When finances are tight, thinking small is a natural tendency. But thinking small when it comes to church design isn’t necessary, or even always the most cost-effective way to go. When it comes to a new or renovated church building, it’s usually smarter to dream big, but build in phases.
Few Churches Can Do Everything at Once
With nearly 50 years of experience in supporting church leaders with the design and construction of church buildings, we can confidently say that few churches have the finances in place that allow them to implement everything that they want right away. Churches relocating from an existing church building or rental facility or starting a new church design from scratch find this especially true. These projects are expensive because all the infrastructure must also be paid for—everything from property and utilities to paving parking lots and installing landscaping. Not many churches can afford to do all this and have the church building they dream of all at once.
Dream Big Anyway—and Create a Multi-phase Church Design
Phased implementation is the solution to dreaming big without breaking the bank. The lack of available money is no reason to curtail your vision for ministry in your community. Working with church design professionals can help you think creatively about how to start with what you can afford and, as your number of attendees grows (and more funds become available), expand your church campus.
Sharing and Scheduling Your Church Building in the Meantime
Building the perfect church campus over time usually means that ministries in your church community will share space in the first phases of construction. The McKnight Group can design multi-use spaces that can be scheduled with sharing in mind, which will allow each ministry to grow. Eventually, that growth will provide funds to expand shared spaces into single purpose spaces in future phases of your church design.
Don’t be afraid to dream big! But recognize that getting there may take a while. Just as faith is a journey, not a sprint, the journey toward your dream church building complex also can be accomplished with time and patience.
We are happy to talk with you about your big dream for ministry in your community and to help you figure out what phases would work for your unique situation. Give us a call at 800-625-6448 or send us an email. We also encourage you to sign up for our latest free i3 webinars to learn more about the church design and building process.