SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Tex. — The small community where a gunman stormed into a church service and killed 26 people in 2017 crossed an emotional milestone on Sunday, with the dedication of a new First Baptist Church worship center that is fortified against potential future danger.

Built of beige Texas limestone, with two towers that can be seen for miles around, the new building stands just next to the old church, which became the site of one of the nation’s deadliest mass shootings when the gunman walked up the aisle spraying bullets into its pews. The old building is now a memorial to the victims.

“I think we’re rising from the ashes, and God’s blessing us like you can’t believe,” Stephen Willeford said as he stood outside the new sanctuary before the start of services on Sunday. On the day of the massacre, Mr. Willeford exchanged shots with the gunman outside the church and tried to pursue him as he fled the scene. The gunman, identified as Devin P. Kelley, was later found in a vehicle, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

More than 500 people sat elbow to elbow in the new center and filled an overflow room on Sunday to hear church leaders and state politicians proclaim the new building a testament to Sutherland Springs’ refusal to be identified by tragedy.