This is a video I shot and edited yesterday of the Athens Church Renovation. Athens Church is a Strategic Partner of North Point Community Church in Alpharetta Ga where Andy Stanley is the Lead Pastor.
If you want to stay up to date on this project make sure you subscribe to my blog at the top of the page.
This is one of the many creative ideas that Athens Church is using to create emotional buy-in from their church for their renovation project. Raising money can be more about life change and trusting God than church buildings… if you do it right.
Click Here Check out the details of the Athens Church project.
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!
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.
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!!
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.
”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
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.
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.
In my many years with Catalyst Conference, Giant Impact, and the Chick Fil A Leadercast (all the same company), I’ve been fortunate enough to accumulate quite a collection of leadership resources. I’ve collected a plethora of books, as well as audio and video lessons. Unfortunately, what I don’t have is the space to keep all of these amazing materials. My pain can be your gain. I initially began to pitch the stuff, but later thought… “Hey, maybe I can share these resources with the kind people who read my blog. “
So… giveaway number one is the 2004 Catalyst Conference speaker sessions 1-8 DVDs (I believe that is the entire conference). It contains sessions from Andy Stanley, John Eldridge, Ted Dekker, Rob Bell Jr., Chuck Colson and many more. 
It’s simple to win… just re-tweet me or tweet this link and hash tag http://ow.ly/3H9ts #rcfreebie . By the end of the day next Wednesday (sorry I’m traveling), I will randomly select a winner from the re-tweets and hash tags and contact you via direct message for your shipping info. Enter as many times as you like!
When you’re done, make sure you check out The Catalyst Conference near you!
1. Design
When we first began the design process with Athens Church we set some goals for the project. The main point that came from those early conversations was that square footage was more important than the quality of finishes. Athens Church is a North Point Community Church Strategic Partnership. Strategic Partners of NP know how to “do church”. In a college town, that can lead to making a huge impact on young adults. News flash… young adults aren’t high capacity givers, so we had to design with square footage at the top of our priority list to make sure we had room to accomodate everyone.
The design of your building plays a major role in your cost. That’s why it makes a lot of sense to start with a wish list of spaces and prioritize them. Once you’ve determined your overall budget, let the dollars drive which items on your wish list make the first phase.
2. Finishes
Early in the project you’re going to want to set the tone for what “level” of finishes your church will require. This doesn’t mean picking the exact fixture or carpet color, but it does mean setting a range. Once you set the range, don’t let a vendor show you anything that isn’t in that range. If you’re going to buy a Toyota, don’t test drive a Mercedes. That’s no good for you. Sean Seay, Lead Pastor at Athens Church, said it this way… “We want to create a wow factor, but we want you to know that the “wow factor” in Athens has a lower threshold than it does in Atlanta”. That’s good advice for you as well. You have to know what your people expect, and balance that with what you can afford.
3. Existing Conditions
Whether you’re renovating or starting with a fresh piece of land, there are often pre-existing conditions that can be a huge factor in determining the overall cost per square foot. If you’re buying new land you’ll want to engage a civil engineer. Ideally, you do that before you buy the property to make sure you have land that is buildable for your needs.
If you’re looking for space to renovate for worship, I’d highly recommend engaging with a design build team from the very start and have them do facility inspections on each property you are seriously considering. You’ll spend a little cash to do this, but it could save you from a financial disaster.
A quick note: it’s important to know that I’m talking about the cost per square foot for the construction only. There is a completely separate budget of “soft costs”, or things that go in the building (like furniture), that must be managed during the process as well. If you’d like to have a conversation about construction budgets email me and we’ll set up a time to do a walk through.
Grace and Peace
Hi, My name is Richard and I’ve spent the better part of the last decade serving the church through leadership and consulting roles with the Catalyst Conference and Injoy under Dr. John C. Maxwell‘s guidance. Learn more about me »
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