I had the privilege of speaking at the NACBA National Conference last July 4th in Washington, DC (a great place to be to celebrate the 4th!). During the presentation I asked the question, “How many of you are suffering with facilities that weren’t well designed to meet ministry needs?” I had expected a few hands to be raised, but I was not prepared for what seemed to be nearly everyone raising their hand. That experience led to a blogpost that led to an email conversation with Phill Martin (CEO of NACBA) that led to a research project to better understand how facilities impact ministry. We conducted a survey with the NACBA active membership between September 9 and October 7, 2011 with over 10% responding.
The original concern that led to the research turned out to not be as bad as originally thought (I guess that’s why you do the research). Ninety-two percent (92%) of the total respondents said that they “strongly agree” or “somewhat agree” that the facility was very well designed to meet their ministry needs. However, there is a drop off in satisfaction for older facilities. Seventy-nine percent (79%) of the negative answers that were given as “somewhat disagree” or “strongly disagree” came from projects over 3 years old and all of the “strongly disagree” answers came from this group.
Some of the research would suggest that building programs were generally positive experiences (that agreed with research we did with Dr. Thom Rainer and the Rainer Group in 2005).
- 88% “strongly agreed” or “somewhat agreed” that the Vision for the project was clear to the congregation
- 83% “strongly agreed” or “somewhat agreed” that the Harmony in the church increased following the building project
- 76% “strongly agreed” or “somewhat agreed” that the Attendance increased
A major concern did arise, however, from responses to the statement: “The total project came in, at or under budget”. Thirty-five percent (35%) “somewhat disagreed” or “strongly disagreed” suggesting many projects came in over budget and sixteen percent (16%) indicated their project was significantly over budget. Interestingly, more projects seem to be over budget for programs that were 1-3 years old (42%), 5-10 years old (45%) and greater than 10 years old (40%). Think about that – 35% over budget and 16% significantly over budget. That’s a significant number of projects when you realize what being over budget does to a ministry. Projects that are over budget put additional significant financial strain on a church. The increased costs rob from ministry.
I was troubled by this part of the research. You see, the impact of not balancing cost and financial feasibility is even more profound when you consider that this only included projects that actually made it into construction. Many projects that make it into design never even make it into construction because the church either overestimated what they could afford; or underestimated what it would cost; or both. There are only two characteristics common with all the nearly 700 church facilities we have completed: 1) They believe Jesus is Lord 2) Their project was financially feasible. It’s the price at the end of the project, not the beginning, that counts. It is imperative that you…
Know where you’re at financially from the very beginning and throughout the project!
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