7 Deadly Sins

The Deadly Sins: 7 Common Mistakes Churches Make and How to Avoid Them

Rick Thurman – Principal and Church Planner

Rick Thurman uses his gifts, abilities and experience to help churches translate their vision for ministry and mission into a well developed game plan.  Professionally, Rick was trained in engineering and organizational management and spent many years designing and managing large commercial, retail and religious projects.  Read more

Kevin Goins – Principal and Architect

As a degreed and licensed architect, Goins has over 20 years of architectural experience with nearly 15 years being devoted exclusively to church design. Goins has extensive experience in church master planning for both small and large churches with budgets ranging from $500K to $25M. Goins has developed master plans, produced construction drawings and performed construction administration for a multitude of churches all over the country. Goins’ heart for churches allows him to patiently work with the church to create designs that are a true reflection of the personality and mission of the church. Read more

Don Emmitte – Project Navigator

Don Emmitte, D.Min. joined our team as Church Navigator in the spring of 2009. Don is a new “old hand” in church growth, facility design, and management. After serving for over thirty years as a Senor Pastor of churches with over two thousand resident members, founder of Grace Restoration Ministries, and author of Morning Devotionals, he joined the team to expand his passion: helping churches reach their God-given goals by making the most of their resources. While he is passionate about this ministry, the lights of his life are in his wife of forty years, three sons, two daughters-in-law, and two grandchildren. He is a member of Thompson Station Baptist Church. For more information about him, or some of his writings, please visit www.GraceRestoration.org.

Email Don

VISION CLARIFICATION

The challenge for every church as they approach solutions for either anticipated growth or present overcrowding is to clarify their vision. By identifying this as the real challenge we mean that it is both more fundamental and logical prior to other discussions just as drawing a blueprint is more fundamental and logical prior to buying two-by-fours when building a house.

This is where we believe that the process of Strategic Master Planning (SMP) is the best means for the achievement of clarity. So, what is clarity really about? A synthesis of definitions brings clarity to the concept of clarity: It means being free from anything that obscures, blocks, pollutes or darkens. As a leader, it means being simple, understandable and exact. The leader helps others better see and understand reality. Leaders constantly bring the most important things to light: current reality and future possibility, what God says about these and what we need to do about them. A leader’s clarity is the sun in the vision-to-reality solar system. We might say that clarity is the fuel that runs the twin engines of vision and action. The following five elements are essential to effective Vision Clarification:

• Leadership Team Consultation
• Vision Clarification
• Church Health Analysis
• Ministry/Mission Focus
• Future Opportunities/Challenges

Each of these steps produces invaluable resources that are verbally and visually delivered to the church. These Vision Clarification Process Deliverables are:

1. Leadership Team Consultation

• Written summary of the purpose of the consultation
• Written summary of the results of the consultation, specifically dealing with three fundamental questions: What is important (values)? Why do we exist (mission)? and Where are we going (vision)?

1. Vision Clarification

• Written summary of church specific philosophy of ministry
• Written mission statement accurately reflecting philosophy of ministry
• Visual representation of mission statement (logos).

1. Church Health Analysis

• Summary of existing staff (paid and volunteer) positions and job descriptions with analysis of each in reference to mission and ministry effectiveness
• Summary of financial history of the church, both written and graphed.
• Summary of growth of the church in the past five years, both written and graphed.

1. Ministry/Mission Focus

• Summary of community demographics and needs

1. Future Opportunities and Challenges

• Recommendations with transformational strategies
• Outline of “next steps” with recommended timeline

FINANCIAL MASTER PLAN

Why do we need a Financial Master Plan? As a part of the Strategic Master Plan (SMP) we provide a Financial Master Plan (FMP). This process allows an accurate picture of the overall ability of the church to achieve its future building goals. It is comprehensive in its scope. There are three basic areas of data that are analyzed.

• The first of these is basic church information detailing both the membership history as well as the financial history of the church. The result of this analysis gives both a detailed review of the church’s means and allows for the accurate estimation of projected growth in the vital areas of the church.

• The second area of analysis deals with basic leadership, such as the number and position description of staff, tenure, history, denominational affiliations, licenses, and/or ordinations. This analysis is especially important when dealing with various funding sources, such as denominational financial sources, local banks or credit unions, and/or national lenders.

• The third area of analysis deals with financial and membership data. Through analysis of this data we are able to detail and graph the health and ability of the church providing for a nationally accepted numerical score (credit gradient) acceptable to most lenders.

What are the advantages of the Financial Master Plan? There are several advantages to the development of the FMP especially at this stage of planning.

• First, it allows the church to count the cost in the earliest stages of planning. The FMP will provide the church with both spreadsheets and graphs that can diagnose (past performance), assess (present performance), and forecast (future performance) the financial potential of the church in a package that allows the church to accurately plan and design the optimal means for completing their project.

• Second, this also provides the foundational materials and documents for professional loan submittal. Typically this is done for a large fee, however, because of the depth of research we do during the SMP we can include this service at no extra fee. It is our experience that this package greatly enhances both the capability and capacity of securing the necessary loans for the project.

• Third, the FMP also compares and contrasts various scenarios from the different loan sources including various amortization schedules for retiring the loan. This is done both with spreadsheet schedules and graphs.

• Fourth, the FMP provides excellent tools to communicate to the church body completely and confidently. The color coded graphs and charts provided are an excellent tool to enhance the presentation of information to the congregation.

• Fifth, the FMP insures that the project will be completely for the allocated resources.  Many great visions have been lost because the question of “how are we going to pay for it?” could not be adequately answered. The Financial Master Plan insures that will not happen

Request your free ( $1,000.00 value) Confidential Financial Assessment

Construction Administration

Construction management or administration is much more than paying the bills and watching the schedule. The process involves risk management, value engineering, communication, accountability, negotiations, bill payment, review and documentation. As a construction manager we become part of your team to look out for your best interest.

Risk management covers a wide range of issues including on site safety, liability, financial and legal exposure. Our systems ensure that these issues are mitigated. We ensure sufficient insurance is in place to cover the building during the building phase, stringent job site safety measures are adhered to and contracts written in a way to ensure the church’s interest is being protected. Payment procedures insure that all suppliers have been paid per contract and for work complete as well as lien wavers and insurance being in place. Without these steps the church could be liable for unpaid supplier bills and workers compensation insurance premiums for subcontractors.

Value engineering- Is the process of analyzing what was designed and alternatives that may serve the same objective meet codes and save money.   Projects can be “value engineered” to the point of not looking like the original plans, short cuts can be taken that may save some money on the front end but are costly at a future date. On the other hand often times there are ways to be more efficient or substitute materials or methods that can save significant money, it is my job to evaluate these options for viability and recommend when to and not to proceed with them.

Communication and documentation are critical to a successful project. Conversations between multiple parties and over long periods of time have a way of becoming distorted or selective in there recall. Having consistent documentation and clarity between all parties is the cornerstone of our process. Documented communication between church, architect, engineers, codes, general contractor and subcontractors must be maintained.  Failure to do so can cause a lot more problems than hard feelings and can cost both time and money.

Holding someone accountable can sometimes be difficult either by association or lack of documentation or experience. As a construction manager, we play that role so the Church is not put into a difficult situation. If a conflict arises we deal with it in a professional industry acceptable way. Poor performance, unauthorized charges, work quality, not keeping a schedule or adhering to safety standards are just some of the examples of accountability.

Negotiations include pricing from the suppliers, subcontractors, surrounding property owners and sometimes codes or zoning officials. Having knowledge of these areas enables us to negotiate from a position of strength and ensure the church is getting the most for what they are paying. We have found that there can be significant price variances between suppliers and subcontractors and low price as stated may not be the best deal because of exclusions. When we get pricing we start by writing a standardized scope of work and not just sending out plans or worse yet partial sets. We broadcast this scope and invitation to bid through several outlets to insure we get a good response. The bids are reviewed and qualified and then we get to work on the negotiations.  We compare individual line items between subcontractors and vendors to get the absolute best pricing.

To sum it up we become an advocate for you, using our experience, systems and expertise to ensure a successful project.

STRATEGIC MASTER PLANNING

STRATEGIC MASTER PLANNING – RICK THURMAN

The Strategic Master Planning process is a comprehensive, team-oriented approach to   clarifying the church’s vision, designing site and facilities to meet current and future needs and insuring that the project fits within the resources available to the church.

The team is made up of the church’s building team, a church planner, a church architect and a church builder.  This team is lead / coordinated by an individual with experience in both ministry and construction called a Navigator.  The Navigator is the church’s representative throughout the planning, design and building stages of the church’s project.  The Navigator facilitates all of the duties and responsibilities spelled out below, although there is a team of people providing the services.  The Strategic Master Plan provides the foundation for the design and construction of the project.  The Navigator works with the church to insure that the comprehensive plan that is developed in this process is carried out in the execution of the project.  This approach gives the church a consistent and comprehensive representation from beginning to end.

1. VISION CLARIFICATION:

Leadership Team Consultation – After the completion of a preliminary questionnaire, the key leaders and influencers of the church are brought together to have an in depth discussion of the vision and mission that God has given to this specific church body.  The result should be all of leadership in agreement with the long term vision of the church and the priorities that must be carried out to accomplish this vision.

Ministry and Mission Analysis – As the vision is clarified, an analysis of the current state of the church and how effectively the ministry and mission of the church is being carried out can be looked at to determine if adjustments need to be made that might affect future facilities.

Identification of Future Opportunities and Challenges – An in depth discussion of the setting and culture of the community as well as the setting and culture of the church is utilized to identify what can be realistically achieved as the church moves forward.

1. NEEDS ANALYSIS:

Feasibility Study – After initial discussions to insure the church has realistic expectations as to what can be accomplished, a more in depth feasibility study is done during the master planning process to arrive at specific conclusions.

Property Evaluation – The site is evaluated to determine capacity for growth as well as features and conditions that need to be taken into consideration.  (It is strongly recommended that a property survey is obtained, if not already done.  In many cases, it is also advisable that a civil engineer is hired to deal with site issues, especially on a new site.)

Site and Facility Master Planning – Both the site and the facilities are planned out either to the capacity of the property or as far into the future as the church leadership is able to foresee.

Phased Site and Facility Design – Color coded site and floor plans as well as elevation drawings are developed for each phase of the master plan, along with agreed upon color rendering(s).

Detailed Construction Budget – A detailed budget for phase one is developed, including any and all details that the church chooses such as design and engineering fees, permitting and approvals, furnishings and equipment, etc. along with the normal costs associated with the construction of the facility and the development of the site.

1. RESOURCE PLANNING:

Financial Master Plan – A financial plan including all sources of funds such as cash, loans, capital campaign, etc. along with all uses of funds is developed to show quantity and timing of resources needed.

Capital Campaign Coordination – The church is assisted in evaluation of capital campaign options and decision of direction and method to be utilized.  If capital campaign consultant is deemed to be best option, assistance will be provided in the determination as to best consultant to utilize.  If self led campaign is deemed to be best option, assistance will be provided in determination of best resources for program, materials, etc.  If additional assistance is needed in the actual execution of the self led campaign, the assistance will be provided for an additional nominal fee.

Volunteer Team Planning (when utilized) – If the church decides to utilize volunteer groups to perform part of the work, guidance will be provided in identifying specific work that can be performed, along with potential groups identified to perform the work.

Determination of Appropriate Builder/Building Process – As the overall game plan is developed, the church is assisted in determining the best construction process and the best builder option for performing the work.  The options for builder can range from a qualified local builder to a national builder to a qualified project manager on site working under consultant’s license.

Financing/Funding Coordination – Financing and funding options are fully evaluated through the submittal of the Financial Master Plan to various institutions and agencies.  These financing sources could range from denominational agencies; local and regional banks; national banks and credit unions and national church lenders.  The church is then assisted in determining the option(s) that best meets their needs.

The above description of services applies to the normal process that Trinity Design Group leads the church through. These services may be adjusted to address specific issues related to a particular church.

Jeff Hess – Project Navigator

Jeff Hess joined our team to take on the role of project navigator with a focus on the emerging and non-denominational church.  He attends Fellowship Bible Church and he has a background in engineering and project management and a heart for entrepreneurship and church planting.  His passion for business and the outdoors led him and his wife to Tennessee, and his passion for advancing God’s Kingdom landed him here on our team, where his desire to be a Christian example in the marketplace can be lived out.

From Jeff:  I think one of the greatest excitements of life Read more

CREATING SPIRITUAL DONORS – By Dr. Glenn Sauls

Understanding the Motivations of Donors

Some year ago, I was doing consulting with a wonderful church in the west coast region of the United States.  They had experienced incredible growth in a place where most people would think churches are non-existent.  And yet, this church was seeing over 4,000 people in their four weekend services on Saturday night and Sunday morning.  The pastor was a very entrepreneurial type guy that over time I learned to truly respect and admire.  In fact, I believe he knows how to lead an effective ministry as well as anyone in church ministry.  In addition, he has an incredibly contagious personality in and out of the pulpit.  You walk away from meeting this guy, not just feeling good about him, but truly feeling better about yourself.  He is the classic “lifter,” not a “leaner.”

As I worked with this church I discovered something that is probably not unique to their financial department, but maybe a little more exaggerated.  They had fourteen different funds to which their donors could contribute money.  Seriously!  In addition, to the general fund, which is the unrestricted giving of donors to the church, they had another thirteen funds available.  Over time and through a lot of work and consulting, we were able to actually narrow the thirteen funds down to four.  Believe me, that was no small task.

I tell you this story to illustrate a very clear principle that all pastors intuitively know, if not intellectually.  You may have ten, twelve, maybe fourteen funds to give to at your church, but you really only have two.  The two funds are dictated by the way donors think and how they respond to ministry.

Major Giving Motivators

The two types of giving to the local church ministry are responsibility and revelatory giving. The two are totally different beyond just the typical description as either restricted or unrestricted income.  They have different motivational factors and are driven out of a different set of needs by the donor.

First, let’s look at responsibility giving and how it is defined.  When you are in a traditional family, everyone has certain responsibilities around the home.  It may be to dust, mop, take out the trash, wash the dishes, wash the clothes.  We all know what it is like to “pitch in” and take care of business around the home.  We also know that unless these typical responsibilities are taken care of, the “extras” don’t really matter.  For example, if my responsibility is to make sure the cars are gassed up and properly maintained, then every week I have to make sure those things are done properly and in a timely manner.  If I go out and buy new twenty-two inch rims and low profile tires, that is over and above the general maintaining of the vehicle.  It is a lot more fun, but it is not necessary to the general maintenance of the car.  So, if I’m “tricking out’ the car but not fueling the car, after awhile we are going to have issues in the home.  Responsibility says that before I buy the rims, I better buy gas.  That, and believe this about men, is a sign of maturity.

Now, how does that apply to the church and giving?  Responsibility giving in the local church is a sign of maturity in a Christian.  Responsibility giving is when I give my tithes and offerings to the ministry without any kind of designation of the funds.  It is like taking care of the little things around the house.  Therefore, the church can use those funds anywhere they see fit to use them.  More importantly, this is the point.  The driver for the donor giving to the general fund of the local church is simply their maturity in Christ. As they take ownership of their faith in Christ, their maturity is expressed through their giving.  They give because they know it is commanded of them to give to the work of ministry.  And, that method of giving is most often referred to as tithes and offerings.  I don’t have to pray about this find of giving.  I don’t need to fast.  I don’t need to wonder if this is the right thing to do.  I do it as the revealed will of God for the financing of the work of ministry through the local church.  And the expression of this kind of giving is a reflection of a mature heart for the Kingdom.

Therefore, I don’t have to like everything that is going on in the church to tithe or give to the general fund.  I may not like the pastor’s tie or robe.  I may not like the songs we sung that morning or the message the pastor preached.  I give because I know that God has called me as a faithful steward to give tithes and offerings to what Malachi calls “the storehouse.”  And, I don’t have to like everything that’s going on in the church.  I give because I am called to be a mature steward of that which God has given to me.

I do not concern myself with how the church will spend it or where they spend it.  As a mature believer in Christ, I just give it and then it becomes the church’s responsibility to be a good and faithful steward of that gift.  Things that I may dislike about the church don’t stop me from giving to the church.

Now, there is a second way of giving to the church and I call it “revelatory giving.”  The reason for that terminology is simply that, in most cases, people pray and ask God what it is He wants to do through them.  This is “over and above” giving or more commonly called, sacrificial giving.  This type of giving is done in addition to your responsibility giving.  And while I may not like the songs or sermon, I will keep giving to the general fund of the church.  When it comes to revelatory giving, a “little pebble” can knock contributors off this entire giving path.  I may show up for a Tuesday night men’s meeting and there’s a sign on the door that says, “Men’s Meeting Moved To Saturday Morning.”  Not only has the church wasted my time, but also the first thought that runs through my mind is “will these guys ever get it together.”  And, a little pebble like this can immediately affect my over and above giving.  While it doesn’t affect my tithes and offerings, it can effect my sacrificial giving.  And, that’s what it is.  Revelatory giving is “over and above” giving that is typically measured by some sacrifice in my life.  Sacrifice meaning it will change my lifestyle to give in this manner.

While responsibility giving is a measurement of my maturity in Christ, revelatory or sacrificial giving is a measurement of my belief in the future of the church ministry.  I hope you got that.  I give sacrificially to building programs, missions trips, benevolent ventures because I believe the church has a great future.  As I take ownership of my future, it is expressed through sacrificial giving.  That is why with top financial donors when challenged to give to major church projects or ministry initiatives, they do not think in terms of giving but rather, investing.  And investing is always done on the basis of future potential.  If a major donor is continually knocked off the donor path by “little pebbles,” his belief in the future of the ministry begins to fade.  As the vision for the future begins to fade in the life of donors, the passion begins to leak out of their financial commitment to that future.

Did you get the difference?  Responsibility giving is driven out of the fact that I am a mature Christian.  Therefore, it is incumbent upon me to give to the general fund of the church.  The scriptures command it.  But, revelatory or sacrificial giving is driven out of my belief in the future of the church.  “I will sacrifice for my church because I believe the future of the ministry is great.  Therefore, it is worthy of my investment.”

New church projects, like buildings and ministry initiatives, must be approached with this clear definition in mind.  Just because some one is a faithful tither doesn’t necessarily mean they will show up when you call them to sacrificial giving.  As a mature believer, they tithe.  No matter what.  But, if they don’t believe the church has a great future, they will not show up when you call them to sacrificial giving.

Just because a person has a lot of wealth doesn’t necessarily mean they will or will not show up for your next project.  Financial maturity does not equal spiritual maturity.  So, they may show up for your project but they may not give to the general fund of the church.  I know this drives pastors crazy.  As a consultant, I was working with a church in the Midwest and after the campaign was completed we did a financial analysis of the results.  The results showed that the largest gift came from a family that was not even among the Top 100 donors to the general fund.  The pastor went ballistic when he saw this in the report.  I had to remind him that financial maturity doesn’t equal spiritual maturity.  So, when this family saw the opportunity to give to the relocation of the church they were ready and eager to support the effort.  Why?  Because they believed in the future of the church.  They believed that the church had an incredible vision and it drove them to support the vision passionately.  Not based on maturity, based on belief in the future of the ministry.  In fact, we later discovered that they were new Christians and had not developed the spiritual discipline of tithing and giving.  In essence, they were still immature Christians that had been blessed with a lot of wealth and loved their new church.  Therefore, when the opportunity was presented they gave passionately to the future of the ministry.

When you are thinking about your next church project or initiative, remember that donors are driven in their sacrificial giving by the vision of the church.  Your stewardship campaign should be driven by vision, not by finances.  Great visions do not have to lack funds, even in a downturn economy.  Remember, great vision, cast by a great communicator, will always trump by economies.  People are not moved by great projects, but rather they are moved by great visions.  So, the vision must be understandable, meaningful, and repeatable.  In today’s business world, they talk about the portability of vision.  That simply means that it communicates in every environment.  Whether you are talking to your top donors or communicating with a single mom raising three kids by herself, the vision must be understandable and meaningful.  It must be communicated in a creative and strategic way that allows everyone to “find his or her place in the dream.”  That is the kind of vision that evokes passion in followers.  The best vision casters never have a problem creating vision carriers.  They never have a problem funding the future of the ministry because they know how to paint a compelling future where the donor sees himself or herself clearly as part of it.  Passion is created when a donor sees himself or herself clearly as an instrument to be used in the development of the church’s future.  That passion will drive them to sacrifice for that future.

It doesn’t mean they don’t have questions.  And the more capacity they have for giving to the project, the more questions they will have.  Not because they don’t trust the leadership but because they have more at stake financially.  They clearly have a different set of questions and you will need to meet with them to make sure that all “pebbles” have been removed from their sacrificial giving path.

How To Clear The Sacrificial Path

Here are a few principles that will help as you clear the “pebbles” off the path of the future for your next project:

1. Cast a portable vision among the various segments and targeted audiences of your church.  And, you will need to cast it more often than you think.  Cast it in such a way that they can easily find where they fit in the ministry’s future.
2. Create vision carriers to help you in transmitting the vision among the various targeted audiences.  Equip your top leaders to talk about the vision the way you talk about it.  Help them to feel, hear, and see the vision the way God has given it to you.  Let them sense what it is that keeps you up at night and wakes you up in the morning.
3. Ask your vision carriers (leaders) to “own” the vision with you.  They will only own the vision as they feel responsibility for it and should that responsibility.
4. Let your vision carriers feel the responsibility of carrying the message to the appropriate targeted audiences.  All leaders in the church have a sphere of influence.  They are the E. F. Hutton of that group.  When they speak, everyone in their sphere of influence listens.  Ask them to take ownership of the vision and communicate with those within their sphere of influence.
5. Make the vision portable.  Vision should create passion, but not within just one constituency of the church.  Allow the vision to have life and create passion in followers of all the targeted audiences of the church.  How will this project affect the future of our children?  Our students?  Our college/career group?  Our parents? Our empty nesters?  Our music and arts department?  Our education department?  However it is that you tease out the segments of your church, you should have a clear message for them that creates passion and ultimately drives them to wholehearted sacrifice.
6. Allow them the opportunity to ask questions about the project.  You can only deal with the issues that you know exists.  Remember, the goal is to remove the “pebbles” so that the sacrificial path is clear and leads to wholehearted giving.
7. Attach them to a spiritual process, not a financial one.  The financial process leads to availability giving.  I look at my checkbook and see what I have after paying the bills and then I give accordingly.  The spiritual process allows them to partner with God and ask the question, “God, what is it you want to do through me to advance the vision at my church?”  Good question.  With availability giving, the question is, “What can I do?”  Not so good.  With sacrificial giving, the question should be, “God, what do you want to do through me?”  It doesn’t matter how much you have accumulated in this life, God’s financial pile is bigger than yours.  I would rather have God resourcing my gift than me.
8. Keep them informed of any changes or updates in the ministry project or initiative. Rick Warren has been saying it for years, “people tend to be down on what they are not up on.”  Make sure your people have the right information, not parking lot information.  You know what I’m talking about!
9. Call your people to a spiritual commitment.  Once they have settled the stewardship/ownership issues in their life, they have heard the voice of God, they are ready to respond to the voice of God, and they are believing for God to do a miracle through them, call the people to a season of commitment.  In other words, allow God to “close the deal.”
10. Follow up with your donors after they have made the commitment.  Don’t assume little “pebbles” will not get back in their path.  Make sure they are informed of any changes to the project and the progress of the project.  Help them to finish the race and feel good about what God has done through them and the church.

Leadership and Stewardship

These are difficult economic waters that we are called to navigate these days.  It is important we know these principles, but more importantly, to use them as we call those that God has given us charge over to responsibility and sacrificial giving.  The rewards will be incredible as the people of God walk in faithfulness and sacrifice.  It will create incredible energy and passion in them for the things that God is calling the church to do.

Leadership will sustain the church’s future. We must continually raise up new leaders and equip existing leaders.  Stewardship will fuel the church’s future. Money provides ministries, which are facilitated in buildings, and those buildings are used to reach people that are distant from God and disciple those that belong to Him.  We must do both effectively as church leaders.  We must raise leaders and dollars.  When we do, the church is well led and well fueled to pursue her God-given dreams.

Dr. Glenn Sauls is the president and founder of Sauls Consulting Services, based out of Atlanta, GA.  Glenn served as a pastor for twenty-two years before leaving to be a part of a national church stewardship organization.  Glenn formed Sauls Consulting Services in 2007 and has partnered with some of the great churches across America.  He is also the author of “What To Do With Church Projects During Difficult Economic Seasons” published by Ministry Today and Bank of the West.  You can learn more about SCS by going to www.SaulsConsulting.com