Tag Archive - design build
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Church Construction – When should you build?

May 2, 2011 in Church Construction, Leadership, Money with 0 Comments

How do you know when its time for your church to build?  Here are four things to think about when you’re thinking about building.

1. Finances – obviously money matters when you’re building a new facility.  Here is blog I wrote specifically on Church Construction and Money.

2. Max Facility Use - Do you have a document that outlines how your facility is currently being used for ministry?  The least expensive ministry space you’ll ever have is what you have right now.  Before you think about building or renovating a thing, you want to make sure you’ve thought through every square foot of the current facility.  How many services are you in right now?  Could you add another one?  Could you do a video venue?   My church uses the same space on Sunday Mornings for middle school and Sunday afternoon for high school.  Do you really need all that Sunday school space or could it be repurposed for a more effective use?  (Touchy subject I know)

3. R U Ready? – This is the one thing most pastors I work with fail to realize.  This process will take more of your energy than you think.  It will take more of your time than you think.  It takes longer than you think and it will require you to spend more of your influence than you think.

Being ready means  you’ve got your hands wrapped tightly around the vision God has given you, hold on to it.   You’ll constantly need that vision to recenter you when the difficulty arises.   It means you don’t have secrets.  (I trust you know what I’m talking about).  Secrets often find a way not to be so secretive when you are trying to make a big impact for the kingdom.  Being ready means you’ve weighed the cost and you are personally ready to pay it.

IF THE LEADER ISN’T READY….THE CHURCH ISN’T READY!

4.  The “Great Deal” -  Stumbling on great deal for land, or a building does not mean it’s time for you church to build.  I met with a church a couple years back that bought 11 acres for their church because the price had dropped so much. Now they are trying to sell 11 acres in a down market because they realized, because of location, they would benefit more by renovating a building than from building a new one.  ’There is a difference between a “great deal” and a “great deal for your church”.

Facilities must move you in the direction of the vision.

 

So, are you ready?

 

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10 Reasons Building A Church Isn’t Like Buying a Car

April 4, 2011 in Uncategorized with 1 Comment

10 reasons building a church isn’t like buying a car or anything else for that matter.

  1. A car can make you cool.  Church made Steven Furtick cool, but not Perry Noble, so you can’t always count on church to make you cool.
  2. Churches gets better gas mileage – they’re wind powered.
  3. All cars play traditional and contemporary music.

  4. Cars change regularly to attract new people.
  5. Cars don’t wish they were other cars and talk about why the other cars are so popular because they aren’t true to the manufacturer. (Gotta think on this one)
  6. Cars don’t believe in Hell, some churches do. (Sorry Rob, that was a cheap shot)
  7. We buy cars to get us somewhere.  When we get to church…we think we’re already there.
  8. Your ministry can survive if you spend too much on a car...
  9. There’s no base model church - you don’t come in and pick the red one and have us throw in some spinners.
  10. While driving too fast can make you see Jesus, He doesn’t use cars to get people into heaven.

Here is where the analogy breaks down.

If you decide to by a corvette, and you go to four different dealers and get prices and the lowest price for the same awesomeness is $65,000, do you buy it?

It depends right?  It depends on what you can afford.

Too many people are getting awesome deals on cars they can’t afford.  Affordability IS the dealmaker.  (I’m thinking about getting a forehead tattoo with that on it).   “Understand what you can afford and then go out and make the deal with someone you can trust.” (Sidebar – did you know when you trade a car in; the sales guy gets paid a percentage of the difference between the real value of what you car is worth and what he can get you to take for it?  If you trade them in, have the KBB value printed and in you hand)

Back to affordability

There’s a lot of work that determines what you can “really” afford to spend on a car.  If you’re building a church, that process is magnified.  You have to know how much cash you can raise, what the bank will loan, what the payments on the debt will be to make sure you construction budget doesn’t have an affair with your operating budget and run away with her.

How will inflation affect you affordability?  Are there major, one time, expenses coming your way that will impact operating income and limit your borrowing?

Are you scared yet?  Good….fear is good for making you think before you act.  Heading into a car dealership, or a church expansion project without a grasp of affordability is like rolling the dice at the craps table, you may win from time to time, but when you lose it’s really gonna bite. (not a great analogy for a pastor but it’s better than the one I was working on about planning for the spirit to move instead of preparing a sermon)

If you church is growing fast, sooner or later you have to build or renovate.  Have a plan, get the right people around you from the start before you spend a dime.

If I can help I’d love to be part of the journey with you. I’m passionate about serving churches and would love an opportunity to talk with you about joining you staff to walk you through the process of clarifying exactly what you need and balancing it with what you can afford so you can CRUSH IT FOR JESUS in your city.

Email me and lets set up a time to get to know each other over the phone.

rwchancy@cogun.com

706.830.3782

 

 

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Elevation Church Renovation of a Furniture Warehouse

March 3, 2011 in Uncategorized with 0 Comments

This was the Elevation Church renovation we completed last year.  Elevation, where Steven Furtick is the lead pastor has been one of the fastest growing churches in America over the last several years.   

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Chopping Down Trees and Building The Church

February 23, 2011 in Uncategorized with 4 Comments

This past weekend I did two things for the first time.  I cut down an enormous tree in my yard, and I went to a local church for the first time.  Here is what learned from both.

The reason I had to cut the tree down wasn’t because of the tree itself, but the box elder bugs that like to have romantic interludes on it.  That’s right, the box elder tree is apparently the Poconos of the flora family and business is very good!  The exterminator said “you can’t get rid of the bugs if you don’t get rid of the tree”.  So in the name of Dave Ramsey, I decided to cut down the tree myself and save the $300 bucks.  So this little bug caused me to have a major job on my hands.

The church I visited yesterday has been on my mind for almost a year.  Long ago I drove by and felt God telling me to stop in and help them.  I stop by alot of churches with my job, so that isn’t unusual.  The prompting of the Holy Spirit IS ALWAYS unusual to me though.

So I connected with them and found out they are searching for a new pastor. Yesterday, on my first visit,  their youth pastor announced he will also be leaving.  After the sermon, I had a chance to speak to a couple of the key people on the search team and I could sense the emotion.  A very real frustration and hurt compounded by an up hill battle ahead of them.  There is a general sense of question about the future and the vision for this church.

So as stood beneath the tree that afternoon,  I had this church on my mind.   I was impressed about how much bigger it looked underneath it that it does from a distance.  You don’t really appreciate the power God placed in something as simple as a tree until there’s a real chance it could fall on you.  You’ll notice my emotion on the video.

So here is what I learned.  Trees, and life’s challenges, always look bigger when you stand beneath them.  So don’t stand under there by yourself.  Find someone who can help you take a look at the situation from a distance.  Get perspective, do your best, then stand back and watch God work.

What’s the tree your standing under right now?  Who will you talk with today about it?

Have an incredible day!

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Can You Renovate a 100 Year Old Building?

February 21, 2011 in Uncategorized with 1 Comment

This is Stage 1.2.3. at Rock Bridge Community Church where Matt Evans is the Lead Pastor.  This building is more than 100 years old and was origianlly a Ford Dealership.

Click Here to see the Walmart we’re renovating now for North Point Strategic Partner Athens Church.

BTW – If you want to see how a real leader walks through the valley follow Matt’s Blog.

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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 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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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.

CLICK HERE TO COMMENT     

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2004 Catalyst DVD Winner IS…..

January 26, 2011 in Giveaway with 2 Comments

So last week I decided to empty my old resource vault (basement) of some items that have had a great impact on me but I’m done with them now (I’ve uploaded them…Just Kidding). The first item up for grabs was my 2004 Catalyst DVD set, which I learned after the fact, was the “Uncut” version.  That means… it has the worship on it as well.  Click Here to see the original post

AND THE WINNER IS

@ColinRBryant

Colin apparently saw my tweet,  retweeted me but didn’t follow me.  But he’s just so dang cute I’ll give him 48 hours to follow me and send me a direct message with his address or we’ll move on to the next participant.

Colin….the clock is ticking!!!!  Put the legos down and give me a shout at rwchancy@cogun.com.

If you want to make sure you don’t miss out on anything I’m giving away save the search #rcfreebie to one of your niftly little apps so you’ll know when I’m being generous.

And don’t forget to check out the Catalyst Conference near you!!

Go forth and Testify!!

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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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