CHURCH-BUILDING PROJECTS
Solomon was
wise enough to know wisdom alone was no substitute for experience, so he sought
a skilled man to help direct his building program, and God provided Huram (2
Chron. 2:6-7).
Stephen Anderson
Preparing to Build, AMI, 2006, p. 4.
While church
building projects cost hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars, mistakes
don’t just have serious financial consequences. Mistakes in a building program
can be very costly, not just in terms of money, but also in the functionality
of the finished facility, loss of confidence in leadership, and increased
conflict or disunity in the body of Christ.
Stephen Anderson
Preparing to Build, AMI, 2006, p. 8.
From
concept to completion, your church will not undertake a more demanding and
complicated task in terms of money, risk, and effort than it will in a building
program. The proof of this can be found in the number of pastors who leave
churches during or shortly after a building program.
Stephen Anderson
Preparing to Build, AMI, 2006, p. 8.
One
could successfully argue that most of the problems experienced by churches in
building programs have their roots in poor planning and preparation. Poor
preparation fosters a lack of unity and confidence, can ruin pastors, increase
building costs, and in general, make an already difficult task much harder.
Poor preparation will result in more confusion, wasted time, increased stress
and effort, and at worst, cause a church split. A key part of proper planning
is to first correctly understand your needs, abilities and limitations.
Stephen Anderson
Preparing to Build, AMI, 2006, p. 15.
In your
building planning process, the three foundational elements are:
1.
Knowing
it is the vision and timing of God to build.
2.
Understanding
what you need to build, and why.
3.
Knowing
what you can afford to build and how to pay for it.
Stephen Anderson
Preparing to Build, AMI, 2006, p. 19.
Important
concept. The gap between knowing and not knowing what
to do is much smaller than the gulf
between knowing what to do and knowing how to do it.
Stephen Anderson
Preparing to Build, AMI, 2006, p. 21.
The
fundamental pre-construction process can be summarized in the following points:
1.
Understanding
how the vision for the church dictates a need to build.
2.
Understanding
whether it is the Lord’s timing for the church to build.
3.
Understanding
what the church can afford to build and how the church will pay for it.
4.
Understanding
what the church needs to build and why it is the right thing to build to meet
the needs of the ministry.
5.
Developing
a building plan that is defined by the church’s needs and bound by the budget
of the ministry.
6.
Starting
a capital campaign.
7.
Securing
a financing commitment.
Stephen Anderson
Preparing to Build, AMI, 2006, p. 22.
It is best to
get a lot of people from within the congregation involved in the planning and
building process in order to help build consensus and unity. People who are not
involved in the process are much more likely to be unduly critical than those
who had a part in the process. Said another way, people tend to throw water on
other people’s ideas, but not their own. People in the church need to have
ownership of the solution, and the best way to make this happen is to make them
part of the process.
Stephen Anderson
Preparing to Build, AMI, 2006, p. 25.
The
Scriptures say God gives grace to the humble and resists the proud. Some of the
best building committee members are people of quiet strength and humble spirit.
While you may have people on the building committee that are large
contributors, on staff, or a person of prominence, they should not be there
because of those reasons, but because of their other qualifications.
Stephen Anderson
Preparing to Build, AMI, 2006, p. 29.
Expanding
facilities to do Kingdom work can put your church on the front lines of
spiritual battles. From before the church enters into a building program,
through dedication Sunday, the prayer team must be constantly seeking the
guidance, protection, and grace of God. Pray for the building, pray for the
leaders and committee members, pray for unity, and pray for those who labor for
the church in building the new facility. Set up a prayer schedule to insure
that several people are praying each day for the building program.
Stephen Anderson
Preparing to Build, AMI, 2006, p. 32-33.
We all know
there is a fine line between faith and foolishness. Prudence would dictate that
in most circumstances the church should build what it knows it could afford and
not build solely on potentially misplaced faith. I realize this statement may
not sit well with some readers, but too often we all (not just churches in
building programs) plan first and pray later; we ask God to bless our mess,
which is pure presumption on our part. If the church is building God’s vision
in His timing, then moving in faith is not misplaced. If the church is moving
forward with any other vision or timing, then there is no valid basis for faith.
Stephen Anderson
Preparing to Build, AMI, 2006, p. 40.
The process
of design should be one of molding the building around the needs of the
ministries instead of trying to make the ministries fit into a floor plan that
“looks good.”
Stephen Anderson
Preparing to Build, AMI, 2006, p. 50.
It should not
come as a surprise that the design of the new church facility must be driven by
the following factors:
1.
Vision
– What is God’s vision for your church? What is the church going to be when it
“grows up”?
2.
Mission
– What is the church trying to accomplish for the community and congregation?
3.
Financial
Ability – What can the church afford to build and how will it be paid for?
4.
Needs – What does the church need to build in order to become the
vision and accomplish the mission?
Stephen Anderson
Preparing to Build, AMI, 2006, p. 59.
It is one
thing to get a loan, it is quite another to pay it off. With few exceptions,
shame on the church that takes 20 years to retire a 20-year loan! Most churches
should have a workable plan to retire their debt in 7 years or less. Interest
is money the church gives to the world to foster the world’s economy. That
money should stay in the Kingdom to finance Kingdom work.
Stephen Anderson
Preparing to Build, AMI, 2006, p. 86.
A recent
study of churches that showed 80 percent experienced growth after completing
the building program.
Stephen Anderson
Preparing to Build, AMI, 2006, p. 89.
When God
created man He gave him his mind, emotions and spirit. To maximize success, the
campaign must successfully address each of these three facets of man in fairly
equal proportion. Therefore, the three pillars of a successful capital campaign
are intellectual information, emotional excitement and spiritual development.
Stephen Anderson
Preparing to Build, AMI, 2006, p. 91.
Pastors and
leaders must not fall into the trap of becoming unduly involved in the building
process. The primary role of church leadership should be spiritual development,
not construction. Don’t get sucked into the black hole of day-to-day building
oversight at the cost of the spiritual health of the church.
Stephen Anderson
Preparing to Build, AMI, 2006, p. 100.
A capital
campaign is less about money than it is about understanding a need exists,
equipping the saints with the knowledge of how God provides for needs to be
met, and then calling people to make the appropriate faith response. If the
members understand and embrace these precepts, the money will take care of
itself.
Stephen Anderson
Preparing to Build, AMI, 2006, p. 141.
Something
always goes wrong in a building program, it’s simply too complicated for it not
to happen. It will probably cost more and take longer than you think it should.
Anticipate it – plan for it – deal with it.
Stephen Anderson
Preparing to Build, AMI, 2006, p. 142.
Building
programs that seem to go around in circles and end up nowhere will inevitably
be found to suffer from one or more of these four conditions:
1.
Lack
of real need.
2.
Lack
of good process.
3.
Lack
of effective leadership.
4.
Lack
of faith.
The first and
last are between you and God. A good consultant can help with the other two.
Stephen Anderson
Preparing to Build, AMI, 2006, p. 145.
The cheapest
price is not always the lowest cost. Say it out loud. Repeat every day, as
needed, to prevent painful results.
Stephen Anderson
Preparing to Build, AMI, 2006, p. 146.
Pastors
should not be any more involved in the building program than they feel they
must be. God called pastors to teach and preach, not be builders. The pastor
needs to look after the spiritual side of building the house, not the bricks
and sticks.
Stephen Anderson
Preparing to Build, AMI, 2006, p. 147.
Buildings are
tools for ministry. Tools aren’t always pretty, but they do need to be
effective. Too often churches build edifices that are as much or more a
monument to the architect, pastor, or building committee than a tool for
ministry. God does not care how pretty your church building is, He is
interested in what you do with it. I am not advocating ugly – just a balance in
priorities and goals.
Stephen Anderson
Preparing to Build, AMI, 2006, p. 147.
You can have
your church built cheap, fast, and good – you get to pick any two. Construction
has three primary variables: cost, time and quality. You can control any two of
these factors, but the third will be dictated by the other two. You can have it
fast and good, but it won’t be cheap. If you want it cheap and fast, it won’t
be good.
Stephen Anderson
Preparing to Build, AMI, 2006, p. 148.
You are not
going to please all the people when you build, so don’t get upset when everyone
is not happy. Do what you know is the right thing to do and resist giving in to
an overly vocal minority.
Stephen Anderson
Preparing to Build, AMI, 2006, p. 148.
Almost every
building proposal put forth in the church will have its naysayers. However, if
the majority of solid, sold-out, fruit producing saints in your church are
prayerfully behind the building program, go for it. Let those in opposition
decide on whether to join you, get out of the way, or find a new church to
hinder.
Stephen Anderson
Preparing to Build, AMI, 2006, p. 150.
Ultimately it
is not fancy words or pretty materials that will make your campaign a success,
it is the movement of the Holy Spirit in people's lives exhorting them to step
out to make the appropriate faith response. By teaching of biblical stewardship
principles and bathing the campaign in personal and corporate prayer, our
desire can be brought into alignment with God's desire
Stephen Anderson
Study
Notes from Seminar