Make the “Not-So-Common Events” in a Building Program Work For You
by Bill Couchenour
I think Ken Blanchard has it right when he says, “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.” And, while we are having this “human experience” we require shelter that facilitates our activities. But, just building more and more buildings has not been the answer.
In the decade from 1991 to 2001, the amount spent on religious construction in the United States increased by an incredible 138% from 3.521 billion dollars to 8.393 billion dollars. Even when you remove the impact of inflation, the amount we are spending on religious related construction in constant dollars is over 80% more than what we were spending just a decade ago. Yet, during the same timeframe, the percentage of people that attend church dropped from 49% to 42%.
This information would seem to indicate that many facilities appear to be underperforming and others may have not been necessary at all. But, facilities of some kind are necessary for nearly every ministry. The best facilities are those that are developed to accommodate a purposeful ministry strategy and that conform to a comprehensive financial plan.
Often, the key to maximizing this success can be found in the “Not-So-Common Events” of a building program.
We can think of the typical building program as occurring in four phases: Preparation, Planning, Design and Construction. These phases generally occur in this chronological order but the time spent in each phase can vary dramatically. It is also possible for substantial time to lapse between phases. There are a number of events that commonly occur within these phases that make up a building program. These common events can include selecting a building committee, engaging industry professionals, designing the project, obtaining the funding, constructing the project and celebrating the completion.
In a building program the vast majority of the money spent for the new facilities occurs during the Construction Phase and most of the balance is spent in the Design Phase. The interesting thing is that it is the Preparation and Planning Phases that will determine the scope of what will be spent on the new facilities. The church begins with 100% control over what the project will be and that control stays near 100% until the building committee begins to buy into the plans that are being developed. As they (and the church) take ownership in that design and direction, it becomes very difficult to change the course. Once construction has begun, most changes to the facility are relatively minor.
The first two “Not-So-Common Events” can help you make the most of the Planning and Preparation Phases so that you use your resources wisely. They are: Understand Who You Are and Determine the Ministry Direction. Understanding who you are begins by looking to the past. Abraham Lincoln said that, “If we could first know where we are and whither we are tending, we could then better judge what to do and how to do it.” It is important to understand the impact of your heritage and history on your current corporate culture. That information along with your current demographics form who you are – they are your “DNA”. Then look to your surroundings to understand the nature and demographics of your ministry area. Understanding your DNA and your community will open your eyes to the ministry possibilities.
If understanding who you are is looking to the past and understanding the present, then determining the ministry direction is looking to the future. This is the event that gives feet to your vision and mission statement. It is what makes your mission statement intentional and practical. Through prayer God will direct you to the areas to focus your ministry from the possibilities above. Then you can develop specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound (SMART) goals to accomplish the objectives of your mission. This is the event that is critical to understanding what facilities you need to accomplish these objectives.
A third “Not-So-Common Event” is Establishing the Budget. In the very early stages, you can find a beginning budget range by taking three times your annual income and adding to that figure any cash that is available for the building program. From that number you would subtract any current debt for a preliminary project budget number to begin to use early in your planning process. Throughout the process, this must be refined as you get input from applicable lending institutions and when you determine who will conduct your capital stewardship campaign, if one is needed.
A good financial plan isn’t one that just gets the building erected. The best financial plans are those that are comprehensive enough to take into account the “soft” costs such as staff and ministry that will be necessary to use the building as it was intended. It is also one that fits with the overall goals of the church. We served with one church that could have stretched financially to complete the educational and worship facilities they needed at one time. But, when all the pertinent issues were considered, it made more sense to complete the educational facilities with short term financing then return to construct the worship center three years later.
The other side of making a project budget work is being realistic about the costs. It doesn’t do any good to know exactly what you can afford then design something that is twice that amount. This is tough because it is rare for a growing ministry to have the financial resources to build all they would like to have which makes it necessary to prioritize the ministry needs. But, that can make churches vulnerable to “sweet words” that sound to good to be true – and aren’t. There are two main reasons for the majority of projects that have failed: either they overestimated what they thought they could afford or underestimated what the project would cost.
Another “Not-So-Common Event” is Develop a Master Plan. A master plan projects the highest and best use of the entire church property. Some churches see this as an unnecessary step since they’re just adding a few new facilities and think “we have plenty of property”. But, a thorough master plan may adjust the location of those new facilities so that it makes future phases less expensive. It can identify expansion capabilities to be built into this facility that accommodates future facilities. A good master plan may even point out a whole new direction for the current building program.
The last “Not-So-Common Event” is really just a different focus of a common event. Typically a ministry will celebrate the completion of a building program. However, the building is nothing more than a tool for accomplishing the ministry, itself. It seems more appropriate to Celebrate the Beginning, not a completion. Often, at the completion of a building program there can be a sense of sitting back and relaxing in, “what we have done”. But, the whole reason for the building was to accommodate ministry and the completion of the building is when the new ministry can begin. This perspective will also help keep the focus during the building program on the ministry, not the building.
The building is just a tool for ministry while we have our “human experience”. Use these “Not-So-Common Events” to develop the best tools to maximize your ministry efforts – and celebrate what’s really important!
Bill Couchenour has served as President of Cogun since 1994. From 1982 to 1994 he launched the Florida District of Cogun and served as District Manager. Bill has a B.S. in B.A. from Youngstown State University and an MBA from the University of Tampa and maintains a Florida Contractor’s License. He has served in various leadership capacities for his local church and other organizations including Youth for Christ and Heartland Christian School. Bill is the author of the book, Churches…Before You Build. Cogun is a member of the Cornerstone Knowledge Network which provides research and education to churches concerning construction related issues and trends.