"Building together under His direction to accomplish His purpose"

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Elmvale, ON

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Listed below are some considerations for your church to think about, but please feel free to contact us for more information.

 

Building Committee

The Building Committee should be comprised of several church members (3-5 people) who will be committed to furthering the vision of the church body from conception of the design thru the completion of construction. Pick members wisely as they will affect every aspect of the building process, and unity as a group should be a priority.

Although construction experience may be an asset, members of the building committee should foremost be strong church leaders and have the ability to envision the needs of the church both present and in the future. You may also find it useful to have a financial representative on the committee to help keep perspective especially during the design phase of your building.

It is imperative to keep this committee together the entire duration of the project. Therefore members should be made well aware that the length of the project from inception to completion may span several years. 

Finding a Property

First, you need to determine whether you can stay at your existing location or if you need to consider relocating to a new location. To accomplish this you need to determine what you wish to build, hopefully at this point you have already started working with a designer who will help you determine a conceptual master plan. If relocating your church to a new location is required many different considerations should be taken into account before purchasing a new church property. Yes, you need a location with good visibility but don't let this be the only reason for the purchase, outlined below are a few items to contemplate.

Zoning - THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT. Do your homework on this one and be careful who you trust. Too many churches find themselves stuck with a property and unable to build due to lack of due diligence in this area.

Ground Conditions - Soil boring is a good way of protecting yourself from possible problems. Ponds and rivers can also create a lot of problems as you will have to satisfy stringent environmental concerns if you plan to develop this part of the land. You can also find out a lot by asking the resident neighbours about any possible detriments ( i.e.. site was previously a dump).

Utilities - Consider the cost of bringing utilities to your property, you may also find yourself limited as to which utilities are available.

Size and shape - With property becoming increasingly scarce provisions should be made to accommodate  a 15-20 year master plan. The shape can also affect its usability, obviously there is a lot less flexibility in design if the property is ill proportion or contains numerous jogs.

Location - Churches may vary on this one somewhat depending on their ministry but generally everyone accepts the fact that you need to be seen. Don't buy an obscure piece of property 10 miles out of town just because it is cheap.           

We must again recommend that you contact a builder/architect before purchasing a property as this can help to avoid potential obstacles later on.

 

 

 
Acquiring a Builder

This is a very important decision and can mean the difference between well orchestrated, efficient construction and outright chaos. By its nature church construction tends to be more complicated than residential construction and more detailed than factory construction. A church specialist has intimate knowledge in his area of expertise, just as you would trust a heart surgeon to know about the heart, there is an obvious benefit to hiring a builder with extensive church building experience.

The church building committee along with the pastors should review potential builders and narrow down the list to a few to invite for further investigation. The builders should be able to provide further information about their experience, provide references, fee structure and give you a list of sample projects he has done within the last 5-10 yrs. This should help determine if the builder can deliver the type of building you are looking for.

To further investigate the credibility of each builder you should check out the references they have provided. Here are some of the attributes to look for in a good builder:

Professionalism - How does the builder handle problems, do they maintain a Christian attitude even during challenges.

Honesty/integrity - Is the builder forthcoming in his dealings or do they attempt to hide their shortcomings/mistakes.

Good Stewardship - This is a hard one. It can be a difficult balance between decadence and economy. A building should function according to its purpose but not be so over designed that it causes unneeded expense. Some builders tend to think of churches as having unlimited resources and build to reflect this notion.

Ability - Can the builder do the job as proposed. Does the builder possess the technical expertise and experience to make the job happen.

Past references should be able to give you a good idea how well the builder lines up in these areas and may alert you to some potential problems.

God's Direction

As mentioned before the vision of the church should be firmly entrenched in the minds of those affecting the building design and construction process. After all is said and done the purpose of the building should be that of a tool which is use to save the lost. Scripture tells us to be good stewards of our finances, but we must also step out in faith. For this reason we need to commit our time, money, prayer and abilities as God leads.

In our opinion prayer is the most important part of the building process. Mark 11:24 says, "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will be yours"  Not that this gives us an open cheque book, but often we underestimate the power of giving up our prayers and control to God.

Finally, encourage your church to personally involve themselves with the project. To some this may involve framing or cleaning up the site, and to others bringing refreshments or meals to the workers on site, and to others this could mean a word of encouragement to the pastors and leaders. All of these things add to the church coming together as a community, which will not only create a healthy atmosphere to work in, but will also be a witness to your community.

Here are a few things to be praying for:

Pray for God's direction for your church (A church vision if you don't already have one).

Pray for personal and corporate integrity. You will never have a better opportunity to show others how Christians react in real life circumstances. 

Pray for building committee members with willing God centered hearts.

Pray for the builder/architect God wants you to use.

Pray for finances, that God would provide for your needs.

Pray for safety for the contractors and volunteers during the construction phase

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