BUILDING & TRANSPORTATION

Builders Speak Out on Church Construction

Check these trends before drawing up your building plans

Jennifer Schuchmann

If you are planning to construct a new church building or remodel your existing one, you're in good company. This year, churches in the United States will spend an estimated $8 billion on new facilities. Before finalizing construction plans, though, you may want to read what builders we consulted are saying about trends in the business.

The builders include Jim Avery, vice president of sales and marketing for Sprung Instant Structures, Calgary, Alberta; Bill Couchenour, president of Cogun Industries, North Lima, Ohio; Sam Harmon, president of S.R. Harmon Construction, Warners, New York; Tom Lundberg, president of GuideOne Taylor Ball Construction, West Des Moines, Iowa; Bob Lunn, director of operations for Barden Commercial Division, Middleport, New York; Paul Marston, president of Richmond Sterling, Atlanta, Georgia; Wayne Nowlan of Allied Design Architectural and Engineering Group, PC, which provides professional design services for Morton Buildings, Morton, Illinois; and Mark West, business development manager for Century Builders, Houston, Texas.

Trend One: Maximize What You Have
Because of the high cost of new construction, many churches are looking for ways to stretch their existing buildings to meet needs. "The battle to maximize square footage for the budget, while maintaining design integrity, is intensifying with the rising costs of property, construction, and operations," Couchenour says.

Some churches are looking for ways to free up space for more high-priority usage. For example, churches that are building a drama ministry need space in which to store sets and props. Since many of these items are seasonal, churches are finding ways to store them off site.

Trend Two: Plan for Growth
Churches that are looking for property on which to build should choose something spacious enough to accommodate current programs, parking, and people's expectations for more spacious facilities. "In the past, church facilities were smaller. Now people must have more seating and more classroom space," Harmon says. "They're no longer content to meet in the choir room for Sunday school; they want a different classroom for each class."

Churches should also plan for expansion, builders say. "Even if you're not going to build all at once, you've got to do a master plan that lays out the campus with space for the future," West says. Until about five years ago, only large churches did this, he says. Now every church has to do it.

"Clearly, the predominate trend we are seeing in the church environment today is one of growth," Lundberg adds. "This requires churches to establish master plans and construction programs that facilitate expansion."

For example, the walking distance between parking lots and church buildings must be factored into that plan. "In Houston, you don't want people to walk a half-mile in 100-degree weather," West says. Likewise, a half-mile of braving ice and snow in the Midwest is hardly tolerable on the way to Sunday morning worship.

Trend Three: Make It Multifunctional
Many churches are reaching out to their communities through daycare programs, dayschools, assisted living centers, food pan tries, and recreational activities. Nowlan says some churches are even asking for weightlifting rooms and full-size vinyl-tile basketball courts with sidelines for bleachers.

In the past, tradition al churches built separate facilities for such programs. Today that kind of construction is being questioned in terms of cost and efficiency. "While this type of facility provides a clear separation of activities, it sometimes means space may be underused," Lundberg says.

To encourage better use of space, churches are constructing multipurpose facilities that can accommodate worship on a Sunday morning, then be used throughout the week for fellowship, youth activities, or sports programs. "The days of the traditional church sanctuary used once or twice a week are over," Avery says. "Churches can't afford to build a gym and a sanctuary. They need it all in one."

That kind of building demands creative solutions from architects and builders. Seeker-sensitive services require design solutions that are much different than those of traditional worship services. To make a multipurpose building work, a builder needs "new methods to provide less expensive ways to achieve the feel of worship," Couchenour says.

Builders must also be aware of special requirements for programs such as daycare and after-school sessions. "The state agencies that regulate these are very strict about requirements, such as bathrooms, exits, and accessibility," Nowlan says.

A multipurpose sanctuary doesn't always work for a congregation. "It requires movable seating, and not everyone likes that," Harmon says. "People think they can quickly move 250 to 300 chairs every Sunday night to convert the space into a basketball court for Monday. After they do it a few times, they realize it's not as easy as it sounds."

Regardless, a builder must flex to meet the needs of a congregation. "As a builder you find yourself getting into a wide variety of different kinds of construction," Lundberg says. "Many churches use general-purpose buildings to get established in an area, but they also have plans to expand into facilities that will meet their needs in the future."

Trend Four: Get Your Money's Worth
All of the builders we consulted agree there is a greater need for financial accountability in church construction to day. That's because all too often a church learned the hard way that, even after soliciting bids, it had exceeded its budget. Either cost estimates on the new facility were inaccurate, or the projection of what was affordable had been overstated. Such awareness often came after a congregation had invested a significant amount of time and money in the project.

Worse yet, a congregation might have failed to get a fixed price from a contractor before construction started and didn't realize it couldn't afford the project until it was well into—if not nearing the final phase—of construction. Such a situation only gets worse if it deteriorates into a finger-pointing blame session between architect, contractors, and congregation.

While builders agree that such disasters can happen, they offer various suggestions on how to avoid them. Lunn suggests a design-build approach combined with preengineered building materials to provide churches with a fast and economical solution. "A good design-builder of churches not only has the experience but the responsibility of letting the church know what the costs are going to be at the beginning of any planning," he says.

If a church chooses the design-build route, it does lose the kind of checks-and-balance system provided by an in dependent architect. So Marston suggests the church hire an independent construction consultant to act as its advocate and to provide project management services.

As churches demand spaces that are
cost-efficient, tecnologically advanced,
and multifunctional, builders must often
stretch beyond their usual areas of expertise

Trend Five: Turn Up the Technology
Churches today have become increasingly more sophisticated in the use of new technology, such as running tracks, gymnasiums, and high-tech teaching aids. Builders aren't having to accommodate any greater technical sophistication for churches than they would for other types of commercial structures, Harmon says. Still, he has noted that more churches—even small ones—are demanding better sound systems and more complicated lighting. "All of these things need to be taken into consideration during the planning stages, not added as an afterthought," Harmon warns.

The Team Approach to Trends
As churches demand spaces that are cost-efficient, technologically advanced, and multifunctional, builders may have to stretch beyond their usual areas of expertise. "The design-builder of today has to be more knowledgeable about a larger number of design challenges and code requirements to satisfy changing church building needs," Lunn says.

In addition, building materials, manufacturing, and construction requirements are more diverse and challenging than ever for the design-builder. To meet those challenges, many builders have set up teams of professionals to work with the church.

Such teams may include the designer, builder, and members of a church committee. The team meets often to discuss issues and to work out solutions before they become problems. The team approach also allows the expectations of a church to be communicated so that everyone understands what the project involves before construction be gins, thereby minimizing the need for costly changes later on.

Marston cautions against having the team report directly to the contractor, however. He suggests that team members ask, "How do we make sure that the church's interests come first?" He recommends that the team come up with initial drawings, which it then offers to contractors to glean their response. That way a builder has the opportunity to influence design while the church remains in control.

Your Approach to Trends
A church building committee is vital in the construction process. It should consist of at least four members, one of whom professionally understands the construction industry. The committee should be directed by the church's governing body and make regular re ports to it. "By having members on the committee who know the effective body politic of the congregation, the committee can act with the confidence that it can get major decisions ratified quickly," Marston says.

The first duty of the committee is to develop a financial plan for construction. Second, the committee should articulate the mission and ministries of the church to the builder, architect, and other professionals. "They have to understand where the church is and where it is going to be able to design and build facilities that will accommodate that mission," Couchenour says.

Communicating to the congregation is another role of the building committee. "The committee must act as the conduit between the committee and other members of the congregation, keeping everyone in formed of the progress and decisions being made," Lundberg says.

Frequent communication between all parties in a building project is key to its success. As Lunn says, "It not only minimizes problems but can actually help church members enjoy the experience, doing their part to support and assist in its successful conclusion."

Jennifer Schuchmann is a management consultant from Marietta, Georgia. Her e-mail address is jschuchmann@mindspring.com.

Helpful Resources

Copyright © 2000 by the author or Christianity Today International/Your Church Magazine. Click here for reprint information on Your Church.
March/April 2000, Vol. 46, No. 2, Page 10

	Subcategories of Building & Transportation
	Architects Builders & Contractors Buses, Vans & Cars Construction Management Gymnasium Resources Pre-Engineered Buildings Property Vendors Modular Buildings Other Roofing Signs Stained Glass Windows Steeples

Your Church
Home  |  Archives  |  Contact Us  |  Subscribe  |  FREE Newsletter