Church construction is a growing industry naturally aligned with church growth. According to McGraw-Hill Construction, 42 million square feet of such space will be built in 2005.

Not only are growing churches building to accommodate more people, according to church health expert Dr. Thom Rainer, churches that do not build once attendance fills 80 percent of a worship facility subtly send a message that new people are no longer welcome.

So, if churches build, will more people come?

"If you do not build it they will stop coming," said Mike Hankins, senior vice president of Myler. "A church will only grow to its capacity and will then stagnate." He said 90 percent of declining churches have facilities-related problems.

"(Churches) have got to build for growth," said Earl Myler, chairman and CEO of Myler.

Current growth levels as well as future growth must be factored into projections for a church's new building. said Formulas vary from 8.5 percent to 14 percent growth per year. But even conservative estimates mean churches have to build quite a bit larger than their current size, Myler said.

He said the concept of building big isn't difficult to sell to church leaders. What is a problem is keeping the "big" within the budget. "Usually what you have to do is keep their optimism in check as to what they can afford," he said.

Greg Barron, president of the Fort Worth, Texas-based G.L. Barron Design-Build Construction Company and the National Association of Church Design Builders, said building for growth often reflects the church's role as a neighborhood hub.

"Just as they were centuries ago, churches again are becoming the center of communities," said Barron. "Houses of worship, like other community centers, are becoming increasingly modernized with recreational facilities, full-service kitchens and state-of-the-art audio-visual equipment."

Growing churches want to use every means possible to reach out. These churches usually continue to grow after they move into a new facility, sometimes seeing as much as a 30 percent increase in the first year, according to Myler.

But church leaders should also consider that building-program costs usually take seven to 10 years to pay back, and the growth in membership doesn't immediately translate into financial growth — that number averages 4 percent a year for healthy churches, Hankins said.

Myler recommends churches build the costs of ministry into the budget for a new facility.

"A church building is only a tool that the real church uses to minister to the needs of the body of Christ and the community," writes Paul Spite, architect and author of the "Church Building and Remodeling Handbook."

"Toward that end, a congregation should build or renovate only if that project will enhance its worship, education, and fellowship."