1. Church Health – Congregation Readiness for a Building Project

A church health assessment remains the most neglected yet critical step for the majority of churches. “I would not consider a building program without first conducting a church health assessment,” advises Thom Rainer, a Christian thought-leader. There are several tools and organizations that can conduct a health assessment, ranging in cost from a few hundred to several thousand dollars. In light of the expense of most building projects, the cost is almost negligible. Pastors who were surveyed thought that when, not if, a problem arose on their building project, the health of their congregation determined the ferocity of the response from their members. Healthier congregations tended to respond in less aggressive and more trusting ways toward their leadership. The unhealthy congregation tended to find the first construction problem to rally around and make it the catalyst for all other perceived woes of the church’s leadership. Make sure that your people are ready and healthy enough for any size of building project.

2. Vision and Mission – Alignment and Unification for a Building Project

A clearly defined, communicated, and understood vision and mission is imperative. Almost every one of the things on this list hinges on and will be guided by vision and mission. Every pastor agreed that without a clear vision and mission understood by everyone, effective progress in designing and building their new facility would have been nearly impossible. When a church is aligned and focused on why they are here and what the building needs to do to further the ministry, the design process and all of the decisions made during that process suddenly become easier.

3. Finance Process – The Requirements and Time Involved

Church financing has changed dramatically for the better during the past 15 to 20 years. More financial institutions are familiar with church finance and understand the unique dynamics that a church budget creates. With that said, an increasing number of churches wait until the last moment to get their finances in place. A good friend often says, “Money is not everything, but it is kind of like oxygen.” Every pastor should know exactly how much their church can afford to finance and the monthly effect that the payments will have on their budgets. The most common “I wish we would have...” comment I hear is to have a financial adviser as part of the church team. The financial adviser needs to be someone in the industry who can understand the requests and comments of the financial institutions with whom the church is working. With the number of institutions that offer financial services to the church, there is really no excuse for not having your financial house in order. Make sure you have a financial adviser and a great financial institution on board early, and know exactly how much you can afford to build before bringing on the architects and builders for your project.

4. Building Committee Structure – The Right People with the Right Hearts

The building committee is truly the right hand of the pastor. The individuals who make up this committee will not only determine the success of the project, but also the level of wear and tear on the pastor as the project advances. Building committees are greatly important and can become greatly distracting if not solidly grounded. How often do building programs falter because of internal disagreements and personal agendas within the building committee? The committee has been commissioned to work with designers and builders to take the church’s vision and make it reality. This committee must strive at every step for community of spirit, not unity of perspective. The varied backgrounds, perspectives and professions of a healthy building committee will provide a mosaic of best practice ideas for your growing ministry to reach out to the community that surrounds you.

5. Delivery Systems – How the Facility Would Be Designed and Built

Church building committees spend countless hours – and for good reason – wrestling with the approach they will take to design and build their new facilities. The result of constant construction legal battles is that almost 20 cents of every construction dollar goes toward claims and litigation. How does a church protect itself from becoming a statistic, while building positive relationships with designers and builders? Often the approach taken to design and build is a reflection of the building committee, their comfort with risk, and their past experiences with similar projects. Today’s church building committees face a harder task than their predecessors when selecting an approach, primarily because of the hybridization of the traditional three delivery systems: design-bid-build, construction management and design-build. Make sure you understand the pros and cons of the delivery system options and identify who will be responsible for the various situations that will occur on your building project.