Deliver – 4 Questions to Solidify a Successful Church Building Project

This blog article is part 4 in a 4-part series

The previous articles in this series focused on the first three phases of the Catalyst Ministry Solutions Framework. The Discover phase laid the foundation for planning your project, the Determine phase explored ways to ensure that your church’s vision and goals are clearly defined and that you’ve identified all of your church’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (S.W.O.T.), and the Develop phase sought to identify individuals, both internally and externally, who are needed to help flesh out and thoroughly develop your plans for your church project so that no stone is left unturned.

All of these have cleared a path for its fourth and final element – the Deliver phase. This journey of a thousand miles for your church building project has been gathering momentum throughout the Framework to bring us to the conclusion that will allow you and your congregation to see and experience the fruit of all your church building labor.

To that end we will ask and answer four questions for this final phase of the CMS Framework. The Deliver phase puts the finishing touches on your church building project plans and prepares you and your church for life after project completion. In asking and answering the following questions, the light at the end of that project tunnel will come into view and the new chapter of the story of your church ministry that you’ve planned and worked so hard to write will be ready to commence.

Have we fully envisioned desires and necessities in the Deliver phase?

The key here – and throughout the entire CMS Framework – is being thorough; crossing T’s and dotting I’s, as it were. That includes having a thoroughly and fully formed vision that incorporates all of the desires and necessities for the Framework’s Deliver phase. Before moving forward from the Develop phase to the Deliver phase, it is important to ensure that the wants and needs of your church ministry have been or are being addressed as they pertain to your church building project. It is more important than ever that you align yourself with a good building team with solid, proven experience in order to help guide you through any potential pitfalls. Because inexperience or a lack of expertise on the project can lead to oversight, it can be easy to miss certain of your ministry’s wants or needs. Having an experienced partner like the Catalyst Ministry Solutions Group in your corner can shine a light into the areas of your project and your ministry that would benefit from inclusion in your project, areas that you and your staff may not have otherwise seen.

What contingencies are we building into our plans, timelines, and resourcing?

Contingencies can be a tricky thing to properly take into consideration. If you’ve never worked on a church building project, it is difficult, and arguably impossible, to know what kinds of situations can potentially arise throughout the course of the project. This is more apparent than ever in today’s volatile construction market. The Deliver phase of the CMS Framework is where this is particularly applicable because the finish line of your project is in sight and that inherent excitement to finally cross it can cause a bit of tunnel vision. An experienced team of church construction professionals like the folks at Catalyst can be invaluable in identifying areas and situations in the Deliver phase that yield unexpected or undesirable results and creating a plan to address those results should it be necessary.

What are the best organizations to partner with that can deliver the results we need?

There is an entire network of tradespeople and industry professionals who are needed to execute the amalgam of work that is required for any given church building project, most of which you’re probably not aware of. Like any other product or service, there are some who perform their trade with high quality, and some not so much. It’s expensive, time-consuming, and very impractical to experiment with various companies to “test” their capability in delivering the product or service that your project requires. The better approach is to have established relationships with the companies and tradespeople with the most experience and the best reputations. Then, there is the question of whether to find your Architect first or your Construction Management firm. There are pros and cons to both approaches and that’s where Catalyst’s Ministry Solutions Group comes in. They can help by listening to the needs of your ministry, and help chart the best path forward. Partnering with a builder like Catalyst that has long-standing relationships with the industries top contractors is your best bet in answering this question.

Will we be ready for our new “post project” church life (operations)?

This question is arguably the most important of this entire blog series. What does “post project” church life look like for your ministry and congregation in your new church building or addition. Many church leaders become so focused on their building project itself and the minutiae of detail that goes into it that, understandably, they don’t look beyond the project’s completion. What new equipment will be used and who will need to know how to use it? Will entrances and exits change? Will service schedules have to be adjusted? Being ready for post-project life is important not only for ministry staff but for the congregation as well. Partnering with a team like the one at Catalyst can be a game-changer in terms of knowing what to expect once the project in finished and how to approach this new chapter in the life of your church ministry.

The Catalyst Ministry Solutions Framework builds in steps throughout the project that minimize the need for postmortems or retrospectives. Our project will always be designed to meet your expectations but our ultimate goal is to exceed them.

As we go through the warranty period following a project, we want to hear how the ministry is being impacted. While we will track issues that may develop after project completion, the most important assessment will always be: is our work making a positive impact for the good of the church and of His Kingdom? If not, then our job is not done.

And, we recognize that the completion of your project is the beginning of a new phase for your ministry. The Catalyst Ministry Solutions Framework is designed to allow your ministry to “hit the ground running,” carrying the momentum forward as your project ends and your post project phase begins. Are you ready to talk to us about the Catalyst Ministry Solutions Framework and how we can make it work for your church building project? Click here and let’s get the conversation started.