After more than 20 years of waiting, setbacks and questions over whether the massive project would ever be finished, Bishop Marvin Winans is finally seeing his vision for a new Perfecting Church campus in Detroit approach the finish line.
Construction on the sprawling church complex at 7 Mile Road and Woodward Avenue is now expected to be completed by the end of 2026, bringing an extraordinary two-decade journey closer to its long-awaited conclusion.
And Winans has a message for pastors who have watched the project seemingly crawl toward completion: keep working, keep believing and keep inspiring your people.
The Grammy-winning gospel legend and longtime pastor recently told reporters that perseverance has been central to seeing the ambitious project through.
His advice to fellow faith leaders was simple: continue to work, believe God and "inspire your people."
That message carries extra weight considering just how long Perfecting Church has been waiting for its new home.
Plans for the campus date back more than two decades, and the unfinished structure became an increasingly conspicuous presence along one of Detroit's major corridors. What was intended to become a spectacular new center for worship and ministry instead turned into a years-long construction saga.
Now, however, the massive building is finally taking shape.
The new Perfecting Church campus is expected to feature a 3,000-seat sanctuary, giving Winans plenty of room for the congregation he has led for decades. Plans also include a 500-seat wedding chapel and an outdoor amphitheater, transforming the property into far more than a traditional Sunday-morning church facility.
For Winans, 68, the completion would represent another major chapter in a career already deeply intertwined with gospel music and the church.
A member of the legendary Winans musical family, Marvin Winans became internationally known as part of The Winans alongside brothers Carvin, Michael and Ronald. He later established Perfecting Church in Detroit in 1989 and has remained one of the city's most recognizable religious figures.
But the enormous new church project has attracted attention for reasons beyond its size.
Its lengthy construction history has made the development a source of curiosity-and at times controversy-in Detroit. Years passed while the unfinished building remained standing, leaving observers wondering when, or even whether, Winans' ambitious vision would finally become reality.
That makes the latest completion timeline particularly significant.
After two decades of delays, the pastor isn't presenting the long road simply as a construction story. He is framing it as a lesson in persistence and faith.
For a preacher who has spent years telling Christians to trust God when circumstances don't appear to match His promises, the unfinished church became a very public test of that message.
If construction reaches completion as planned by the end of 2026, Winans will finally be able to point to the building itself as evidence of the message he has continued preaching throughout the wait: don't quit just because the promise takes longer than expected.
And after more than 20 years, Perfecting Church may finally be preparing to open the doors on the vision Winans refused to abandon.
