Ray Bowman knows there are lots of reasons for a congregation to invest in a new church building. The problem is, said the architect-turned-church consultant, he just hasn't heard many that are valid.
Bowman, co-author of "When NOT to Build: An Architect's Unconventional Wisdom for the Growing Church," said he heard numerous reasons to build from pastors and church boards during his 30 years designing church buildings.
Before his "conversion," as he calls it, he was more than willing to accommodate them.
"I'd seen no reason not to accept their assumption that bigger buildings translated into greater ministry," he said.
When he began church consulting work he started to see things differently. As an architect, his job was to design the kind of building the church people expected. As a
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-- Ray Bowman, |
I found out that a lot of the things, in fact most of the things I held precious as an architect, I had to give up in order to do the consulting work with churches.
Over the years he consulted with scores of churches, learning from each. Because he was asking facility questions from a new perspective of ministry and outreach, he was forced to rethink much of what he had learned as an architect.
"I found out that a lot of the things, in fact most of the things I held precious as an architect, I had to give up in order to do the consulting work that I do with churches," he said, "advising them not to build. That was very difficult because I gave up all of my ideas that I was God. I really believed that if I could design the building correctly, the building itself would cause people to be converted. Architects quite often feel that way about their buildings. They don't voice it very often, but they really do. That's what they were trained to believe."
Most churches, Bowman said, build too big, build too soon, or build the wrong kind of building. As an architect, he encouraged these misguided practices. He said it is painful to him to realize that for 30 years much of his well-intentioned advice had actually hurt the churches he worked with.
Consulting with churches, he said, showed him the single most valuable lesson a church can learn about building is when not to build.
Bowman summarizes that lesson into three situations when a church should not build.
Wrong Reasons
First, churches should not build for the wrong reasons.
Building for the sake of doing something significant is one reason churches start ill-conceived building projects, he said. Congregations mistakenly think the project will show the community something important is happening at their church.
Other common mistakes church leaders make is in thinking a building project will motivate members to give more to the church and that it will give members a common
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Before you build... If you think the time may have come for your church to build, answer each of the following questions, yes, no, or maybe. You may want to print out the test to mark your answers. 1. Do you expect a new building to attract new people to the church? 2. Do you expect your members to be more motivated to reach out to others once you have a new building? 3. Do you think a building program will motivate your people to give more generously to the work of the church? 4. Do you expect the building program to unify your people behind a significant challenge? 5. Do you hope that a building program will involve more people in the work of the church? 6. Do you see the building as a way to make a statement to the community about the church's importance? 7. Do you hope that a new building will help your people take more pride in their church? 8. Do you need a larger sanctuary so the entire congregation can worship together at one time? 9. Do you need to add more educational space so all your classes can meet at once? 10. Is it possible that your space needs could be met through more creative use of your present facilities, such as converting space to multiple use, changing furnishings, scheduling services and ministries at alternate times, or using off-campus meeting space? 11. Are you still paying debt on your last building? 12. Would you have to borrow a major part of the finances for a building program? 13. Would you have to borrow a major part of the finances for a building program? 14. Would payment for the project depend on the church's future growth? 15. To help pay for the building, would you explore ways to cut spending on your present ministry programs or staffing? Add up your answers. Every yes or maybe answer is a possible reason to not build, to delay building, or to seek another more appropriate solution through prayer, research, and reevaluation. Source: "When NOT to Build: An Architect's Unconventional Wisdom for the Growing Church," Baker Books, 2000 |
"Buildings quite often become a substitute for the real work of the church," Bowman said. "As an architect I can remember having ministers tell me, ‘Well, we need a challenge so we're going to build a building.' I said, ‘Well, great. Let's go for it."
Solving non-building problems with a building rarely -- if ever -- works and can cause a church to falter.
Underutilized Space
Secondly, a church should not build when there are other solutions for meeting space requirements.
Eddy Hall, Bowman's co-author and partner at Living Stones Associates, said churches frequently have more space available to accommodate growth than leaders think.
"Most churches who call us want to have us come in for consultation because they think they're out of space," Hall said. "We find out during the course of the consultation that they really are not fully utilizing their space."
When church leaders say they have no more room for Sunday school classes, for example, a walk through the classrooms often reveals just the opposite.
"When we walk through the church during the Sunday school period, we will find that most of the Sunday school rooms are less than half full, yet the churches perceive they are out of space because they don't have an empty room," he said.
He said churches frequently do have empty rooms -- they just do not consider them for classroom space. The sanctuary is a prime example.
"They've never thought about the fact they can put a large adult class in there," Hall said. "Or they've never thought about the fact that if they replace the pews with chairs they could have three or four classes in there."
Unhealthy Debt
Thirdly, a church should not build if doing so would increase the risk of financial bondage.
Bowman said churches should pay off existing mortgages before they tackle a building project. Once done, a church should be in a better position to build modest additions or remodel existing facilities on a cash basis.
Too often, churches take on the debt of building projects anticipating growth to repay the loan.
By operating on a provision plan -- living within the income God provides -- churches can set aside funds regularly to pay for future building needs. Paying off existing debt eliminates interest payments and the savings can be used to carry out the church's true work -- ministering to people.
Mike Engledow, an architect with Schmidt Associates of Indianapolis, agrees a building project should support a church's ministries, mission and vision.
"Quite frankly, if they're building for reasons other than those, then I would say they shouldn't be building," said Engledow.
Like Bowman, he has seen churches plan a building project for the wrong reasons and agrees the financial burden should be a major concern.
"Lots of times I see churches that want to build, but just don't have the budget to build a quality enough building that I think they should," he said. "If you are stretched so thin that you've got to put up just anything to get under-roof, then step back and try to think more about value than about first-term costs. Maybe you should defer your building program a couple of years until you have more money."
Coming Onboard
Bowman said his approach to building projects is beginning to catch on among architects -- particularly among those who work primarily with churches. He said he has even heard of architects recommending his book to their clients.
"So, to my great surprise, this phenomenon is taking place. The requirement there is that the architect really has been involved in the Lord's work, or he is not going to embrace these thoughts," Bowman said. "For many years I think we were the lonely voice in the wilderness, but now there are several who are picking up on this to one degree or another."
Jim Couchenour is director of marketing and ministry services at Cogun, a church design and building company based in North Lima, Ohio. He said his company created a division two years ago with an emphasis on helping churches not build right away.
"That is kind of interesting for a company that makes its living building churches,"
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-- Jim Couchenour, |
He said he advises churches, as a rule of thumb, they should not take on debt more than two and a half times their annual income for a building project.
For example, if a church has an annual income of $200,000, he would recommend they not go beyond $500,000 in loans.
Encouraging church leaders not to simply build bigger buildings has not been easy, because it is contrary to what most are accustomed to, he said.
"It's been, frankly, a little bit of a hard sell. I think there has been such a mindset that, ‘OK, we're growing. We've got to have more building.' That's sort of the default," he said. "We're stepping back and saying, ‘What if we took your fellowship hall, installed a video projection system to where the pastor would be broadcast to the screen, and you could have an informal worship experience. I think it's more of an education. We don't have to default to the million dollar building. Let's take a look at your existing facilities."
Bowman said hiring architects who specialize in church design doesn't necessarily mean they are going to be concerned about good stewardship. Architects are in the business of building.
"Back in my egocentric days as an architect, if somebody had handed me that book and wanted me to follow it, I would have said, ‘Well, go find someone else.' That's probably what I would have said even though I was a strong church person. I doubt if I would have embraced it," he said.
