Buildings
Blueprints, architects, building supervisors, punch lists … sounds like a headache waiting to happen! Included here are some helpful articles, from architects that have worked with churches on a new building, as well as from church leaders that have survived the building experience.
What makes for a great church building? That depends. What is your church culture? Who and what age group are you targeting with the gospel? And how does your facilities team keep your resources looking great? If your church looks like it stepped out of 1983—dust and all—you might as well lead visitors in the front door and out the back.
Strategic Designs for Active Shooter Readiness
Dave Milam has helped hundreds of churches around the country with their facilities. One of his most frequent questions is, "How can we make our campus safer?” This webinar provides a lively discussion from [...]
Cultural Factors that Affect Building Design
When we design a church building, cultural factors heavily influence us. We add certain elements, such as a steeple, for cultural reasons. The size of the building is culturally-driven. The decision to install air [...]
Raised $10 Million for a Building and Now What?
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 [...]
Talking to Your Architect
One of the challenges that churches continually face is that we build sporadically. Dealing with architects, designers and builders happens from time-to-time. This means that XPs and church leaders must relearn the language of architecture [...]
Three Steps to Visualizing Your Dream for Your New (or Renovated) Facility
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 [...]
The Design-Build Process—Free Resource
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 [...]
Should Your Church Consider a Cell Tower Lease?
A sales rep stops by your church office with a simple offer. Your building is ideally suited to be a cell phone tower. The equipment will be practically invisible. If you lease the space to [...]
Partnering With Your Community for Sustainable Impact
John Cissel of Visioneering Studios talks about new uses of church property. This involves churches doing joint ventures with developers for impacting a church’s local community. The issue is how to build church facilities in expensive [...]
What Do Your Facilities Say About Your Church?
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. [...]
Evaluating Kids’ Ministry Space
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 [...]
How to Pick a Facility for a Church Plant
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 [...]
The Cost of First Impressions
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.” [...]
Saving and Splurging When Furnishing Your Place of Worship
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 [...]
Aligning Church Facilities with Leadership Vision
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 [...]
Negotiation and Shalom with Our Sites
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. [...]
Five Lease Negotiating Tips for Churches
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 [...]
Multisite vs. Multi-venue
The excitement of seeing God bring more people to the doors of the church—as He works in the hearts and lives of our neighbors and friends—can also bring challenges. The reality of physical space—worship center [...]
Newly in Charge of Unresolved Issues
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 [...]
Learning About Guest Experiences from the Airlines
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 [...]
Discovering New Urbanism
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 [...]
Moving Into Your New Facility
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 [...]
An Architect’s Presentation
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 [...]
Construction Manager At Risk Questions
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 [...]
Request For Proposal: Hiring an Architect
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 [...]