by John Scott, Scott Long Construction
Would you load up the U-Haul with all your possessions, your spouse and kids then drive down the road to a new home without any definitive sense of where you were moving to? Picture driving North down Main Street and your husband says “Hey honey, let’s go South today.” The next day your eldest says “Hey Mom, let’s head over there towards those mountains – that looks like a good place to live!” Would you do that? No! Think of all the effort, time and resources wasted – you wouldn’t ever get to where you were truly meant to go!
This is exactly what church congregations are tempted to do in the beginning of a building program. Many building committees are in such a hurry to get something done that they rush to put a contract on a property or rush to hire an architect. Many mistakes in stewardship are made with good intentions and a desire to just “do something.” We have found that the right way to develop a church project is to follow a clearly defined process. This process starts with the congregation developing a clearly defined vision. This vision becomes the plumb line, North star, or GPS for the entire project.
Do your building team a favor: Develop your ministry vision through a leadership retreat (consider hiring a consultant) and obtain congregational buy in. Involve leaders at various levels in the visioning process and once it is clear, task the building team with the execution of the vision. Chances are you will end up in your dream home!