Tag Archive - Church
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4 Ways To Use Social Media During Church Construction

June 14, 2011 in Church Construction, Social Media with 0 Comments

The most popular blog I’ve written to date was “7 Ways Smart Churches Are Using Social Media”.  The title says it all, but I wanted to follow-up with some ways to use Social Media as you navigate the construction process with your church. So here are some musings on that subject.

Social Media & Church Construction

Part of the problem with building churches is keeping people in the loop on what’s going on.  When you first begin, everybody is talking about the new facility.  You may be neck-deep in a capital campaign, there are architects and builders being introduced to the congregation and then BAM!!!! Radio silence for 6 months to a year while you take on the arduous task of Master Planning, Schematic Design and final Construction Documents and permitting.  Most churches don’t think about this “dark side of the moon” period because they are on the dark side of the moon with the facility design team.  Continue Reading…

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Church Construction – Existing Debt vs Funding

February 18, 2011 in Uncategorized with 2 Comments

Here is a quick video about how banks view your existing debt when you are looking to secure funding for new construction or renovation.

Post a comment if you have any questions.

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CHURCH CONSTRUCTION – DESIGN YOU FIRST

February 11, 2011 in Leadership, Uncategorized with 2 Comments

D-E-S-I-G-N: Who Am I? Part 2

This is some great stuff for you to think about over the weekend from my good friend and mentor John Woodall who is the Pastor of  Care at North Point Community Church. If you didn’t see part 1 of the series Click Here and get caught up. 

Last time we looked at the first 10 areas that make all of us unique. Here are some additional areas.

11. Our Natural Gifts: Am I an artistic, athletic, academic?  

12. Our Spiritual Gifts: Romans 12:6-8 We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. [7] If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; [8] if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

13. Our education

14. Our experiences: This is our LifeMap. It is important to remember that God has been with us and leading all the time.

Deut. 8:2-3 Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. [3] He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

15. Our spiritual pathway: There are many different ways to draw near to God. Some are intellectual, relational, worship, nature, contemplative, serving, and activist. (See Gary Thomas, Sacred Pathways)

Spiritual Pathways

http://www.faithbasedblog.com/2006/05/ortberg_outtakes_spiritual_pat.html

Spiritual Pathway Tool

http://www.fcogpunxsy.com/spiritual_pathway_assessment_tool.htm

16.     Our style of leadership: There are many different styles of leadership: Visionary, entrepreneurial, strategic, motivational, shepherding, role model and managerial

Finding Your Leadership Style

http://www.christianitytoday.com/bcl/areas/leadership/articles/le-8l1-8l1084.html

17.     Our style of ministry: Someone has suggested that there are different styles of ministry based on the offices of Christ.

a.    Prophetic disruptions

b.    Kingly leadership

c.    Priestly connection

18.    Our passion for ministry

19.    Our genius, highest and best use or our core competencies

20.    Our weaknesses

I believe that when we take the time to see how fearfully and wonderfully we are made, we come alive. We experience a peace and joy that is so fulfilling. Our hearts are at rest and we fulfill the purposes of God for our lives in our generation. How well do you know who you are and who you aren’t? Take some time to discover.

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FYI – Valentine’s Day is Monday.
Also, don’t forget about my Orange Conference CD giveaway. Click Here for Details.
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Church Construction – Athens Church Renovation Update

February 8, 2011 in Uncategorized with 1 Comment

Athens Church in Athens Ga is a North Point Ministries Strategic Partnership.   To get a feel for how they are connecting people with their project click here.

The project is moving faster that we origianlly thought and we hope to have a celebration of Biblical proportion on Cinco De Mayo with the Athens Church team (that’s May 5th).  The drywall is almost completely installed and now work is being done on the stage area of the main sanctuary.  It’s really starting to have that North Point feel.  Neal Prince / LS3P has done and incredible job with the flow of the building.  It’s wide open with lots of great spaces that are taylored for each ministry.  

The rendering to the right is the final answer for what the front of the facility will look like.  Click on it if you want to check out the lastest pics and see what the inside of the building is looking like.

If you have questions about space you’re looking to rennovate Click Here to Comment and I’ll answer them in the comments section.  Or feel free to email me directly.

Have and incredible day!

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Church Construction and Money

February 7, 2011 in Church Construction with 1 Comment

Church Construction Quick Start Guide – Build a long runway

Having a long runway means you have a great idea of where you’re going and how you’re going to get there long before you actually need to arrive.  I’m often with churches that need their new space yesterday.  They’ve come to what they believe is the right time to build in the life of their ministry only to find out the conversation they had yesterday, when they pushed the “start” button, should’ve happened 18 months ago.  Starting early is one of the best ways to leverage your resources well during expansion.  So here are a couple of things to consider while you’re building your runway. 

Money – When I’m considering working with a client here are a couple of metrics I like to see in place.

  1. Debt to income ratio – I like to see a church at no more than 35 – 40% debt to annual income ratio.  If you have an annual income of $1 million, that means no more than $400,000 should be debt.  When you apply for funding the bank is not going to be interested in taking a second position behind your current debt.  Therefore, the new funding will have to cover the amount needed for the new project as well as the existing debt.   If that ratio is off balance your chances of funding drop significantly.
  2. Cash On Hand – No matter what size the project, a minimum of $200,000 is going to be needed in a designated building fund to get the ball rolling.  A design team, contractor, and civil engineer are just of few of the professionals that will need to be hired prior to the project being fully funded.  Part of building a long runway is waiting until you have enough money to navigate the first season of the project financially.
  3. Margin – I could go into a rant regarding how you need to maintain margin in your life through this process, but I’ll save that for a later blog in this series.  Having margin means there is a reasonable gap between cash in and cash out through the ministry.  Margin is one of the most commonly underestimated elements for churches that are seeking funding.  Today, banks are much more concerned with this number than annual income or Capital Campaign pledges.

If you’re church needs a financial check up I’d highly recommend you connect with Casey Graham over at The Change Group.  I feel like I get smarter every time I hear his name.  He has a new book out “Funded and Free” and has made the first three chapters available for download  free.  Click Here to download it…I dare you!

Click Here to Comment ….I double dog dare you!!

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Church Construction Quick Start Guide – 3 Steps to Starting Well

February 2, 2011 in Leadership, Uncategorized with 2 Comments

Over the next few days and weeks I’d like to share with you (in an organized way) the steps I think you should take as a fast growing church to prepare to build ministry space.  If your church is growing, sooner or later you’re going to have to build.  Most churches I’m working with usually make the following statement sometime early on… “Man I wish we’d started preparing sooner”.  Whether you have a congregation of 200 or 2000 and you’re a leader in a fast growing church, you should commit yourself to early preparation for building.

Leadership

“Leadership is influence, nothing more…nothing Less” John C. Maxwell  “Influence is temporary….and you’re accountable” Andy Stanley

Nothing will test your medal as a leader like building a church.  You’ve probably been building the church with a big C for a while.  You already know how your leadership, character, integrity and fashion sense are called in to question.  Building the church with the little c will take you down another path of serious testing as a leader.  It will also produce a tremendous amount of spiritual growth through the many hiccups that come along with it. 

So here are 3 ways to lead really well during the church design and construction process:  

1.       Cast vision – I’m not talking about the vision for the new building.  I’m talking about what the new building will help you accomplish in your church and in your community.  VISION IS THE PAYCHECK in the world of leading people who volunteer.  You can’t motivate them with a salary, so you have to connect with them at the heart level.  Understand your vision well, create language around it that inspires people and is easy to remember, and cast it often (vision leaks).

2.       Good leaders are good followers - You may be an exceptional communicator but that doesn’t make you the right guy to lead the construction process.  In fact, I’ve seen many pastors wrap themselves pretty tightly around many different roles that weren’t in their gift set.  That’s an awesome way to delude the impact of your true gifts and make everyone around you miserable. 

This is a great time to channel your inner control freak.  If you don’t have a lot of experience with construction I’m giving you permission to let yourself ‘off the hook’ for leading this process.  Find someone in your church who does, and allow them to live out their gifting while you live out yours. 

3.       Are we there yet?  It may or may not be your job to lead the process, but it is your job as the leader to make sure that you arrive as envisioned.  You’ll find a well organized vision useful  in bringing your team back into focus when conflict arises or people have differences of opinion on the project.

Tomorrow I’ll be discussing “Building a Long Runway”… so check back in with me!

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Athens Church Renovation Update with Pictures

January 31, 2011 in Uncategorized with 0 Comments

This is what I woke up to this morning in my email from Sean Seay.  Sean is the Lead Pastor at Athens Church a North Point Strategic Partnership in the great city of Athens Ga.

 I think that I have one of the most incredible jobs in the universe.  To be able to spend my days working to build the church is: worship, challenging; inspiring; some days frustrating; and brings joy to my soul. 

Click For the Latest Photos
From Sean Seay Lead Pastor Athens Church

 ”Friends,

 I just want you to know that I stopped by our future facility today and took a peak. Wow!

 When we got back home Bonnie & I took some time to pray for you & your company. We are praying for God to continue to lead you through this entire process. 

 We have respect for you as people and companies. We know that you’re great people and very trustworthy. That means a lot to us!

 I am so very excited about how this facility is going to bless the people of this city in such a special way. It’s going to be fantastic!

 Thank you so very much for all of the hard work, creativity, and flexibility you’re putting into making this a reality for us!”

Sean Seay
Lead Pastor
706.310.9300

 BTW the “Friends” he’s speaking of are

Clark – Audio Visual and Lighting

Neal-Prince LS3P -Architectrual Design

My Team at Cogun Inc Church Builders

Josh Bayne, Kristin Norris – PM Rockstars of Athens Church
 
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D-E-S-I-G-N: Who Am I? Part 1 – John Woodall

January 28, 2011 in Leadership, Uncategorized with 1 Comment

Guest Bloggger John Woodall

If you’ve been reading my blog you know I’m a huge fan of my friend John Woodall.  He is the Care Pastor at North Point Communty Church, speaks often and is Andy Stanley’s emergency backup speaker for sunday mornings. He’s the target I”m shooting for in all fiver areas of my life  (Life, Family, Marriage, Church and Work).  God used him at a critical point in my marriage where things could have gone in many bad direnctions.  Because I know he loves me, I ripped this from his blog and will ask for his permission later. 

D-E-S-I-G-N: Who Am I? Part 1

I have been thinking a lot about that question, “Who Am I?” and this subject of DESIGN. I have often thought, “God, why did you make me like this?” For so long I have wanted to be like so many other people. I am not sure why or from where this has come. Woundedness? Pride?  The world, flesh or devil? I don’t really know.
I sensed the Lord say to me one day, “John, you are growing in self awareness”. As my soul has been healing and restoring, I have not looked out so much to others. I am seeing more clearly how and why God made me. There are so many levels to a human being. It is so true that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. I have thought of at least 21 levels.
1.    We were thought of and designed before the foundation of the world.

Jeremiah 1:4-5 The word of the Lord came to me, saying, [5] “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

2.    We were seen and formed uniquely in our mother’s womb.

Psalm 139:13-16 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. [14] I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.  [15] My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, [16] your eyes saw my unformed body. 

3.    Our parents were assigned to us
4.    Our gender was established
5.    Our race and nationality was set

Acts 17:26 From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.

6.    Our time in history

Acts 13:36 “For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his fathers and his body decayed.

7.    Our number of days and time of death

Psalm 139:16 All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

8.    Our brothers and sisters
9.    Our birth order
10.  Our temperament

There are many assessments to help us understand the way God made us and understand other…DISC; MBTI; Rightpath; Strength Finder

Personality Tests
http://similarminds.com/personality_tests.html

Online DISC Demo
https://www.talentsmart.com/idisc

Understanding your MBTI (Myers-Briggs)
http://www.personalitypathways.com/type_inventory.html

We will look at the next 11 in Part 2.
What about you? Do you know who you are and who you aren’t? It is a great place to be when you accept your God given DESIGN.

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How To Start A Church Construction Project

January 24, 2011 in Uncategorized with 7 Comments

This weekend I had the incredible opportunity to be a part of starting another church design process.  The Church is a progressive church in TX who is looking to create more  worship space for all their ministries.  None of the information here is public yet so, for now, l’ll just give you the meat and potatoes.

We started by firming up the language they use with insiders about who they are as a Church.  That’s Church with a big C.  We spent 4 hours digging into their DNA, understanding their passion, demographics and capabilities.  The image you see to the right is the result of those conversation.

I shot a short video to give you a little better feel for what this document represents.

I hope you can see how incredibly important it is to make sure you’re team is speaking the same language before you start an expansion project.  I’ve found this to be a great starting point that  will help them make all the difficult decisions they need to make as a church as well as decisions specific to expanding their ministry space.

Master Planning

As I’m writing this I’m sitting at a conference table with the guys from Neal Prince / LS3P and they are designing the master plan for what will be the new facility.  At 5:00 today we’ll present the first pass to the church leaders.  They’ll give us feed back and we’ll work over night to deliver the second pass with the revisions tomorrow morning.

Stay tuned……

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Who’s Got Your Back?

January 18, 2011 in Leadership with 3 Comments

6 critical elements to men’s small groups

One of the biggest challenges for most of the pastors I’ve become friends with over the years has to be the isolation that seems to come naturally with the job.   Here are my top 6 ways to have deep emotional connections with a group of men.  These rules have saved my job, marriage and even my life.
1.  Give Permission – For the better part of my life I’m quite certain that no one had my permission to speak into my life.  Without a doubt I had never expressed that permission to someone, and I paid a high price for it.  If you want to be truly known by other men and reap all the benefits that come along with authentic relationships, you have to give permission.  Who do you need to give permission to?

2.  Listen – Learning to listen well is critical whether you’re eating advice or giving it.  There is no sense in giving someone permission if you’re too stubborn to listen when they are speaking.   Listening before you give advice is equally important.  You have to develop the skill of listening to your friend while listening to God’s voice before you give them input.  Which leads to the next point….

3.  Give your opinion -  I don’t struggle with giving my opinion, and I have one about everything.  I have to really filter what I say… (the guys in my group are getting a good laugh over that last statement).  You may have the same issue, or you may be someone who only offers an opinion when asked.  Either way, your voice counts… so dig in and speak.

4.  Choose wisely – Jeff Henderson is the campus pastor at the church soon to be known as North Point Community Church West Campus.  During the recent series Game Plan (with Andy Stanley), Jeff made this point… “who you listen to is a preview of the future you”.  Who you choose to be in community with will determine where you end up.  Memorize that statement, and let it marinate in your soul.

My group of guys is a crowd I met working for John C. Maxwell.  I’m blessed with a group of Christain rock stars.  Mark Cole is the business manager for Dr. Maxwell and Dr. Les Parrott.  Brad Scholle is the operations manager for Rethink, which drives the Orange Conference.  Reggie Goodin is the CFO for Rethink, and Brian Cole handles the production for all the Catalyst Conference events as well as overseeing production of the Chick Fil A Leadercast.  If it sounds like I’m bragging, I absolutely am!  None of these guys held these positions when we started, but they all had high capacity leadership character.  That’s what you’re looking for… people with high capacity character.

5.  Schedule – Put a regular meeting with your guys on your calendar, and protect it.  The fruit is in the habit of meeting – not the idea of meeting.

6.  Recalibrate – Find some time at least once a year to get away and download as a group.  I just did this with my guys, and I’m always amazed at how much is brewing with each of them that we just don’t have time to connect on during our weekly meeting.  The secret sauce of these weekends is a focal point of connecting.

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