Nehemiah had a building project

Rick Warren has posted "Seven principles for every project" based on Nehemiah's model of leadership. I don't think I need to make the connect here, do I?

1. Simplification
Nehemiah did what worked naturally. He used groups of people that already existed and didn't try to reinvent ministry leadership roles for the sake of a building committee.

2. Participation
Nehemiah worked with people who wanted to work, and ignored the people who didn't want to work.

3. Delegation
Break down major goals into smaller tasks. Develop clear job descriptioins. Match the right person with the right task. Assign specific responsibility.

4. Motivation
Help people "own" the project, and allow them to work in their areas of interest. This is especially true of volunteers; everyone has other things to do.

5. Cooperation
"Good organizations provide a supportive climate of trust and teamwork." Nehemiah could not have rebuilt the wall on his own, or even with a few close friends. Your building project will be the best it can be when your entire congregation is in "one accord."

6. Administration
Supervise. Nehemiah walked up and down the wall inspecting the work. "People do what you inspect, not what you expect." Delegate authority and responsibility to your building committee(s) or committee members, but review their work too.

7. Appreciation
If someone is doing a good job, let him or her know! People will slowly become weary and burnt out if they don't feel their work is valued. Nehemiah knew the names of the people working on the wall, and even went so far as to write them all down!

You can read the full article here.

growth is in the eye of the beholder

Usually, a churches takes on a building project because it is growing. After your facility has been renovated/expanded/razed and reborn, your body will probably grow. During the process, maybe not so much.

A building project is a serious analysis of the health of a local church. It will call people out - How serious are you about this place? It is not uncommon for little rifts to crack during a building project, and ya, a few people may leave.

Craig Groeschel, pastor of LifeChurch.tv, has been posting an interesting series of blogs (which are making for even more interesting conversation in the comments sections) called "Leaving the Church." Number 3 in the series recounts one special Sunday wherein Craig taught on the church's vision and lovingly encouraged everyone who didn't think they could sell out to that vision, to consider finding another church. He had information in the lobby on ten other churches in the area that he knew and respected.

The next week, we had about 500 new seats for people who could get excited about the vision. Within a short period of time, God filled those seats with passionate people. Many of those who left our church found great, biblical churches where they could worship and use their gifts.

Also interesting is Jim Wideman's recent blog post titled, "Why people resist change." He lists ten really good insights. Number 7 is, "Change requires additional commitment."

Now, if 500 people leave your church during a building project, something is wrong - especially because your church is probably not as big as LifeChurch.tv. But if a few families get a clearer picture of the vision and direction of your church (and they should), and decide it is not for them, don't get upset about your eroding numbers.

It's easy to read about church growth, and all of Outreach Magazine's "25 biggest and best" lists, and make that the goal. Yes, a healthy church will grow, but it will grow best when everyone is where he should be. Church leaders also need to remember that while you have been made responsible for your local church, the people are Christ's. If someone is not blossoming in your ministry, it is more important that you move him to another one.

So yes, a few families may leave, but rather than conduct an exit survey - help them find a local church that they can get excited about.

third place for everyone

We talk a lot about the third place space in your facility being a fresh way to extend your ministry into your community, and it should be primarily that. Most of your facility, actually, should be primarily that. Recently, I was talking with a consultant in the industry (who shall remain nameless because he turned out to be less interested in sharing ideas than getting new business), and we discovered the internal benefit of third place space.

Your building is a tool. Renovating, expanding, or abondoning it for a new one is a major event in the life of a congregation. Healthy congregations tend to come out stronger in the end, but what of not-so-healthy, divided congregations?

Not-so-healthy, divided congregations should be careful about starting a building project, but they can benefit from some third place space. Congregations that are not of one mind usually don't know each other very well. A welcoming, relaxing third place space will often draw the congregation together and allow them to socialize and get to know one another more.

The good news is you probably don't have to put an addition on your building to do this. If you know your church body needs some strengthening before you move into a building project, you can usually find some space to turn into a temporary third place. Many churches have a large narthex, lobby, or other open space.

Here are some simple suggestions:

1. Add seating (around some tables). People will gather in a big empty room for a while, but they'll stay and get to know one another when they can get comfortable.
2. Up the food and beverage service. If you're just serving coffee now, add donuts. If you're already doing pastries, add fruit, bagels, or pre-wrapped deli sandwhiches and juice for lunch. This can become an outreach ministry as you partner with a local bakery/deli. If you use them exclusively, they may agree to give you a discount along with some napkins that have their logo on them.
3. Get a stack of newspapers.
4. Advertise it every once in a while. Get creative once every four to eight weeks. Offer a cook-out one week after your worship service, or bring in a balloon artist for the kids. These don't have to be big events, just something to make people aware of the community that's going on.

Above all, have a good time with it and don't put huge expectations on the thing. You're providing a space for community to happen (Joseph Meyers would be so proud), but you can't make it happen. Have fun, meet people, introduce them to each other, and they'll get it eventually.

don't build small

Craig Groeschel of LifeChurch.tv has been sharing his top four ministry mistakes. The second one is Don't Build Small. From his own experience with 12 to 15 "major" building projects, he has learned not to skimp on:

• Parking
• Hallways
• Gathering space
• Offices
• Kids' space
• Anything else that's important to your ministry

The comment section is interesting. It seems a lot of church leaders are, unfortunately, learning lessons about building projects the hard way.

first impressions

My husband and I took some kids from our youth ministry to Nashville last weekend for a big prayer meeting. The meeting was on Saturday, so we planned to get breakfast, go to church, and drive home on Sunday. In preparation, I had done an internet search for non-denominational churches in the small Tennessee town where we were staying. There were three, all along the same stretch of road. This is a story of the first impressions I got from their facilities.

Church #1
First Impression #1: There was no sign near the road. The building wasn't far from the road, but I saw the address number before I saw the name of the church on the building.

First Impression #2: Service started at 10 am. It' was 9:50 and there were zero cars in the parking lot.

We drove right by that one. I noticed as we sped up again that there was a sign on the door, but we didn't have time to pull up and read it. I'm guessing the unchurched in their community who perhaps tried to get to church one morning wouldn't have been interested either.

Church #2
First Impression #1: We saw the sign by the road, but drove by it because the building was so far back, and behind a line of trees, that we weren't sure where to turn.

First Impression #2: The church facility was a warehouse next to a very nice home. I'm not one of those that needs a traditional church building, but this warehouse was in someone's back yard.

First Impression #3: As we did a U-turn in the gravel parking lot, a man emerged from the house on his way to the church building. He was bald, but sporting a thick goatee, and wearing shorts with knee-high black socks.

I'm sure it was a good, fun ministry, but they did not seem prepared for visitors at all. I didn't feel like being stared at all morning.

Church #3
Never found it.

We put on a sermon CD and drove home. On the way I started to think about having a similar experience as an unchurched family in that town.

Church #1: I might have been more inclined to stop and read the sign on the door if I lived in that town. Maybe they moved their service to a different location; if so, I might still go. Maybe they cancelled their service for that morning for whatever reason. Would I come back next week? I couldn't say.

Church #2: Getting me into that church on a Sunday morning would take a relationship with someone there. I like small churches, and I like industrial settings - I think it's cool. I don't, however, like feeling like the oddball.

Church #3: If someone happened to tell me where it was, I might have gone the following week to check it out. I probably wouldn't seek out the information, though. If they wanted me to come, they wouldn't hide their building.

breakout churches

I recently enjoyed reading through Breakout Churches by Thom Rainer and his research team. The research was designed to test the principals of Jim Collins' Good to Great in a ministry setting. It's a very interesting read, and generally congruent with Collins' results.

What Collins calls "Technology Accelerators," Rainer calls "Innovation Accelerators." One such accelerator is a building project.

Rainer's research confirms again that a building project is only effective when it is used to further the vision and goals of the ministry. Breakout Churches also suggests, however, that timing is a key issue as well - that building a facility that enhances the work of your ministry a year before you really need it (or a year after) can be damaging to the health of the congregation.

Also interesting is the role of a building project observed in "comparison churches." Just as the Good to Great team compared their highlighted companies with others who did not make the leap to greatness, the Breakout Churches team studied three mediocre churches compared to each breakout church. In almost every case, the comparison churches either ignored their need for expanded/improved facilities (thus sentencing their ministry to death by erosion), or jumped into a building project as the magic formula for growth (thus sentencing their ministry to death by bankruptcy).

Just as important as knowing what to do when considering a building project (align vision, remember goals, assess the health and support level of the congregation, etc.), may be knowing what not to do: don't ignore your need for an improved facility (hint: if your worship space is consistently full, you need more space), and don't assume that "if you build it, they will come."

public space

The Project for Public Spaces (PPS) has released a book titled The Great Neighborhood Book. The PPS works with public spaces such as parks and town squares, but applies many of Oldenburg's concepts from The Great Good Place.

Part of the book description reads,

Neighborhoods decline when the people who live there lose their connection and no longer feel part of their community. Recapturing that sense of belonging and pride can be as simple as planting a civic garden or placing some benches in a park.

I started to think about the many neighborhood churches I drive past every week, and wonder how much they are really a part of their neighborhoods.

Then I considered my own church. Our leadership has a vision to become a regional church, so our new facility is at the intersection of two major highways in a business district. I know a lot of churches that are on the edge of town, or in a "downtown" area surrounded by businesses. These churches, however, still have neighbors - they're just not residential neighbors.

We talk a lot in the Church about reaching into our communities, but are we being neighbors? Are we letting our communities similarly reach into us? Parks are nice, but what about winter? Or rain? Or lunch breaks? People don't want to be reached because it feels too much like being sold or marketed. People want to be loved, appreciated, valued, entertained, neighbors.

Third place space is becoming more common in ministry facilities, but becoming a neighbor may add a new, twofold challenge.

The first is to make sure your third place space is what your neighborhood needs. If you're in a residential area, you would probably do well with a competitive coffee service, snacks, and WiFi. If you're in a business district, you probably want to be able to serve lunch and simplify the beverage menu.

The second is to deliberately use your third place space. Rather than just design, build, and operate it - develop it. Host open mic nights, business conferences, public speakers, sports nights - whatever your neighbors are looking for - and start building (or strengthening) a sense of community in your neighborhood.