gymnasium. The gym will play two roles: for activities and for housing overflow crowds for services.

"We hope we'll be so full that we have to use the gym for services," Winters said.

Constructed of Douglas fir and laminated wood composite, the church will have a red-brick and tan-adobe exterior.

The Allsops are looking forward to having a church closer to home. "We go by to see it every week," said Kathryn.

She and Judd, both 84, have been attending the Toppenish church since 1967 and raised their eight children there.

Kathryn pointed out that the new church will alleviate crowding in the Toppenish facility, which is used to capacity every Sunday.

Not only is the new building causing a buzz in Zillah, said Winters, but so too is the surrounding lot, which will be converted into a grassy ballfield and picnic area. "That's something no other church in our stake has," Winters said, adding that the field will be open for anyone in the community to use.

Winters, who is in is first year as bishop, is the fourth one to serve in the Zillah ward since it was formed 18 years ago. Bishops generally serve five years.

The role runs in the family: Winter's father, Bob, served as Toppenish bishop in the late 1970s and '80s, while Rock's brother, Rick, recently was named bishop of the Colfax, Wash., ward.

With the new church slated to open next spring, Winters said members are eager in their anticipation.

"It's been a long time coming," he said.

For more information, call Winters at 509-829-6953.

* Jane Gargas can be reached at 509-577-7690 or jgargas@yakimaherald.com.