Building a Church

Building a church is a major undertaking in the life of a religious community that requires careful planning, financial fundraising, and total commitment. Church building designs offer a community the opportunity to create a space for worship that will draw in the surrounding neighborhood and serve the ministry. This process begins with creating a master plan that encompasses all that is expected from the finished product. A master plan helps to involve all members by creating a sense of ownership. It also forces the leadership to prioritize ministry needs and defines the church's mission statement, purpose, and overall plan.



This vision is a major undertaking and should begin with a focus on ministry. Building a church is a sacred trust, and determining which direction taken in many different realms must be considered first. If planning a huge outreach to children and families, the church building designs you might choose will be different than if you plan to cater to an older population. The use of space will be quite diverse. The commitment to completion is demanding and must envision existing space use and re-use studies. Acts 16:5 says, "And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily." The whole idea behind building a church is that people be established in the faith. The building should reflect the present and future goals as well as stay within a realistic budget for the people funding the project.



This task can include doing feasibility and site selection studies, debating renovation or expansion plans, and creating complete construction plans and specifications including lighting, sound and acoustic design. Church building designs allow the congregation to understand the ramifications of each choice that is needed to be made concerning the building. Building a church includes looking at the history and future, looking at the present and future space use, and analyzing parking and utilities requirements.



This vision should prioritize needs and take an overall look at church finances and funding sources. Understanding what the church will be facing in ten years can provide a better idea of what to be doing today in terms of design. Talking with other churches with similar goals will help to clarify what may or may not work in the designing process. It doesn't do any good to build a beautiful area for a choir if there isn't an overall interest for having a choir. Church building designs should be beautiful, yet practical, and meet financial needs.