Recently we completed an extended series of blog posts entitled Church Building Steps from Start to Finish, covering each of the steps that must be completed prior to moving into your new church. The series was a long one, but certainly not as long as it takes to actually complete the process. Which raises the question: Just how long will it take to complete a church building project from start to finish?
The Basic Answer
On average a major church design and building project will take you from two to three years to complete. This includes all the steps we’ve outlined in our series. It also makes some presumptions about how long each step in that process takes, including the amounts of time the church takes to make decisions.
Reasons Your Church Building Project Could Vary
Here’s one example of how a timeline can be affected at the permit phase. As we stated in our Start to Finish post on permits, it can take anywhere from a month to a year to get all the permits in line to begin construction. That is a wide variance. Although fifty percent of our clients have their permits in hand eight weeks after they begin the process, the other fifty percent will wait either a shorter or — more likely — longer period of time to get the permits they need to begin construction of their church building.
Another component that can impact your schedule is funding. The best time to raise money for your project is in the spring or fall which means if you complete your church building budget in March, for example, you may not have time to do the necessary behind-the-scenes preparations for a spring funding campaign. It is more prudent to wait until fall (after folks have returned from summer vacations) to launch your campaign, thus slowing the final steps of your church building project.
Our Church Design and Building Scheduling Planner
Because there are so many variables associated with the church design and building process, we create project schedules to help. It can easily show you starting and ending dates, depending on the variables plugged in for elements like permitting periods and when you expect to get your capital budget completed.
If you are considering a church design and building project, please contact us at request@mcknightgroup.com. We will be glad to help you figure out the specific timeline for your church project based on the particulars of your situation.
Clearly, every church building project is different. It’s why we suggest that you visit our homepage and sign up for our i3 webinars. Each of these free webinars explains different details on what you need to know in order to end up with a church design and church building that will meet the needs for ministry in your community.