McKnight Group

In a recent post, we noted that 60% occupancy is the new 80%. We imagine church leaders may have questions about what this means, so here’s more to explain the concept, and the reality of what the COVID-19 pandemic has done to worship center seating layouts across the nation.

The Pandemic Impact on Church Building Seating Norms

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the common wisdom was that a church building is at capacity when the worship space routinely reached 80% capacity. You see, churches max out when people feel there aren’t enough seats left for them to feel comfortable. Unless it’s Christmas or Easter, when both attendees and visitors expect churches to be crowded, people feel uneasy when your worship space gets too crowded.

After the pandemic hit and churches began to allow in-person worship again, many devised seating charts like this one. In this schematic, each square represents a chair, and the intersecting dotted circles are six feet across (in diameter). While this might look effective, it’s actually only half the distance that you need. In order for each person in each chair to be six feet apart from the others around them, the circles would need to be twelve feet in diameter so that the radius (half the circle) between each chair would be six feet.

The New Normal Standard for Max Capacity in a Church Design

As you can imagine, this amount of distance is difficult to achieve in many sanctuaries today—especially those with pews instead of chairs. You can fill up your worship center very quickly when you’re trying to keep a safe amount of social distancing between unrelated individuals and family groups. That’s why the “new normal” percentage for maximum capacity in a church design is now 60–65% instead of 80%.

Creative Solutions for Church Leaders

So, what are church leaders to do? Depending on the flexibility in your church design, you might need to remove many of the chairs in your worship space to keep each chair or family grouping six feet apart. If your sanctuary has pews, you might decide to rope off every other pew. You can designate certain areas for families that don’t need to socially distance. Some church leaders are choosing not to care about social distancing as the majority of their congregation is not as concerned with it. It’s hard to predict what the future will hold, and what decisions will be best to keep both guests and attendees feeling safe enough to return to your church building each Sunday.

Of course, it’s not just your worship center that’s affected. Any gathering space in your church design will need to be reexamined in light of social distancing and reevaluated periodically in light of future pandemic trends. Consider the comfort level of the people who will use each room. For example, elders or parents with young children might have a different fear factor level than young adults and teens.

Without a doubt, the pandemic has caused church leaders to reexamine the church design standards in many areas of a church building. To keep up with the latest church building information for church leaders, sign up for our next free i3 webinar today.

While opportunity costs are impacting what church leaders can do in terms of a new church design, saving money as costs rise isn’t the only opportunity to consider as COVID-19 impacts churches. Even if a new church building isn’t an option right now, there are alternatives. In this post, we’ll look at ways to save money and still support your church vision for ministry in your community.

Revitalize Existing Church Building Facilities

Over our fifty years in business, we’ve visited a lot of older churches. Not all of them need replacing with a new church building. Some need a little bit of work. Others have space currently being underutilized. These are potential areas to focus on when times are tight, and a new building would be prohibitively expensive.

For example, walk around your church property as if you’re a guest, arriving for the first time. Are there cracks or mold in the walls or pavement? Is the landscaping well-trimmed or overtaking your church building? Is the property well-lit at night? Are safety exits blocked with furniture or bolted shut for “security”? Attending to issues such as these can prolong the life of your church building and make it more welcoming.

You also want to maintain the infrastructure of your church design. HVAC systems are very difficult to find parts for these days, much less entire new systems. Keeping all systems clean and maintained will keep them functioning well for a longer period of time. Then look at rooms that aren’t being used. How might they be used in new ways once they’re cleaned up with a new coat of paint, and with accumulated clutter removed?

Understand the Pandemic Math

You may have heard that 60% occupancy is the new 80%. With social distancing post-COVID-19, people are reluctant to sit close to people they don’t know. This means you can fit fewer people into your worship space and foyer for each service. Some church leaders automatically think about building a new worship space, but there are other alternatives. This may be the time to shift to multiple services to allow for comfortable social distancing. If you’re already scheduling multiple services on Sunday, consider Saturday night. We’ve also seen a resurgence in Wednesday evening worship in recent years.

We’ve been building larger foyers for 35 years now, and we’ve seen them put to a lot of good uses. Church leaders are using large foyers for receptions, small dinners, and other get-togethers. The important thing is to think outside the box with your church design to address what your community needs.

Examine Other Church Design Opportunities

Speaking of “outside the box,” one unfortunate side effect of the pandemic has been a lot of churches closing or merging. This means more existing church buildings are available for sale—for a lot less than it would cost to construct a new church design. While you might not get exactly what you’d dreamed of designing, take a creative look at what’s available. Another church facility might address some of your church vision needs, especially if you’re looking to start multi-site worship, which is trending these days.

Other types of existing buildings might also meet your needs. We’ve helped church leaders remodel existing commercial, retail, and office buildings, and even auto dealerships. Older school buildings also present creative opportunities, especially if your church vision includes a daycare or Christian school ministry in your community.

Obviously, even when times are tight, there are lots of options for fulfilling your church vision. For other creative ideas, sign up for the next installments in our free i3 webinar series.

Each year, we update our blog readers on the costs of a typical church building construction project along with the factors that affect pricing a church design. From our perspective, doing this for 2022 requires less of an update and more of a reboot.

We all know that costs are rising with inflation, yet how much the cost of construction has increased in recent months has surprised even us. There are many factors behind the increase, but this post will focus on the three primary ones: the supply chain, labor shortage, and inflation.

How Supply Chain Issues Impact Church Building Projects

Americans became aware of supply chain issues at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, as everyone scrambled to stock up on toilet paper. But toilet paper wasn’t the only thing in short supply.

Very quickly, supply chain problems began to impact various types of industry, especially construction. Metals were scarce. Chemicals used to make certain types of products became difficult to find. Microprocessors that drive all kinds of church building products, from HVAC to audio – visual and security systems, were no longer available.

Toilet paper and other household products are back on the shelves, but construction materials remain in short supply. Our President, David McKnight has seen material shortages like this before.  He is reminded of his experiences building in the mission field and growing up with missionaries staying at his home frequently: when materials are short, you have to wait a long time for what you need. It is very likely these supply chain problems are not going to correct themselves anytime soon. Church leaders must expect a church facility to take longer to build, and for products to cost more, for years to come.

The Labor Shortage and Church Building Construction

Next, let’s review the specifics of the construction labor market. There is already more work that there are workers available. Currently, there are over 300,000 unfilled construction jobs in America. Additionally, a new study shows that 1.5 million skilled construction workers are planning to retire in 2022, yet only an estimated 900,000 people are available to fill these skilled positions.

This also means construction workers with 30 years of experience are being replaced with newly trained laborers who have little experience in the field. Construction production rates will go down while these workers learn, plus the industry will still be short 900,000 workers (600k due to retirement, and another 300k needed to fill current openings). The result is the same as with supply chain issues: expect your church facility to take longer to build, and for products to cost more, for years to come.

The Effect of Inflation on Your Church Design

Discussing inflation in terms of percentages seems inadequate. Prior to 2020, construction inflation had been running consistently around 5% for several years, while overall inflation was 2–3%. During that time, the government printed trillions of dollars in COVID-19 relief and now the bill is coming due.

For example, we have seen huge increases in the cost of steel. Before 2020, we would quote to church leaders, with a good degree of accuracy, that the structural steel phase of church building construction would cost between $10–$15 per square foot. Today, we are praying that the same structural steel phase will not rise beyond $30–$35 per square foot! Obviously, that cost increase is a game-changer for any church design. Admittedly, steel is a component that has increased most drastically, but all phases of a church building project have experienced significant inflationary increases.

We constantly remind church leaders that there are four phases to a church building project: site work, plans and permit fees, building construction, and furniture and equipment. In 2020, we told church leaders to plan on spending $200–$250 per square foot for all four phases of their project. In spring 2022, we are looking at $275–$325 per square foot—but we don’t know how long these numbers will remain accurate.

So, What Can Church Leaders Do?

We recommend you do not wait, hoping that prices will reverse. That will not happen to any significant degree. Start planning your project now and expect it to take longer to build. Meanwhile, take care of your existing church building. Stay up on maintenance. Many smaller churches will need to consider other options beyond a new building. Be creative in looking for options.

Finally, always remember to seek God’s guidance for both answers and resources. Your church vision will not be held back because buildings cost more and take longer to construct. Remember also that we are with you in these challenging times. Our free i3 webinars keep you updated on the latest in church design and construction information, so register today for our upcoming webinars.

Opportunities to expand your church design or construct a new church building are impacted by many factors. We’ve seen this happen with buildings of all types during the COVID-19 pandemic. Whether it’s inflation or everchanging building codes, there can be a large opportunity cost when it comes to putting off your church building project.

How Inflation Impacts Your Church Design

Construction inflation is always higher than general inflation rates across the US. We’ll specifically address, in-depth, rising church building costs in a coming article.

Suffice it to say that prior to the pandemic, construction inflation was running between 2–4% per year. In mid-2022, general inflation has risen to 8%, while construction inflation has gone up more than 20% over the past two years. This photo, as an example, demonstrates what $1000 could buy in lumber in January 2020 vs. June 2021.

Obviously, this means the overall cost of any church design is going to increase as well. Even if you’re just beginning to think about new church building construction or remodeling an existing church facility, there’s an opportunity cost to waiting, as we don’t expect inflation rates to reverse direction anytime soon.

Supply and Demand Also Impact Your Church Building Project

Inflation isn’t the only challenge facing the church design and construction process. Manufacturing is at its highest rate in history, which means there are more demands for materials, energy, and workers in various industries than ever before. Consequently, your church building contractor is competing with other industries for the resources they need to complete your church building project. We’ve seen this impact the timeline for our own church building projects. Anytime there is a delay, that can also drive-up prices.

The Cost of Building Code Changes

Code changes always make buildings more expensive. In residential construction, about 40% of the price increase of a typical home were dictated by building code changes. A church building lies in the middle between residential and commercial buildings in terms of code requirements, but specific ministry opportunities can significantly impact the cost of your church design. For example, if you’re looking to start a daycare facility on your church property, there are many building codes you’ll need to follow that you wouldn’t need to implement for a church nursery.

Plainly, there’s an opportunity cost to putting off your church building project even in the best of times. If you’re looking to implement a church vision for ministry in your community that involves a new church design or remodeling an existing church building, delay could be costly.

To learn more about various aspects of church design and construction, sign up for the next installments in our free i3 webinar series. There are other opportunities to consider with your church building that we’ll address in an upcoming post. Next week, we’ll provide an in-depth look at rising church building costs with our annual cost of construction update.

Now two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve learned much about what works well for keeping your church building sanitized and clean. Early on, there was some uncertainty about which sanitary precautions made sense, but now many churches have well-established procedures. The following are some of the tools that churches are using to make a difference, and to help both guests and attendees feel comfortable worshipping in church buildings.

The Must-Have Basic: Hand Sanitizer Stations

Everyone is likely seeing hand sanitizing stations in just about every community building they enter. It’s a sign of the times—and an effective one. Whether it’s a pump jug of sanitizer on the receptionist’s desk or a freestanding dispenser, providing hand sanitizer sends everyone the message that you care about the health of the people who enter. Strategic placement of hand sanitizer stations makes sense near church building entrances and wherever else people will be handling doorknobs, greeting each other, or meeting together.

Let Your (Sanitizing) Light Shine throughout Your Church Design

Cleaning your church building and wiping down frequently used surfaces has certainly become almost second nature. But there is technology that allows you to go further than that. UVC lights kill viruses and bacteria. They are also harmful to humans with prolonged exposure, but they can be very effective when used in appropriate ways.

For example, UVC lights can be dragged across individual seats or left in a room overnight to sanitize an entire space. Purifying systems using UVC lights are also now being installed in the intake sections of HVAC systems. When the HVAC system pulls air from rooms into the system, the light will kill viruses and help make the air of your church building safer to breathe. There are also ionizing-based systems that serve much the same function.

Investing in Antimicrobial Options for Your Church Building

If you’re willing to make a bigger investment in sanitizing options, you might consider installing antimicrobial surfaces for areas in your church building. Certain types of metals will kill bacteria or prevent them from sticking. These kinds of materials are used in hospitals for high-touch items like doorknobs, locks, and counters. While they do cost more up front, they provide additional layers of safety. They also cut back on the cost of maintenance staff time and cleaning supplies, as well as lessening the amount of chemicals being spread around your church building.

The most important element of each of these sanitizing tools is that they help people feel more comfortable coming into your church building. When guests know you care about keeping them safe, they’re more likely to return. When attendees and guests understand that you’ve invested in sanitary measures to keep things clean, they will feel safe to join you for in-person worship again.

As you can imagine, we’ve gotten a lot of COVID-19 related questions from attendees of our free i3 webinars. This is why we are sharing the latest information on how to keep your church building safe and clean in these uncertain times. To learn more and get your questions answered, sign up for our next free i3 webinar, and look for the next in our series, which will discuss church design options that address COVID-19 protocols.

This is a topic that hopefully will be less of a concern as time goes on: how can you as a church leader help people reduce their concerns about health safety while in your church building? Yes, COVID-19 cases are currently declining, but worries still exist, breakouts are still possible, and the future is still a little uncertain. The pandemic has had an impact on church design options, so it remains something to consider when planning changes to your church building.

Understanding the COVID-19 Reshuffle

Following the shutdown caused by the pandemic, many churches are dealing with a decrease in prior attendance numbers. People have reshuffled where they go to church; for many, this is based on whether masks are required or not and the politics behind those rules. This group has thrown the theology to the backseat and is looking at more contemporary reasons for why they go to church. All of this impacts who shows up at your church building for worship and ministry.

For example, a lot of churches have seen the departure of “the crowd.” Churches usually have a group of members who are committed to the church, no matter what. They always show up and they pledge. Then you’ve got “the crowd,” the people who showed up because it’s the thing to do, or because they feel they should. These folks generally have no real strong commitment to a church, and when COVID-19 showed up, they left (and we’ve described the numerical impact of those departures here).

The Impact of Online Worship on Church Building Attendance

At this point, most church leaders that wanted to bring their churches online have done so. The good side of being online is that it’s opened up new avenues for ministry and kept people connected. The bad news is that some people discovered they like it better than coming to a church building in person. This raises the question of when will these people feel like coming to an in-person service? Also, if they’re not going to come back in the long run, how will you keep them connected to your congregation?

Another big question for church leaders today is how to handle the continued appearance of new COVID-19 variants and outbreaks. Depending on what state you live in and what you’re wanting to do ministry-wise, this could cause great consternation or not be a problem at all. Some people are obviously more afraid to go out when pandemic numbers are rising, and that affects church attendance as well.

Focusing on Church Design Safety Elements in 2022

So, church leaders are familiar with these issues. What do we do in 2022? Our response to this question is to focus on safety. If you want people to show up and be comfortable in your church building, you have to address their safety concerns. Over the next several posts, we’re going to focus on four church design and facilities areas that can help people feel safe: tools, design, concepts and opportunities.

In our next article, we’ll focus on the first category: tools. Meanwhile, keep up with the latest in church building wisdom by signing up for our next free i3 webinar, which is how we keep church leaders “in the know” about every aspect of church design, construction, and using your church building for ministry in your community.