Your Purposeful Space
Planning Facilities To Equip the Many Faces of Ministry

By Julie Riddle

It has a tendency to creep up on you.

It isn't an expanding waistline, a ghost or a sudden rainstorm--it's a lack of square footage at your church. And before you know it, the youth group is jockeying for space with Crown Ministries, who are duking it out with Side Door, who in turn are frustrated by the men's ministries' inability to share.

The fact is, most churches eventually come to a point when they realize that expansion needs to happen--fast--and a multipurpose room may be the answer. This large, undedicated space allows for a variety of projects, events and groups to meet and perform a variety of functions. In most cases, tables and chairs can be moved in for a special dinner one day, then cleared out for youth games the next.

But some churches go beyond simply creating additional square footage. Instead, they get creative with features not usually found at a house of worship, and build a space that is both functional and fun. Better yet, most of these churches have the outer community in mind: Instead of just serving themselves, they hope to create jobs and minister to those who normally would not attend their neighborhood church by adding features like basketball courts, game rooms or even restaurants. Here are a few shining examples of such forward-thinking design.

Robinwood Baptist Church
Seagoville, Texas
Builder/Designer: G.L. Barron Company (Ft. Worth, Texas)
Cost: $1.4 million
Lower Floor: 13,485 square feet
Upper floor: 7,211 square feet

Brentwood Baptist Church, which houses this 1,400-square foot arcade, was built to be "so unique that everyone in Houston, Texas, would want to visit."

Robinwood Baptist Church's new Family Life Center is multipurpose in more ways than one. Since Seagoville, a small city south of Dallas, Texas, doesn't have a full-size gym or rec center, Robinwood's new building was a welcome addition in the eyes of the community. As such, the church viewed the project as an outreach tool, says Mark McElroy, Vice President of Business Development for designer/builder G.L. Barron (Fort Worth, Texas).

The company first met with the church building committee last February to perform preliminary design-build services that included programming, and to develop schematic drawings, elevations and a rendering. From these drawings, the company was able to develop a firm cost for the church so that they could establish a budget, secure financing and use the information in their fundraising collateral and in their Power Point presentation.

"During the time the church was completing its capital campaign, we were completing construction documents so construction could began immediately after the campaign," McElroy says.

The new building was attached to the existing sanctuary and designed so church members would have access to both the first and second floors of the new building from the old building via elevator or stairs. Other features include a full-size gym with rubberized sport court; basketball goals; volleyball net receptacles; a striped floor for league play; fully finished upper and lower floors; ministerial offices and classrooms; a large kitchen and dining area on the lower floor; and classrooms and a large youth fellowship room on the upper floor. The FLC will also be used for the church's growing K-12 school.

The entire project, including design and construction, took 16 months to complete.

Brentwood Baptist Church
Houston, Texas Builder/Designer: Century Builders, (Houston, Texas)
Cost: $7 million
74,000 square feet

Profiled in national magazines and newspapers earlier this year, Brentwood Baptist Church's new multipurpose building is a marvel.

Led by Dr. Joe Samuel Ratliff since 1980, the 10,000-member congregation decided to build a facility that would provide many innovative ways to minister to the community. Century Builders Inc. was chosen to design and construct a 74,000-square foot facility "so unique that everyone in Houston, Texas, would want to visit," says Project Manager Brady Eggleston. In January 2001, The Joe Samuel Ratliff Lifelong Learning Center was dedicated.

"This facility has great outreach potential because there is something here for everyone," Eggleston says. Visitors to the new learning center enter a dramatic central mall with large, bright skylights spanning the 30-foot ceiling. To their left is a 1,400-square-foot arcade game room for the youth; down the mall is an NBA regulation-size basketball court with six retractable goals, a volleyball court, a locker room with showers, and retractable bleachers. Other sports facilities include a fully equipped weight/workout room and an aerobics space with a large exercise floor and wall-to-wall mirrors.

But perhaps most intriguing to the majority of people outside Brentwood is the inclusion of a McDonald's restaurant, complete with drive-thru window and dine-in seating. The restaurant is co-owned by senior pastor Ernest Redmond and the church. It is believed to be the first development of its kind. According to one Associated Press article, chairman of the deacon board Derek Cyprian says it will make meals more convenient for parishioners attending meetings and functions at the church, especially families with children. In addition to the restaurant, a full-service commercial kitchen is also available within the building.

The 1,000-seat Fellowship Hall features a retractable video screen, crystal chandeliers and a portable stage for drama and music. Last but not least, the new facility houses a computer lab with a VVT system for precise temperature regulation, a large library, a gift shop and 60 classrooms.

But like Robinwood Baptist, the church's overriding mission is outreach. Leaders say they hope their new facility will create jobs for members of both the church and the surrounding community, and bring in those who wouldn't likely attend "regular" church.

First Family Church
Overland Park, Kans.
Builder/Designer: R. Messner
Construction Co. Inc. (Wichita, Kans.)
Cost: $7.8 million
54,000 square feet

Completed in May, the multipurpose sanctuary at First Family Church includes a full-size basketball court, administration offices, a nursery/daycare, a children's church, 1,200-seat sanctuary and youth/children's room built to host AWANA competitions. Also incorporated are several truly unique features: the Family Inspiration bookstore, Heavenly Bucks coffee bar, and Ministry Max copy center--a store R. Messner Construction Co. president Richard Messner likens to Kinko's for church administrators and parishioners.

"The church's philosophy is to provide all kinds of things for people," Messner explains. "Sunday school teachers can make copies if they want. And the church wants anybody to be able to use that room."

According to Messner, First Family pastor Jerry Johnston, a former youth evangelist, wanted to target the younger generation. "And the whole building is a youth evangelism tool," he adds.

Despite being what he calls a "Cadillac-level" project, Messner says that the idea of building unusual spaces is becoming the norm at churches nationwide. "We have two or three going right now," he says. "It's an outreach tool."

Yet another part of the project--the first of approximately five phases at the church--is a full-service kitchen and private dining area. "It's a full commercial kitchen adjacent to a completely decorated area for special meetings, guests and small groups," Messner explains. The dining room will seat approximately 50.

Future additions include a YMCA-style center, a 4,000-seat sanctuary and a "progressive youth" area. Plans for a swimming pool, which were scrubbed in the first phase, will also be added to the campus in time.

Completed in May, the project took 16 months from start to finish.

The Facility Walk-Through Guide
Practical tips to get the most from your new space

By Joseph H. Miller

Gymnasium? Fellowship hall? Multipurpose building? Multi-ministry center? Family life center? Sports complex? Activities center? Timothy center?

A growing list of terms describes this portion of the church facility complex. Which one should you plan to build? Here are some important considerations to help you decide.

Will this building also be used for worship? If so, acoustics and aesthetics must accommodate congregational participation and meet quality expectations--and these features add cost. You'll need heating and air conditioning that's not so noisy that you can't hear above the racket it makes. You should plan acoustics for congregational singing, not just install a sound system to blast "canned" music or preaching. Seating must be comfortable, with adequate chair storage when the room is used for sports, but get ready for lots of work rearranging the room for its multiple functions.

Is this to be your banquet facility? Plan to allot 12 square feet per person to determine the size of the room for banquet seating capacity. Use squares of gymnasium carpet so a damaged section can be easily replaced; invest in round tables for eating; and allow ample table and chair storage. To accommodate so many people, a more sophisticated heating and air conditioning will also be required as opposed to the minimal system--units hanging from the ceiling--which are often used in gymnasiums.

What about the kitchen? Kitchen size and sophistication is governed by function, code and affordability. If your local code enforcement (building code and/or health department) requires the full spectrum of public service features, expect to spend as much as $100,000 for a setup with stainless steel commercial equipment and fire safety features.

A fire marshal in one community recently told me than any kind of stove requires a hood and fire suppressant system. Instead of a stove, many churches opt for a less costly kitchen with microwaves and warming ovens on wheels to hold hot carry-in food. For others, the domestic-style kitchen is adequate and most meals are carried in either by the church people or a caterer. Be sure to check your local codes and know what is required in your community.

Will spectator sports be held here? The high school basketball court is usually 50' x 84' (junior high is 43' x 74'); a volleyball court measures 30' x 60'; and the AWANA circle is placed inside a 40' x 40' square. Add safety zones around these courts. You can probably justify additional space for spectator bleachers for the large church/school ministry. Smaller churches should consider more participatory activities (AWANA for children and youth, other total group activities for adults) that can function with a lower ceiling, which saves cost. The AWANA circle works in a properly designed room with a 10- or 12-foot ceiling, and the preferred height for gymnasium walls is 20 feet.

Will you also host adult Sunday school in this space? If so, the room must accommodate--not dictate--your teaching philosophy. The best arrangement is fellowship groups with a maximum of 50 people, divided into small discussion groups for relational study and interaction. Acoustical, hanging, movable partitions can be expensive and have many code ramifications. Freestanding partitions can be used instead to divide the large facility into spaces for each fellowship group--about 600 square feet each.

What other functions do you want to host here? Will you need locker rooms or just restrooms? (I am told that most Christian day school youth do not shower at school.) And how about a stage? A fixed stage often requires that a fire sprinkler system be installed in the building. If you use a portable stage, however, building type and area size may eliminate the need for a costly sprinkler system.

Joseph H. Miller is a Church Development Consultant with Discovering Life Ministries. This article was first published in E-TIPS at www.buildmychurch.com. Visit the site and add your e-mail address to subscribe.