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Navigating a Successful Building Program
Planning to build? Here are the questions - and answers - a church needs to know.
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On Pentecost last year, 850 gathered for worship beneath an enormous yellow-and-white tent on a church lawn in Falls Church, Virginia. Folding chairs were arranged in roughly the same configuration as pews in a planned sanctuary to be built on that site. It was Celebration Sunday at The Falls Church (Episcopal), and for the first time in recent memory, the whole congregation worshiped as one. The co-chairs of the building fund campaign, John and Tucker Viccellio, announced pledges totaling $1.5 million, including a donation that day of five dollars and change delivered in a plastic sandwich bag by a kindergartner. The congregation had finished a three-month fund drive, reaching (just barely) its minimum goal for going ahead with plans to build. In the glow of celebration, a question persisted: Will it all come together? The church faced the need to raise more money. Construction and design details had to be finished and approved, under the watchful eye of a city council that is fiercely protective of historic landmarks—particularly The Falls Church, for which the city was named. George Washington had served on the church's vestry when the original building was completed in 1769. The enormous size of the building program was just beginning to sink in. Reflecting on the tasks ahead, John Viccellio said, "I think the new building will happen. I don't think it will be easy." As the project developed, a few long-time church members were cool to any building plan. Some felt threatened by the idea of a large, new worship center. The Viccellios and the rector, John Yates, responded quickly to the concerns raised by individuals. No one expected unanimous support for every aspect of the plan. But the depth and source of some opposition surprised clergy and lay leaders alike. In any building project, at any stage, trouble can come in ways church leaders least expect. What are some of the hidden "rocks" that can threaten to sink even the most carefully navigated building program? And how can a church stay off of them? I investigated several churches that went through the treacherous waters, and I discovered some specific questions each congregation will need to address to complete a building program successfully. How Can We Present the Vision Clearly?Before the congregation will give its support, it must understand the purpose of the project. Articulating a crystal-clear vision lays the foundation for enthusiastic support. At Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie Minnesota, construction of a 2,000-seat worship center on a newly purchased site grew out of a ten-year process of study and prayer. Part of the overall vision involved becoming an all-purpose community resource. A community survey conducted by the church showed 62 percent of the households within five miles of the new site came from Catholic or Lutheran backgrounds. In response, elder Austin Chapman said, Wooddale's leaders decided to offer "a more liturgical, formal, organized kind of service than other evangelical groups." The church changed its name from Wooddale Baptist Church to, simply, Wooddale Church. |             |
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