Why and When to Build

Creating Space for People to Find God…Today and Tomorrow.

Should building a new church facility solve a current problem or anticipate future growth? In other words, should your ministry wait to build until they are feeling the “squeeze” of growth? Or should you build so that you have room to accommodate growth?

This question is at the center of many church leaders’ discussions surrounding strategic leadership and growth. When a church plans for facility expansion, they’re often trying to accommodate both the current context and anticipate future conditions. You need facilities that will be agile enough to have capacity for your future but still provide an immediate benefit to your existing community.

 When New Hope Community Church of Cambridge, MN chose to build their new facility and later expand to their second campus in nearby Isanti, they were making a strategic decision. They needed to build based on where they were as a church community as well as where they were going.

And so, they built. But the building itself wasn’t the goal.

A community-oriented church that wants to provide their surrounding neighborhoods with open doors to resources, opportunities, and relationships, New Hope Community discovered that a new building was just the beginning of realizing their vision. It was the bridge they needed to reach their surrounding community with their message of hope and love.

As you consider the opportunities in front of you as a church in 2020, you are facing the possibility of many challenges. You might have seen attendance numbers drop due the pandemic and giving and participation could be waning. People are uncertain about the future.

Those can look like difficult circumstances for a building plan.

Ultimately, a new building or an updated facility should be answers to your current challenges.

A strategic master plan can help your ministry find the best possible financial and strategic way forward so that you not only meet your current needs, but also prepare yourself for the opportunities that the future brings. Designing your building with the present in mind and the future in sight sets you up to focus on what most important – reaching people and multiplying God’s Kingdom.

It’s the tension between the now and the not yet that makes the Strategic Master Planning process such a vital part of the facility planning and construction process. A new facility is much more than a new worship center or a fundraising campaign. It’s about more than current growth trends or 5 or 10-year growth plans. It is about what’s good for the community right now…and about laying the groundwork for the community’s future. It requires a design that is both current and visionary.

At Station 19 Architects, we are committed to helping you become the community you were meant to be. We are your strategic partners at each turn and can help you clarify your options so that you can make the best decisions for your community now and for the future.