Faith Builders Church meets each Sunday morning in a remodeled movie theater on South Howell Avenue, on Milwaukee's south side. The non-denominational congregation is led by Pastors Jeffrey and Robin Pruitt, who planted the church in 1999 and have shaped it around a single sentence: "Jesus is our purpose. People are our reason." That motto shows up on the front of the building and across the church's ministry materials, and it sets the tone for a body that is casual, contemporary, and pointedly outward-looking.
A Pioneer Story on South Howell Avenue
Jeffrey and Robin Pruitt grew up in Rockford, Illinois and spent more than a decade as assistant pastors before helping launch a church in Beloit, Wisconsin. In 1999 they sensed a call to start something new in Milwaukee, so the first Faith Builders services met in a small hotel conference room. As young people began showing up, the church outgrew two more rented spaces in quick succession. In December 2002 the congregation purchased the old Skyway Cinema on South Howell Avenue, gutted the building, added about 7,000 square feet, and built a brand new auditorium from the inside out. That former movie theater is still home to Faith Builders today, and the building now contains multiple auditoriums that the church uses for worship, classes, youth nights, and outside rentals.
Sundays at 10
The Sunday gathering begins at 10:00 a.m. at 4901 South Howell Avenue. It is a contemporary worship service led by a live band, with preaching from the pastoral team. Services are livestreamed on the church's YouTube channel for those who cannot attend in person, and recordings remain available there for catch-up viewing.
Two of the church's most important practices happen inside the regular Sunday service rather than at separate events. Water baptisms are scheduled several times a year and take place during the worship gathering so that family and friends can be present. Baptisms are open to anyone age ten and up who has made a personal decision to follow Jesus, and the church provides a sign-up form for baptisms. Child dedications are handled the same way. Parents of children from infancy through age twelve can fill out a dedication form, and during a designated Sunday the pastors pray over the child during the service.
On-site parking is available at the building. Visitors are encouraged to come as they are; the atmosphere is a family environment rather than a formal one.
Faith Kidz, Rally Youth, and the YA Social Club
Faith Builders describes itself as a family church, and the next-generation ministries reflect that. Faith Kidz runs age-graded classes during the Sunday service for toddlers through sixth grade. Children are grouped as 1 to 2 years, Pre-K and Kindergarten, Grades 1 to 3, and Grades 4 to 6, with lessons and activities designed for each stage. Parents check children in and pick them up after the main service concludes.
Older students gather through Rally Youth, a monthly event for seventh through twelfth graders. Rally meets on the fourth Sunday of each month from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m., with doors opening at 4:30. The format is energetic: live praise and worship, video games, pool, ping pong, a full cafe, and a teaching message. The youth also keep an active Instagram presence at @rallyyouthgroup.
For young adults, the YA Social Club serves ages 18 to 38. It meets on varying dates, so participants are encouraged to follow the group on Instagram at @YAsocialclub to keep up with the next gathering. Like the rest of the church's ministries, it is built around friendship, faith, and a relaxed setting.
Reaching Milwaukee's Streets and Seniors
Service to the wider city is woven into the rhythm of the church. The most visible expression is Faith Builders After Dark, a homeless outreach that meets on the fourth Friday of every month at 7:30 p.m. Volunteers gather at the Howell Avenue building and then head out into Milwaukee to serve people experiencing homelessness. The outreach is one of the easiest ways to "help serve your city," and newcomers are welcome.
On the first Saturday of each month, a smaller team drives a few miles south to Cudahy for the Golden Years Senior Living Outreach. They meet at 10:00 a.m. at Ramsey Woods Assisted Living, 3210 East Ramsey Avenue, to spend time with residents. The outreach centers on simple fellowship, conversation, and encouragement for seniors who can use a visitor.
Faith Builders also hosts two longer-form care classes on its campus. Save One is a recovery class for women seeking freedom from the emotional and spiritual weight of a past abortion; most of the leaders have walked that road themselves. It's A New Day is a twelve-week class for trauma and abuse survivors, held Tuesday nights at 7:00 p.m., focused on a journey toward health and wholeness in Jesus. Both are limited in size and require registration.
Flourish, Men's Breakfast, and a Yearlong Torah Study
Adults at Faith Builders have several recurring options for fellowship and study beyond the Sunday service.
Flourish Women's Gathering meets on the second Saturday of each month at 10:00 a.m. Pastor Robin Pruitt teaches, and the morning is shaped around building friendships and faith together.
Men's Breakfast meets on the third Saturday of each month at the same 10:00 a.m. hour. The format is straightforward: a hearty breakfast, time with the other men of the church, and an encouraging word.
Bible Study On The Torah meets on the second Thursday of each month at 7:00 p.m. in the church's Youth Auditorium. The study is intentionally yearlong, moving through the first five books of the Bible one book at a time. Each session walks through the literary structure, authorship, and meaning of the text, with the goal of giving participants tools they can use on their own long after the class ends.
First Thursday Prayer rounds out the monthly rhythm. On the first Thursday of every month at 7:00 p.m. the church gathers for a focused hour of prayer and worship.
From time to time Faith Builders also hosts Financial Peace University classes, a free nine-week budgeting curriculum, on Wednesday evenings. The church has also partnered with the Oak Creek Fourth of July Parade in past years, fielding a walking entry from the South Howell campus.
The Auditoriums on Howell Avenue
The South Howell building has grown around its original auditorium into a small campus of three rentable spaces, all of which are also used by the church itself.
Auditorium A seats up to one hundred guests and is geared toward small to medium events. It includes a fully equipped AV system with professional sound, lighting, and projection, a stage and lighting setup, climate control, and on-site parking.
Auditorium B is the church's main worship space and can flex from one hundred up to seven hundred and fifty guests. It comes with an in-house audio/visual team, state-of-the-art sound, a large projection screen, stage lighting, modern HVAC, and ample parking. The space is used for the Sunday gathering, conferences, and large assemblies.
Auditorium D mirrors Auditorium A in size and capability, also seating up to one hundred with a full AV system, stage and lighting, climate control, and on-site parking.
All three spaces are available to rent for outside events, meetings, weddings, and conferences, and pricing is provided through the church's rental inquiry form.
What Faith Builders Believes
The church's Statement of Beliefs lays out fifteen doctrinal commitments, beginning with the Bible as the infallible, authoritative Word of God in both Old and New Testaments. Faith Builders teaches a classical Trinitarian view of one God in three persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) and a Chalcedonian Christology of Jesus Christ as one person with two natures, truly God and truly human, virgin-born, crucified, resurrected, and seated at the right hand of the Father.
The Holy Spirit is fully God, received at salvation, who convicts, regenerates, fills, and empowers believers. The church teaches that human beings are made in God's image but fell into sin, and that salvation comes only through repentance and faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross.
The Church is understood as the body of Christ, expressed locally in congregations of believers, with Christ as its head and the Holy Spirit as its sustaining presence. Faith Builders affirms the personal, bodily return of Jesus Christ, the reality of eternal life with God for those who trust in him, and eternal separation from God for those who do not.
Distinctively for a non-denominational body, Faith Builders teaches that the spiritual gifts described in the New Testament have not ceased and are still active in the life of the church today. It also holds to a traditional view of marriage as a covenant between one man, one woman, and God, and affirms that all human life is sacred from conception to natural death. The statement closes with commitments to religious liberty, unity among Christians on essentials with liberty on nonessentials, and respect across different theological traditions within the church.
How to Plug In
Visitors who want to explore membership can take the church's online Membership Class and fill out a membership form. Membership at Faith Builders is a voluntary commitment to join the local church, follow Scripture, walk in community, and partner with the church's mission to "build faith, share faith." A separate Dream Team Volunteer form is available for anyone who wants to serve on a ministry team.
Giving is handled online through Tithe.ly, and the church provides a single giving link for online donations. Those who would rather give in person can do so during a Sunday service.
Faith Builders Church, 4901 South Howell Avenue, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 53207.