Receive Free Monthly TeachingQuestion:
Insights for Building - What wisdom tips do you have for small (growing) churches that are starting their first building program? What wisdom do you have specifically for the pastor to consider before starting and during the building process?
Responses:
In addition to the responses from various pastors, we encourage you to read the following articles on our web-site.
Selecting an Architect by Charlie Daniels
10 Things Every Pastor Should Know Before They Build by Charlie Daniels
Multi-Purpose Facilities by Rachel Rowland
Pastor John White – Decatur, AL
Building the first building is an exciting time and can also be a stressful time if you let it. If you can hire an architect to oversee the project, I would suggest you do so. We could not afford to hire an
overseer on our first building so the responsibility was placed in my lap. We hired out each phase of the building to subcontractors. We saved some money this way, but it was very stressful to me.
Our first building was only 10,000 sq. ft. but was a major project for us. I thought the building was large enough to accommodate 500 comfortably, but it wasn't. We made the mistake of not providing adequate space for the nursery and children's departments. I didn't realize a church of 300 or 400 adults would have so many children. Since then we have torn out walls, remodeled, moved departments around, and built on additional space. If we would had taken just a little more time in our planning process and had gotten advice from professionals or even other pastors, it probably would have saved us time, money, and stress. However, we thought at the time we didn't have the money to do anything different. It all turned out alright, but it could have been better. Be sure to stay within your means and do everything with a spirit of excellence, even if it means building smaller than you had originally planned. And don't build your auditorium larger than your supportive areas can serve. Enjoy your growth and accomplishments during this wonderful time of your ministry.
Pastor Gary Hoffman – Rocky Mount, VA
One of the things that I did in regard to a building project, was “practicing the payment.” If my total cost was going to be $800,000, than I started a savings account and started making payments to that account of what my payment would be; $6800 per month. This told me if I could afford this project or not, and in the mean time built up a nice little savings account! God told us prove all things, and I proved this building project by “practicing the payments”!!!
Pastor Dean Hawk – Colorado Springs, CO
A DIFFERENT APPROACH - “Invest in people and you will always have money for land and buildings.” This is what the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart as I set in front of a prime piece of real estate drooling over the potential. It was too expensive and we couldn’t afford it. Even if we could afford to buy the land we still wouldn’t have had the lending capacity to build a building. We are a church that is just four years old. I too was feeling the pressure to become a “legitimate church” and to have our own facilities. In April of this year as I stayed up late one night to pray, God challenged my heart for us as a church to offer our first fruits to Him. Our first capital campaign was not to invest in a building, but to invest into the people of our city. What is eternal? Definitely not buildings! Matthew 25 screamed off the page to me. “Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' 40 "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”
The true essence of “building a church” is not brick and mortar. It is building and reaching people! On April 30th I introduced our capital campaign, “Dare to Care,” with a goal of giving our first million dollars away to the hurting people of our city as seed for future land and buildings. I challenged our church with the vision to give above and beyond their normal tithes and offerings. The first two Sunday’s of June we received our “Daring Offering” which totaled over $130,000! To date we have raised over $160,000. It has been the most amazing ministry journey I have ever been on. We are building a Habitat for Humanity house, we have invested into 11 local community organizations (Christian and secular) that are already impacting the needs of people. They have been blown away by our generosity. We are giving money away right and left. We gave a single mother with three teenagers a mini van, we have paid for rent, utilities, gas, food, and clothing to nearly 100 families. We have partnered with two low income public elementary schools and invested thousands of dollars into each school by purchasing curriculum and equipment the district can’t afford to buy them and helping with the needs of the students (clothes, school supplies, shoes, food).
As you build your church allow these four vision statements to mold your future:
1. “If your church ceased to exist today, would anyone in the community other than your members realize it or care?”
2. “If you were the only church that existed in your city how would it change the way you responded to the needs of your community?”
3. “To reach people no one else is reaching, we must do what no one else is doing.”
4. “I want to do something so big, it is destined to fail without You, Lord. Something so great it takes a miracle to do.” (Excerpt from the Song, “Something Big” by John Waller – Our new theme song)
Pastor Sam Smucker – Lancaster, PA
A couple of things come to mind. We have done 6 building projects over the years. In our first project we built a multi-purpose building which worked well for us. We could have our worship services as well as many fellowship and Christian school activities in the same building which helped us financially a great deal. In all of our projects, we decided on a certain percentage of funds to have on hand before we started - usually about 30-35% - and then as we were building received another 30-35%, and then borrowed the balance on a short-term basis. Before we started another project we would pay the previous one off and approach the next project the same way. I have always put together a building team made up of church members who were familiar with the construction arena to help with the planning, fundraising, etc. It is good for a Pastor to delegate as much as he can when it comes to building, especially if he is not knowledgeable in the building arena.
Dr. Dan Beller – Tulsa, OK
Here are a few tips for starting and finishing a building program.
- Keep the congregation in unity and working together. Many pastors leave their pastorate soon after a building program because the congregation becomes divided and the pastor experiences burn-out.
- Start the "Building Fund" early in order to have as much money as possible before starting the building.
- Have the financing in place before starting so that the congregation doesn't feel insecure.
- Lean on the Building Committee to make key decisions during the program.
- When the building is finished, give the Building Committee and the Church Board the credit.
- When the building is finished, the pastor should take a vacation and recuperate from the unbelievable stress. By taking a break from the emotional and physical stress, the pastor has a better chance of a longer tenure at that church to enjoy the fruits of his labor.
