Excerpted from Understanding the Needs and Feasibility Process Slide Presentation:
The benefits of a Needs and Feasibility Study for any church contemplating a building program are multi-faceted. Here are some of the benefits as noted in the church needs and feasibility presentation on our website.
Higher Level of Satisfaction:
Quoting from the 2005 Rainer Group study on the impact of building programs:
“We did find a strong correlation in overall satisfaction with the building project if a feasibility study was conducted. The disappointment, however, is that only one-third of the churches conducted a feasibility study.”
- You are going to spend a lot of money on building, you should do everything you can to make sure you are happy with the outcome.
- What you think you know can hurt you, what you know you know can only help you.
Reduction in Risk:
The application of experience and due process by someone experienced in church design, church growth, and church construction cannot help but reduce risk.
- Financial risk.
- Risk of disunity.
- Risk of poor results, or even failure.
- Risk of losing confidence or momentum.
Improved Functionality:
- Based on objective factors, not subjective ideas.
- Based on prioritized needs as quantified by surveys, interviews, and analysis.
- A balance of space that is correctly proportioned to maximize long term value at the lowest cost.
- Increases the effectiveness of ministry.
Reductions In:
- Fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD).
- Stress and undue wear and tear on church staff.
- Costly mistakes.
- Time spent planning.
- Wasted time and effort.
A needs and feasibility study is the key to maximizing the church’s satisfaction while minimizing the risk in building.
A needs and feasibility study provides:
- A plan for execution,
- Unity to the church, and,
- The foundation for the next steps of design, financing, & construction.
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The problem with learning from your own mistakes is that it can be very painful, and sometimes expensive. This is especially true in church construction. In building a church, mistakes can be very costly, and not just in terms of money. While a mistake in construction or financing can end up costing the church tens of thousands of dollars, mistakes can also have other very serious consequences.
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One of the most frequently asked question is “what does it cost per square foot to build?” The answer to that question is about as easy and accurate to answer as “How far is up?” There is no real way to answer the question of cost until you clarify several underlying questions. This is a [...]
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As a volunteer church building consultant for the Congregational Services Group of the NC Baptist Convention, I recently delivered a live webinar on the topic of conduction a church needs and feasibility studies as one of the first steps in a church building program. You may listen to, and view, this presentation online as it [...]
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As you move forward with a church building program (or for that matter, any large endeavor by your church), one of the challenges you will face is the decision about how much unity is enough; whether to try to get every last person in the church to be in agreement about what to do and [...]
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I love this quote. It is appropriate in so many circumstances, not the least of which is in church design and construction. “There is hardly anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price only are this man’s lawful prey.” – [...]
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“How much will it cost to build the church?” is by far the most asked question we receive. This is a very important question, and one worthy of an accurate response. Everyone wants to know how much it costs per square foot to build a church. The REAL answer is this: All I or anyone [...]
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Churches continue to have difficulty getting the financing they need for buildling or relocation. We have seen any number of churches that should be able to get financed turned down by lender after lender. Many churches that are getting turned down for financing today could have been financed a year ago with exactly the same [...]
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“What man would build a tower without first counting the cost?? – Jesus Millions of dollars every year are wasted on church building plans that churches cannot afford to build. Many churches let the church building project define the budget, instead of letting the budget drive the design of the church. This simple transposition of [...]
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Depending on your point of view, this either has nothing to do with church construction, or it is the whole point. I was blessed with a copy of this sunrise photo taken by Bob Freeman who is a member of the capital campaign team at Metrocrest Church in Coppell, Texas. I think Bob’s camera caught [...]
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