Monday, May 21, 2018

Hey Fletch … I’m an XP and we just raised $10 million for a new building. Now what?

DRF—The simplicity of the question has profound implications. It reminds me of the movie “The […]

Most pastors have facility needs. Perhaps you’re bursting at the seams in your current building and need to get into a new building, or maybe you just need to revamp your office. The children’s ministry […]

Our colleagues at Visioneering Studios have created a free resource to help you learn what you don’t know about the design-build process. The fast-paced nature of ministry can leave little room for researching all the […]

Building healthy churches is certainly not the same thing as constructing buildings. Yet we all intuitively know that buildings and their interiors can and do contribute to the growth of many healthy churches if used wisely.

I’ve […]

Facilities are an enormous blessing and a simultaneous curse. Having an efficient facility takes careful thinking about traffic flow, space utilization and knowledge of what is cost effective. Brad Simmons has done some great thinking in […]

No two church plants are exactly the same. People, communities, economics and ministry purpose are only a few of the many variables church planters must work within. While God’s purpose should be the centerpiece of […]

Here’s my challenge to all pastors: Go outside your church, stand at the curb and look at your facilities through the eyes of a person making a decision to come in and “check it out.” […]

Today “Church” comes in many different forms, sizes and ministry focuses. While everyone can agree that stewardship should be a guiding principle for committees making financial decisions, what does that mean practically? What should the […]

Do your church facilities seamlessly serve or are they simply frustrating? A well-run campus is a blessing to every church ministry. But building troubles strain our operations and our people. So how do we run […]

Is it possible to seek the Shalom—peace and prosperity—in the people with whom you are negotiating a lease and still achieve the results you need for your church or organization? That is the big question. […]

As the multisite and church planting movements continue to become the fastest form of multiplication and community impact, an increasing number of churches are looking to facilities they would lease rather than own. Given this […]

When I accepted the role of Executive Pastor at EvFree Fullerton two months ago, everybody forgot to tell me that I would be the staff contact on the Worship Center remodeling project. I started getting […]

I fly a lot. Living in Charlotte, North Carolina, I used to predominately fly USAir, as Charlotte is their primary hub. Most anywhere I want to go is a direct flight. They have a significant number of flights […]

How does the church fit into the restoration of compact, walkable, mixed-use communities? While large tract homes (sometimes unkindly called McMansions), big box stores, and seas of parking lots have defined the suburban ideal for the […]

The following was a presentation made at a conference, explaining the process of moving into a newly-built church building. The PowerPoint is available at the bottom of this page, complete with photos and samples of […]

The presentation that your architect will give you will provide you with a perspective on so many things. Is the architect understanding your spiritual DNA and how it will be represented in the building? Do […]

When you are interviewing potential Construction Managers for your church’s building project, what type of questions should you ask? What things should you ask them to discuss and describe? Below are some suggested questions, provided by […]

The Request For Proposal is a basic element of hiring an architect. But what is this document, this “RFP?”  John Jackson, of Jackson Galloway Architecture, has given a 7-page sample of an RFP, to help […]

What is the architectural process, from start to finish, for planning a new  church building? Below is insight and wisdom from John Jackson, an architect experienced in helping churches build, on the process of designing a […]

What are the steps in finding the right architect for your church’s building project? Below are words and suggestions from an experienced architect, sharing the steps and technical terms that you will encounter throughout the process.

Letter […]

You’ve interviewed architects and decided on the firm to design your new church building. How can you and your church leadership be a great client to the architect? The following are some words of wisdom […]

Bob Feitl was an Architect and a Project Manager before he became an Executive Pastor. When he attended the XP-Seminar, he would often lead workshops regarding how to have a successful building project at your church. […]

As Grace Covenant Church celebrated thirty years of ministry as a Bible church in Austin, Texas, we began to look forward to what the Lord had for us for the next thirty years. We needed to […]

David Fletcher developed this PDF for several workshops on Building the New Building. See also his article on The Spiritual DNA of Grace Covenant Church […]

Port City Community Church held its first service on October 24, 1999 in a rented auditorium at a middle school in Wilmington, North Carolina. However, the first service was not the actual beginning; Mike Ashcraft […]

XPastor tries to help churches by providing some of the essentials for running a church—items like job descriptions, employment applications, review forms and church policies. Below is an example of a Construction Manager at Risk Request […]

“Pitch 39 Boss Reverse Pass” was the play and as soon as Executive Pastor Bill Northrop saw the Pittsburgh Steelers run it in Super Bowl XL, he knew his life had just gotten much, much more complicated.

It […]

You have a good problem—your church attendance is growing and you’re busting at the seams. Having found a great location in the heart of your community, your church has purchased some nice land. Suddenly you’re […]

I was sitting in a meeting the other day, discussing the way the church uses its space, when someone boldly said: “We’ve built spaces for us and then gone out and tried to bring the lost […]