Is It Time For Your Church to Build?

By Emma Voon

To build or not to build your church? That is the question!

If you haven’t come to this point yet in your church-planting journey, there will come a time when you will outgrow your current meeting space and will need to expand.

If you have ever had questions about building or expanding your church, then this blog may be beneficial to you.

Although many pastors are nervous about taking this step, building should be an exciting time for them and their church.

The most important part of this process is the timing. My pastor uses this illustration to put it plainly: if I am driving on the highway, and I exit too early or too late, I won’t get to where I need to go. I need to get off at just the right time.

So, you may be thinking, “How do I know if it’s time to build?”

Taking the time to prayerfully consider your options and reasoning for beginning a building project is a great place to start. Expanding your building is a large time commitment and financial commitment for not only you, but also the members of your church!

In this blog I will discuss three important topics that the building project will influence: the effectiveness of your ministry, the building team, and the budget.

Are you ready to build your future?

1. Build the effectiveness of your ministry

Think back to when God first gave you the vision for your church. If you’re anything like me, when God begins to speak to me, I write everything down as quickly as I can; I don’t want to miss even the smallest detail!

Perhaps God has given you a vision to establish a homeless shelter, a youth center, or a leadership college in order to help people and see them come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Your building expansion is something that will help to bring some of those dreams to fruition. 

The ultimate purpose for a church building is to help a ministry bring more people to Christ. Be sure that the new building is serving a purpose in the community and not just making it a more comfortable place for your existing members. 

If you see that building onto your church will increase your ministry opportunity and reach more people, it may be time to consider building. 

2. Build teams to help

Helen Keller said it best: “Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.”

It is not God’s will for you to initiate a the building project alone. I’m sure you are surrounded with others in leadership who are willing to help you make decisions of this magnitude. 

One team you have already established is your board of directors.

From a church compliance standpoint, decisions such as starting a building campaign will need to be voted on and approved by your board of directors. You want your board members’ full support because they will be instrumental in this process.

It may be a good time to consider inviting someone to join your board who knows a lot about construction and/or zoning laws. You may not have anybody in your church that is knowledgable regarding zoning laws. If that’s the case, don’t be afraid to reach out to professionals that do. Each city has it’s own zoning rules and committees. 

Churches have gotten into trouble with zoning in the past. It is not hard to add someone to your board of directors, but whoever you are asking will need to go through your vetting process and be approved by your board of directors through a vote.

Another vital group of people you need are the members of your church!

You may already know of members in your church that have skills or experiences with construction, zoning, or even just have creative ideas! Start recruiting a building team as soon as you say ‘yes’ to moving forward with the building project.

Lay out the skills you are seeking and start asking your congregation to join you in your efforts. You will be surprised how many people are willing to help if you simply ask.

3. Build a budget

The next thing to consider when you start the process of building your church is how much it will all cost.

It’s important to ask yourself three questions regarding your budget:

• How much money do we need to save in order to complete the build project?
• Have we been setting aside money specifically for this project?
• At this pace, how long will it take to raise the funds we need?

Be sure that your church members are aware of the plans to add onto the church building, and designate a special fund for that. Recording this separate from your tithes and offerings is an important part of the process. 

Our cloud based product, Kingdom Steward, makes this super easy for you. It even allows you to generate IRS-compliant receipts with the click of a button. 

Generally, the church mortgage should be no more than a third of your budget. Solely relying on the tithes and offerings coming in may be longer of a process than you expected. What if I told you that you didn’t have to rely on donations alone?

We’ll take a quick look at how you can do that next.

Build your church without relying on tithes and offerings.

Maybe your expenses are adding up and you’re wondering how to possibly get all the money you will need; you should consider starting a church-owned business.

Imagine with me that your church can have the opportunity to generate more income, while also providing jobs for people in the community?

Many pastors and church leaders are unaware that the tax code allows a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization (your church) to own a business and to reap the benefits of its profits. This is what we refer to as a for-profit arm.

In essence, a for-profit arm is a church-owned business that is explicitly established to do business and to generate tax-free money for the church paid in the form of donations and dividends.

A church-owed business can be any type of legal business; the sky is the limit! For example, coffee shops, landscaping services, cleaning services, media production companies, car washes, and bakeries can all be lucrative ventures that give back to the community. These businesses prove to be a great resource for church members, that allows the church to reach out to the community while also providing a needed service!

Is it time?

The last thing we want you to do is to be overwhelmed in this process. Life in ministry is challenging, and this can be a stressful time in your journey in ministry.

Find comfort in the fact that God finds you more than capable, and so do we!

I encourage you to consider the possibilities of establishing a church-owned business that can help your church grow and take the pressure off finding the resource on your own to build your church.

If you have any more questions about this dynamic strategy, please call our office at 877-494-4655 to be connected with one of our knowledgable team members today!

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