The building is of Italian Romanesque design, the only church of its kind in New Zealand. It was designed by Mr John Mair, who grew up in the congregation and later studied in America. He drew his inspiration from the Italo - Byzantine period and the building recalls the beautiful work of the plains of Lombardy, where conditions of climate and available materials are similar to those in southern New Zealand. It is constructed of locally made bricks, more than a million of them, many placed in beautiful mosaic designs. The campanile, or bell tower, is 32 metres high and is a focal point on the city skyline. The walls at the base of the tower are a metre thick. The original bells were of tubular design but an electronic instrument now broadcasts messages of welcome, celebration and mourning, according to the occasion.

The present church was built in 1915, at a cost equivalent to $30,000. The Dunedin firm of McKinnon & Hamilton was the successful contractor and the master bricklayer was Mr Arthur Sefton of Invercargill. It is the second new building on the site. The first was opened in 1863 and subsequently enlarged twice, 1877 and 1881. Stobo Hall, at the rear of the church, formed part of the original contract. It is named after the Rev A H Stobo, the first minister, who came out from Scotland and was ordained and inducted on the 29th of June 1860. Sir George Grey, who was Governor of New Zealand from 1848 to 1853, gave the Invercargill congregation the right to use the site on which the church stands.