Building your Facility, Financing your Project

How do I make sure my construction project matches my budget?

One of the most common mistakes that churches make is designing facilities that they cannot afford. This typically happens because the church hires an architect and counts on the architect to design a facility that matches their budget. Unfortunately, architects do not have the expertise to accurately determine what a project will cost. Very often the result is a project that is well above what the church can afford. The church can avoid this issue if they have a team, rather than just the architect, working for them. The team should first develop a plan that takes into consideration the church’s vision, needs and resources, insuring that the design will fit into their long-term plans; that it will meet both current and future needs; and it fits within the resources they have available to pay for the project.

Another common reason that construction projects go over budget is the approach that churches take to getting their facilities built. The traditional approaches used for residential or commercial construction are usually not the best approach for churches. There are unique factors (church personality; structure; etc.), challenges (decision by committee; multiple sources of funding; etc.) and opportunities (tax exemption; volunteer labor; etc.) with church projects and the traditional approaches to construction do not adequately address them. As different factors and challenges arise, frustration can set in due to the lack of appropriate systems and procedures to address them. These issues almost always result in additional costs to the church. The lack of appropriate systems and procedures also prevent the church from taking advantage of opportunities to save money and reduce costs. The result is that nearly 80% of construction projects go over budget by an average of nearly 30%.

This experience can be devastating to a church. The typical church has raised all the money they can raise and borrowed all the money they can borrow to meet the construction budget. For the construction costs to increase by 30% during the execution of the project is beyond what the church is capable of doing. The project is either put on hold and goes unfinished or the church gets over committed financially and puts the church in a very risky position. The fallout over this experience can be very difficult for the church to overcome. This experience is why many pastors who led their church into a construction project end up leaving shortly after the project is completed.

So how do you keep a project from going over budget? First, follow the design process recommended earlier. Secondly, work with a builder that has the systems in place to deal with the unique characteristics of a church construction project. The most effective way to do this is an open book approach that allows the church to sit at the table and be involved in the evaluation and decision making process. This should include the church and the builder in the design process where many of the critical decisions are made. It should also include the church in monthly meetings throughout the project where the budget, quality and schedule issues can be evaluated and monitored each step of the way.

Ideally, the builder agrees to a set fee and allows all of the savings that are accumulated during the process to go back to the church. With this team approach, with everyone working together to achieve a common goal, significant savings can be accomplished throughout the project. The result should be a project that is completed at or below budget, with a level of quality that meets or surpasses the church’s expectations, and is completed on schedule. If these three factors, budget, quality and schedule, are addressed successfully, the church will be well served and the vision of the church will be moved forward.

A church construction project should be an exciting time where another step in the vision of the church is being realized. It should be a time where everyone gets a renewed focus and a renewed excitement about what God is doing in and through the church. However, too many times the result is just the opposite. Disappointment, frustration, second guessing and placing blame for failure take the place of excitement and commitment. But, it doesn’t have to be that way. If the church will take the right approach and team with the right people, it can be the beginning or the next step in the fulfillment of God’s calling on the church.

Comments

Send us your comments.