by Richard Messner

At the beginning of each new year, I reflect back on past building projects and experiences of which the Lord has allowed us to be a part. I think of the inspiring people, joyful occasions, comical experiences, day-to-day struggles and the sometimes sad situations, all of which make up my "schooling" in the ministry of church construction.

Most of all, I have grown to appreciate and understand the significance of these experiences for one specific reason: To identify certain procedures and mentalities that seem to work and those that don't in regard to building programs. Some are more clear-cut than others; however, they all are critical. In the following article, I have identified key areas that may help church leaders as they embark on future building programs.

Begin With A Vision

First and foremost, church administrators must have a vision for the church. I think many of us naturally are visionary people; however, we sometimes need to be reminded to actively contemplate and pursue our vision.

Many churches remain the same size for years because they have not acted on their vision or properly communicated it to the congregation. They continue to lose people as fast as they attract them.

Motivated people generally will not remain in an unmotivated church. Most members of a growing congregation want to know where the church is going and if there is a long range plan of action. Church leaders would be amazed at how easy it is to get members involved and excited about a church when they understand the church's purpose and direction.

In addition, the Lord's wisdom and guidance is needed as a church outlines and develops its vision. One pastor who I worked with in a medium-sized city wanted to build a 10,000-seat sanctuary. When I asked him how many people attended the church, he informed me the current attendance was 250. Lack of vision was not his problem, rather, lack of wisdom.

If a church is in a community of 300 people, it probably is safe to say that the Lord would not call the pastor to build a 2,500-seat sanctuary. However, the importance of having and communicating a vision remains the same. The vision that the Lord gives to a church will not always directly be related to the number of people that church leaders may desire to have attend.

Communicate The Vision

Once a vision has been defined, it is important to inform the congregation. Many pastors and their respective visions have fallen by the wayside because they did not properly communicate their plans to the board and the church.

We worked with a church in Kansas that went through three pastors during a construction project. The original pastor had the vision, but didn't effectively share it with the church. Another church in Missouri experienced a different kind of problem caused by lack of communication. The pastor was excited about the future project and had done a good job of motivating his board. The pastor and church board went through all of the steps in the process of developing their list of needs and wants for the new building and selecting an architect. They then paid thousands of dollars to prepare a complete set of construction drawings for the building; however, they had neglected to tell the congregation about the vision. When they presented the plans to the church, the congregation voted it down.

It is crucial to remember that church administrators need to make every attempt to have unity with the board and the congregation throughout all stages of a building program.

Select A Building Committee

Church leaders need to ensure the building committee is small. It is extremely important that everyone in the church has the opportunity to voice his or her opinions regarding the new building. However, there are better ways of accomplishing this than by letting everyone be on the building committee.

One idea that has proven effective is to appoint subcommittees to take some of the pressure off of the building committee (i.e., kitchen committee, finance committee, nursery committee, audio/visual committee). However, the subcommittees must understand that the "executive" building committee has been given the authority to make the final decision on all matters.

Another way of involving everyone is to have a one-day planning session with the architect. Announce to congregation members that the architect will be available to talk to anyone about their ideas for the project. The architect can gain valuable information, hear new ideas, draw sketches, show pictures and tactfully diffuse "bad" ideas that are inconsistent with the direction of the building committee.

Visit Other Churches

Once church leaders know that the Lord is directing them to expand their ministry through a building project, it is wise to get ideas from other similar-sized buildings.

This usually is not a problem for pastors because many of them already have visited other facilities that provide inspiration. However, it might be important to send some of the building committee members to visit other buildings so that they can see some comparable facilities and gain an appreciation for the magnitude of the undertaking on which they are about to embark.

Write Your Program

Basically, this is a list of needs, wants and a budget. Remember that the majority of time a church's needs and wants will not line up with the budget. This is when the services of a good architect come into the picture, as well as the importance of developing a good master plan.

The list of needs and wants can be simple or detailed. The architect should be able to provide an outline to follow and be able to recognize and inquire about any areas that may have been overlooked.

One rule of thumb regarding square footage: The "ultimate" floorplan for the average 1,000-seat sanctuary should have 50,000 square feet. A 2,000-seat sanctuary, 100,000 square feet, and so on. Within this average square foot formula, there are averages for each department. Because of the diversity of each church's program, very seldom does the formula work out exactly. Remember, don't worry if the budget causes the church to fall short of this formula. Most churches probably won't be able to afford the "ultimate" now, but it is important that a master plan exists for it.

Relocate, Or Stay?

To some extent, this question usually is considered at the inception of the vision; therefore, its placement here may not fall in chronological order. Nevertheless, most churches, at some point, are faced with this question and should take a hard look at future implications and the cost of staying at the same location versus relocating. The following is an outline of some of the pros and cons of staying at the same location (if the possibility exists), and a list of things to think about if the church decides to relocate.

Staying At The Same Location

Pros

• A church doesn't have to sell its current facility. This may sound like a no-brainer, but do not underestimate the potential difficulty. A church in our city wanted to relocate and had the facility on the market. The church even had a buyer; however, the pastor bypassed the opportunity to sell because he thought he could get a better offer. Ten years later, the church finally sold. Sell when the opportunity presents itself.
• By staying at the same location, churches eliminate the possibility of splitting the congregation or alienating any of the people who do not want to drive additional miles.
• It is cheaper. A church never can replace the square footage it currently has at the same price it originally was built for.

Cons

• The cost of acquiring additional property at a current location could be prohibitive. Remember, additional property not only is needed for the actual building, but also for parking.
• The energy efficiency of the old building is going to be much less than that of a new building.
• It is important to consider the task of tying a new building into the old facility. A good architect probably will be able to overcome this challenge by creatively incorporating some design elements from the old building into new building, but sometimes it is quite a challenge.
• The location of the existing building might not be as appealing as it once was.

Relocating

There are a number of important things to remember as church leaders select a new building site; however, the first consideration should be acreage.

An old rule-of-thumb says that churches will need five acres for every 1,000 people (seats in sanctuary). However, this is minimal, and after a church has fully developed a new site's master plan, it will not have room for a ballfield or much else. This formula is based on a 4-to-1 parking ratio (one car for every four people) and does not take into account any strict local landscaping requirements.

Considering the increasing number of single parents and two- or three-car families, the actual current parking ratio for many churches is 2.5-to-1. Personally, I would double this acreage formula and estimate 10 acres for every 1,000 people. Church administrators should not run into any trouble using this formula, but make sure to add acreage for additional master plan items such as retirement homes, schools and other facilities.

Shape also must be considered. A piece of property 900 feet long and 150 feet wide isn't desirable. A square shaped piece is best.

The lay of the land and soil conditions also should be considered. Drainage could be the most important thing to consider when picking a site, and churches literally can spend a fortune on site work as they develop a "bargain" piece of property. Years ago, we started digging footings on a project for a church that had a "beautiful" site. By the time we had hit the second car body, we knew we were in trouble. Unfortunately, the church had bought land on the old city dump. Churches need to know what they are buying and purchase land subject to a soil test.

A city's zoning laws must be studied. More than once, we have completed construction drawings for churches that were confident they could get their property re-zoned for the use of a church and failed. In nearly every case, the church was forced to buy a different piece of property. This can be very costly.

Do some homework regarding the zoning and the potential of changing the zoning before the purchase. In addition, find out what utilities are available and count the cost of extending any utilities that currently are unavailable to the property.

Last, but not least, you must consider location and visibility. I remember one occasion when a pastor requested that I visit his town to look at possible building sites. As we were driving down the road, I asked him, "If you were given a McDonald's franchise, where in this town would you choose to locate it?" A light turned on in his head, he turned the car around and drove me to the best of two sites he was considering for his church.

I know that we are not in the hamburger business, but try to have the "McDonald's mentality." Also, remember that corner locations are desirable and try to reside among good neighbors (housing developments, apartment complexes, schools, etc.).

Have A Master Site Plan

It cannot be emphasized enough that having a good master site plan is crucial to the future of any church and to the fulfillment of the vision that the Lord has given. Over half of all the churches that I meet with have failed in some capacity to properly address the master site planning for future phases.

This process can be quite intricate and is directly related to the church's program requirements (list of needs and wants). Over time, I have discovered that there actually is a "logic" behind master site planning. It involves determining the proper building placement on the site, understanding sanctuary orientation options, providing a main focal point for building access, providing good traffic (people) flow, planning for the expansion of each department and addressing the critical importance of the relationships between each program component. A good church architect should be sensitive to the importance of these things and how they relate to a particular site.

Another area to consider when developing a master site plan is the use of multipurpose facilities for phase one buildings. I encourage any church that is planning a phase I building (up to 1,000 seats) to consider a multipurpose building because they offer the most effective solutions for future phasing and usually are more economical.

The "1,000-seat" number is not necessarily an exact cutoff number for this type of facility; however, we have found that it becomes more difficult to overcome sight-line problems as the number of people on a "flat" floor (with no slope) increases. The multipurpose building, or Family Life Center, allows a church to combine the square footage of the sanctuary, fellowship hall, and gym into one room. In the future, it also becomes good educational support facilities for the complex when the church decides to add a new sanctuary.

In addition, be careful not to over build the size of a new sanctuary. Most church budgets will not allow this. Still, for those few churches that can afford it, there sometimes is a temptation to overbuild. Think big, but be careful. We usually recommend that a church not build for much more than double its current size (or anticipated size at the completion of construction). Know what the church's future plans are and have a physical plan (on paper) of the anticipated future development for the facilities. A good master site plan should address at least 15 to 20 years.

Obtain Financing

This is a complete subject in of itself as one considers bank loans, bond programs, capital fund-raising and other financing options.

Know where the money is going to come from before a church starts and be careful about borrowing on "faith." These days, bank/securities regulations are strict enough to minimize the potential of this problem. Once again, think big and, at the same time, be careful.

On the other hand, don't be too conservative with the building budget. Be sensitive to the pace of growth in the church. Church leaders can kill or cripple the momentum by being too conservative. Furthermore, I do not think that a church that refuses to go into debt is more spiritual than a church that chooses to get a loan. Many of the larger churches that we work with understand the need to step out and stay ahead of the momentum of growth. They are not fear-driven, but opportunity-driven. If it is necessary to get a substantial loan to help fund a project, they do so, and, in my opinion, with the Lord's blessing.

Select An Architect

As church leaders interview architects, I encourage them to consider a number of points.

First, consider the experience an architect has in designing churches. This may sound obvious, but it is important to understand that church architecture is a unique discipline. A church architect is not just designing a "church;" he or she is designing a performing arts auditorium (sanctuary), an office building (administration), a daycare facility (nursery/daycare), a school (education), a community recreation center (gym/fellowship) and in some cases a restaurant (kitchen/dining/fellowship).

Additionally, all of these components are designed to be in coordination with one another. Most regular architects are experienced in some of these areas; however, they might not be aware of some of the "pitfalls" that can exist in the areas with which they are not familiar. Just as people go to an eye doctor or heart specialist, a church architect is considered a "specialist" in a specific area of architecture.

The next thing to consider is competence. First, the floorplan must work and be functional according to the program and the plan for future growth. Second, the building needs to look good. I realize that these earth-shattering truths sound a little simple, but people would be surprised at how many architects miss one of the two.

Choose Construction Methods

There are a multitude of ways a church can add to an existing structure or build a new one. Traditional architect/contractor relationships happen when a church hires an architect to draw the plans and then puts the plans out for bid to several general contractors.

Another method is the design/build option which is available with firms that are able to handle both the architectural design and construction.

Construction management is another consideration and is a cost-plus arrangement. The construction operates nearly the same as in the first two options; however, the church hires a manager for the project who oversees its construction. Subcontractors directly contract with the church, and the church pays the bills at the end of the month.

This process allows the church to save the 5-percent to 10-percent markup from the general contractor and possibly sales tax, as well as offers the most flexibility and "hands-on" opportunities to a church. For the past seven years, this has been the most popular option among the clients that we have worked with. In addition, church leaders can consider construction management with a guaranteed maximum. This method is the same as the standard construction management, but with a guaranteed maximum that includes a not-to-exceed cap.

There also are a number of things that churches need to consider after choosing a construction method. Avoid strife, work with integrity and pursue excellence. By trying to avoid strife, that does not ensure there will be no trouble. Nearly every construction project has some problem with items coming in over budget. Nearly every project has some aspect or trade that throws off the schedule a little bit. Nearly every project has some general problems with a subcontractor, the city, the weather, etc.

Just be ready because it is how churches respond to these things that gets them into trouble. I have seen damaging strife on some building committees and within some congregations. No building program is worth having long-lasting disharmony in the congregation, and I contend that a project can be completed without it. So, be encouraged. There will be some troubles, but the project can be completed without strife and miracles will happen when the project is based on prayer.

Additionally, have integrity. Treat the subcontractors well and don't try to beat them down on price beyond a fair point of competitiveness. Be a good example to everyone during the tough times that may occur. I worked on one project where nearly every major subcontractor told me that they would never attend that church because of the poor way in which they were treated. Let the project be a lasting testimony to all the workers, subcontractors and the community.

Above all pursue excellence. Although the budget is the central factor in each project, avoid compromising the quality of the facility because of it. Find a proper balance and keep in mind that temporary and/or cheap solutions usually become permanent eyesores. Do it right the first time. We can go overboard in an attempt to be "good stewards" and suffer for it. Let everything that is built to the best of our ability be done with excellence.

Richard Messner is the president and owner of R. Messner Construction Co., Inc., a full-service architectural and construction firm. He founded this company in 1990 to continue a family tradition of which he became an active part at the age of 14. Messner has been involved on the construction site, in project management and with church design for 22 years.