3 Tips for Church Leaders When Planning a Church Construction Project

When we speak of the Church in terms of the Word of God, it is widely understood that we’re not talking about a building but rather the people who occupy it. God’s people make up the Church both locally and globally and a church building isn’t what validates worship. Nevertheless, we’re well into the 21^st century and having an attractive, practical, and appropriately spacious building for people in a community who are of like faith to assemble for fellowship and corporate prayer only makes logical sense. Occasionally gathering in an open field or some other pleasant outdoor location to appreciate the nature of God’s creation during worship is actually a refreshing prospect. But a church building is more than just a tangible structure for assembling. It provides members of a church a place to do ministry with a strong sense of spiritual and shared identity. As such, the right church building becomes the headquarters, the home base for everything that happens inside and outside of its walls while on mission for God’s Kingdom.

So since we’ve established the practical and spiritual need for a church building, there are some essential things that pastors and church leaders should consider when planning to build a new church building or remodel or repurpose their existing space. When creating an overall plan for your church building or remodeling project, exercise wisdom by keeping the following factors in mind.

Check the Timing

When discussing a church construction project, a complete and thorough timeline is arguably the most important planning consideration and also the easiest to overlook. To say “timing is everything” is not necessarily an overstatement. Timing is the nucleus of your approach to your building project and like everything else you do in leading your ministry, timing should be considered with a practical and prayerful mindset. Living in the fast-paced hurry-up instant gratification digital world that we do, the knee-jerk answer to the question “When is the right time for our ministry to undertake a construction project?” is usually “right now, if not yesterday.” But unless your existing building is crumbling around you as you read this, there should be no need to rush into new church construction. Take your time establishing a plan and timeline with prioritized milestones in the correct order, and set realistic goals for fulfilling the vision for the project.

Count the Cost

This one seems like it should be a no-brainer, but if you don’t have experience planning a church construction project, the chances are excellent that you don’t know all the specific costs that need consideration. Working with a construction partner with a track record of successful church building projects can make all the difference in your ministry’s bottom line. A veteran team like Catalyst’s Ministry Solutions Group can accurately estimate what costs you can expect on your specific project according to the vision you have for it.

Assemble Your Team

Getting your church construction project off the ground requires the right people with the right experience to make the process go as smoothly as possible. That means identifying all of the tasks that need to be accomplished throughout the course of the project and who the best people are to take on those tasks at the right time. In that regard there is good news and bad news. The bad news is that for the vast majority of pastors and church leaders, it is next to impossible to know all of the individual roles necessary on a construction project or who the right people are to fill those roles. Doing so at best leads to mismanagement of the project which inevitably leads to myriad problems and at worst puts the project into a prolonged holding pattern wherein its completion is substantially delayed or has to be scrapped altogether. The good news is that Catalyst Construction can take that burden off of your shoulders. Having an experienced construction management firm like Catalyst to work with you and your staff and lead and guide you through the complexity of a church construction project makes all the difference in the world.

Of course, any construction project is a significant event in the life of a church ministry, and there are many more things to consider than what we’ve listed here. These are three basic ones to help get you thinking in the best logistical terms about your ministry’s need to get started. And when you’re ready to work with a team of experienced professionals about all of the other considerations for your project, be sure to contact Catalyst Construction.We’re ready to provide all the help your church needs.