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Is your church sensing the need to expand? Bursting at the seams? Ready to settle down after meeting in temporary quarters for a couple of years?

You aren't alone. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, churches spent $6 billion on construction and renovation in 1997. That was up from $4 billion in 1994. At this rate, by the end of the year 2000, the figure will top $9 billion.

Yet, according to Earl Myler, author of Myler: The Church-Building People, 97 percent of churches have no growth goals or even a clear mission of where they're headed in the future.

What's more, Myler says, there are fewer churches today per capita than there were at the beginning of the 20th century. "That means doing more with less," he says.

Before doing any renovation or construction, most churches will probably seek the services of an architect. What should they look for in such a person, and what, exactly, can that person do for them?

Messiah Lutheran Church in Mountain Iron, Minnesota, found itself shopping for an architect when its building was destroyed by a fire that started with a lightning strike to the steeple. Faced with the possibility of rebuilding or relocating to previously purchased property, Cindy Jindra, president of the church council, jumped onto the Internet to find out what she could about church design.

Jindra discovered an architect who specialized in church design and master plans. After some quick discussions with Pastor Kristen Foster and prayer with church members, the congregation met to bring its needs into focus.

Prior to that meeting, church leaders consulted with Bruce Wardell, an architect from Charlottesville, Virginia, who offered some ideas about what to expect from the building project. For example, Wardell said that after a building project was complete, a church could expect as much as a 25 percent increase in attendance. Factor that in with people's perception that a church is full when it's operating at 80 percent of its capacity, and a congregation must determine answers to such questions as: What is the primary mission of the church within the community? And how will this be reflected in the design, size, and construction of the church?

Those are difficult questions for any church to answer, no matter what its size. Even a small body of believers (less than 150) can benefit from the help of an architect who is equipped with the latest church designs and the knowledge of how to apply them.

What does your church want to say to its community? John Menzano, pastor of Christ Community Church in Charlottesville, Virginia, says not enough pastors answer this before starting a building program. "It's possible they're suffering from people blindness and not really aware of the community they're trying to reach," Menzano say. "Basically they're trying to make the community like themselves instead of communicating in an idiom that community people can understand."

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