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.
Typical Architectural Process
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 [...]
The Process of Hiring an Architect
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. [...]
How To Be a Great Client When Building
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 [...]
Building Your Dream
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. [...]
A New Building: Facing the Future
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 [...]
Spiritual DNA: Spiritual Leadership for a New Building
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 of Austin. This PDF is an example that shows the [...]
A Church is Planted … and Grows
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 [...]
Construction Manager at Risk—Request for Proposal—Example
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 [...]
And Now We Are In the New Building …
“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. [...]
The Facility Challenge in Church Planting
In May 2006, the rented building that our 2-year-old church plant was using was no longer available to us. We were given two weeks to vacate and secure a new location, suitable for 200 people [...]
When to Build or Not: Construction Can Make or Break a Ministry
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 [...]
Rethinking the Church Space
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 [...]
America’s Houses of Worship
PBS has produced a series of videos entitled, "America’s Houses of Worship." I saw it when they used it as one of those programs that they intermittently interrupt with an appeal for the viewer to [...]