How can a church avoid this common mistake?  First, it is important to understand the limitations of an architect.  Architects are great at designing buildings that function well, look good and serve their intended purposes.  However, an architect is not good at determining construction costs.  So, when a church depends upon an architect to design a building within a budget, there is a significant likelihood that they will be disappointed with the results.  Determining the cost of a building requires a different set of skills and up to date construction experience that few architects possess.  It is difficult enough for an experienced builder to accurately determine what a building will cost.

So what approach should you take?  A better way is to take a team approach that includes a church planner, a church architect and a church builder.  The church planner will help to insure that you are building the right building for your ministry and vision.  The church architect will help to insure you have a good design that will meet your needs.  And the church builder will help insure that what is planned and designed fits within the established budget.  By working together as a team, a game plan can be developed that insures the successful execution and completion of the project.

Case Study: FBC Hickory Withe

This church had enough foresight to understand that they needed to develop a master plan before they built their next facility. The church had already gone through two expansions and realized that they needed a plan for tying everything together rather than just adding another building.  They hired a local architect to help them develop a master plan.  At the beginning of the process the church established a construction budget of $2M.  One year and thousands of dollars later the architect presented the church with a master plan, including as a first step a much needed sanctuary.  The church put the plan out to local builders to get preliminary pricing.  The initial bids came back at over $5M; more than double the established construction budget.  Needless to say, there was a great deal of disappointment and frustration.  A lot of time and money had been wasted and they had made no progress toward getting the new sanctuary that they needed.

The committee made contact with Trinity Design Group and, after an initial meeting, hired Trinity to help them move forward.  After an initial evaluation of current facilities and a meeting with leadership to clarify their vision, a Strategic Master Planning process was begun.  With the team meeting every two weeks to evaluate the vision, needs and resources of the church, a comprehensive Strategic Master Plan was developed in a period of eight weeks.  The result was a master plan that accurately reflected their vision for the future while developing a Phase I plan that met their current needs and fit within their established budget.  As the Strategic Master Plan was shared with the entire congregation, a great deal of excitement was generated and everyone was motivated to move forward as quickly as possible.

After spending a year developing a plan that would not work, within two to three months after hiring Trinity, the church was moving forward with architectural drawings and permitting for their new sanctuary.  A few months after that, they were moving forward with construction.  Going through the Strategic Master Planning process accelerated the church’s design and construction project, while giving the leadership and the body a clear vision for the future.  This vision wasn’t just for buildings but for the ministry that would be carried out and the growth that could take place as they moved into the future.

Related posts:

1. What does the master planning process look like?
2. What does the master planning process look like?

One of the churches I have worked with in the past had spent nearly four years struggling with gaining consensus concerning a project to expand their facilities to meet their burgeoning congregation. They had done both architectural design and capital development. However, because of the lack of unity they were turned away from going forward with any of their plans. At the time I became involved with the church they had also experienced two pastoral leadership changes and a third had come to the field. It was a church much like the nation of Israel as Judges describes it: In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit (Judges 17:6 NIV).

The background of this verse and the rest of the chapters to the end of this book was the spiral of sin and idolatry that led to the destruction of Israel. It is clear that while the nation was happy under the Judges’ leadership, they were certainly unhappy when there was no Judge. Outward losses drive good people to their prayers, but bad people to their curses. It was one small step and soon they did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord.

As a church we can fall into the same trap. When we fail to clearly define and communicate the vision, it leaves a void that will be filled by the aimless insistence of individuals. Often this causes misunderstanding, and at other times the destruction of relationships and communities of faith. There are several strategies that can be used to assist the church in shifting its focus from its own agenda to Christ’s. You may want to think of them as spiritual disciplines that cultivate openness to what Christ wants to accomplish in and through the church.

Designing this process is more difficult than some would imagine. One difficulty lies in the fact that many lay leaders (and pastors for that matter) are steeped in business models that focus on deciding rather than discerning. As the core leadership team meets together with our assistance, the following principles will develop consensus:

 Honor the church’s Culture. As much as possible, the process should honor the established culture of the church. There are exceptions to this principle, particularly in a congregation dominated by a few controllers; however, the rule generally applies. The process should recognize and abide within the boundaries of the church’s institutional systems.

 Include the People of Passion. There is a difference between the position of position (those who have formal power) and the people of passion (those who are the informal leaders). Any process that does not honor both of these groups will not achieve consensus.

 Keep the Planning Team Focused on Process. A business oriented “deciding” model tends to pull together a representative collection of high rollers who “guide” the outcome. In most cases, this group consists of primary decision-makers who in turn exert substantial influence. With a kingdom-oriented, discernment approach, the planning team is more focused on learning through the process than controlling the outcome. Of course, this allows the true “Head of the Church,” namely Christ, to guide the values, beliefs and missions. Accordingly, the planning team is then free to focus on building consensus rather than controlling the final results.

 Sustain Congregational Communication. The phrase “multiple mediums, maximum redundancy” is wise counsel for the church to create and sustain unity. Though it may seem to be overkill to some, a steady stream of updates and information is vital to keep the process open. The appropriate term is “dialogue” rather than “presentation.”

 Develop and Emphasize the Congregational Cornerstone. The cornerstone of any church should include written core values, logos, mission statements, vision statements, statements of faith, mottos, theme songs, and related symbols that remind the church of its basic reason for being a church. They define both the vertical (worshipping God) and horizontal (serving others) baseline for everything that is to be done.

These principles when applied will bring consensus. As we have often said, “Vision glorifies God, directs our actions, and brings reward.” Clearly defining and communicating the vision will bring unity.

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A Note about the Author: Don Emmitte, Church Navigator with Trinity Design Group, is a new “old hand” in church growth, facility design, and management. After serving for over thirty years as a pastor of churches with over two thousand resident members, founder of Grace Restoration Ministries, and author of Morning Devotionals, he joined the team at TDG in 2009 to expand his passion: helping churches reach their God-given goals by making the most of their resources. For more information, contact Don at demmitte@trinitydesigngroup.com, or visit the web site at www.GraceRestoration.org.

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