A Biblical Perspective of Church Expansion

The following are selected excerpts taken with permission from Pastor Clay Peck’s recently completed Doctoral Dissertation. Pastor Clay is the Lead Pastor at Grace Place Church in Berthoud Colorado, a non-denominational church, which he and his wife Selene founded in 1996. Grace Place Church builds bridges to the local community and provides a place for fellowship, teaching and recovery for area individuals and families.  The Lighthouse Café, part of Grace’s church building, is located on Berthoud’s main street (Mountain Avenue), and is the most popular breakfast and lunch spot in Berthoud. Grace Place has outgrown their facility and are making plans to expand onto adjacent land that will triple their size. If you would like more information about Grace Place, you may go to their website or by sending an email to brenda@graceplace.org.   

God’s Growth Intentions.  Scripture clearly teaches that it is God’s will for his church to grow.  God intends that his church will grow both spiritually and numerically.  The Bible strongly implies that God is more likely to grow a healthy church.  Both the quality and the quantity of the church matter to God. Church leaders who desire to lead a healthy church would do well to study the New Testament church described especially in Acts 2.  While Christ declared that he would build his church (Matt. 16:18), God has also called his people to be co-laborers with him, expecting them to participate in the building process (1 Cor. 3:9-10). 

One way that God’s people do their part in building his church is by careful and prayerful planning.  Strategic planning has been modeled by God, by Jesus, by the apostles and taught elsewhere in Scripture.  When it comes to finding direction from God in the planning process, God’s moral will can be found in the Bible, but usually his specific sovereign will is unknown until looking backwards after it has happened.  God has given his people freedom to make plans and decisions, although he may chose at any time to intervene and redirect.  As church leaders humbly and prayerfully seek God’s heart for their church, they use their minds, informed by Scripture and experience, to make decisions together in community with other Christ-followers.  They then are free to make plans and set goals, working diligently to accomplish them, yet holding them loosely—saying like the Apostle Paul, that they will do what they have planned, “if the Lord is willing” (1 Cor. 4:19)—always recognizing that God may alter their plans at any time according to his sovereign will.   “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps” (Proverbs 16:9).

Value of Planning.  God created the world in a progressive and systematic way, moving from simple to complex, bringing order out of chaos.  Jesus came to earth and demonstrated his commitment to a predetermined strategic plan. He outlined his mission at the beginning of his ministry in a vision statement (Luke 4:16-21), presenting it in a way that would enable evaluation and measurement.  In Proverbs 16:9, it is noted that “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps”.

How God Directs.  God has given his people freedom and responsibility to make choices according to how they accomplish his work and build up his church.  He will not give them a detailed road map containing the perfect course for the future.  He wants his people to be obedient to his clear moral will (revealed in Scripture), and then, with a spirit of prayer and humility, relying on the foundation of the basic principles of his Word, he wants them to use their minds to dream and plan for the future realizing that, “if you have faith as small as a mustard seed…nothing will be impossible for you” (Matt. 17:20). God’s people will always hold their plans loosely, recognizing that God may decide to intervene and change their course as he did with the apostles in Acts 16:6-10.

Strategic Planning.  The success of strategic planning depends primarily on vision and participation.  According to John Kotter, “Without a good vision, a clever strategy or a logical plan can rarely inspire the kind of action needed to produce major change”.  Further, as Peter Senge states, “for a vision to resonate authentically for people and compel them to commitment, it must be a shared one”. Aubrey Malphurs (in Advanced Strategic Planning, on page 10) calls the strategic planning process the “rudder” that the church needs to keep from drifting aimlessly like a sailboat without a rudder.  As the winds of change blow, a well prepared and prayed over strategic plan may serve as a “rudder that will biblically and thoughtfully guide the church through these and future times of unprecedented, convoluted change.”

David’s Example.  King David, who led Israel during its greatest era, “served the purposes of God in his own generation” (Acts 13:36).  He sought God’s best plan for his people for his time.  The leaders of every church would do well to follow David’s example and do the hard work of discovering together how God’s purposes can best be worked out for their church in their own generation. This requires working in collaboration with the leaders and members of the church, so that the vision strategy is understood, embraced, and becomes a steering mechanism for the church.

In summary, God intends for his church to grow spiritually and numerically. A healthy church is the Kind of Church that God grows. The marks of a healthy church can be found in Acts 2:42-47. God calls His people to be Co-Laborers with Him in Building His Church. Proper planning is a God-honoring Method of Leading and Growing His Church as it was modeled by God; modeled by Jesus; modeled by the Apostles; and taught in Proverbs.  The proper approach is to plan with humility, recognizing God’s sovereignty and that our short life is like a vapor. How God Provides Direction for his Church: Read his word; develop a heart for God; Seek wise counsel; Look for God’s providence; Rely on good judgment; and, stay open for divine intervention. Seek His Kingdom and do His Will. If we seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness, which is the will of God for our lives, then whatever choices we make concerning the future become the will of God for our lives.

Church Growth Study

Development Advisors is conducting a study of church growth; specifically quantifying the increase in attendance and giving that result from a relocation into a new church facility. This information will assist growing churches estimate future attendance and giving. Such data is invaluable for future facility planning. Having confidence with future income projections reduces the risk and the anxiety of increasing future facility expenses.

If you are willing to share the numbers behind your success story for the benefit of the kingdom, please give Mr. Scott McLean a call at 303-534-3344 x103. If so, what we need is simple. We need your weekly giving and attendance for the last 12 months in your old facility and the weekly giving and attendance for the first 12 months in your new facility. We will be happy to share the results of our study with you upon completion. We will keep each client’s data confidential and will only reveal percentage increases.

Thank you for your willingness to help those that are at a place that your church once was!

Real Estate Magazine Recognizes Development Advisors

Development Advisors was featured in a recent issue of the Colorado Real Estate Journal. You may read a copy of the article by clicking here.

As a result of successfully performing church facility projects over the past six (6) years, Advisors has become recognized as the pre-eminent full service church facility services organization in Colorado. Advisors has a passion for serving churches with their facility expansion plans. We are church real estate and facility development experts. We offer A to Z services including strategic planning, financial feasibility, site/building selection, capital campaign (as owner rep), financing (as owner rep), project team selection, land entitlement, project management and construction management (as owner rep), FF&E and AVL procurement.

If you would like to hear our ideas about your future expansion project, please contact Mr. Scott McLean at 303-534-3344 (x 103) or at scott@develpco.com.

Does Your Church Save Money?

Does your church routinely save a portion of the income it receives from tithes and offerings? I’m not talking about monies budgeted for Missions. That’s an expense. I am talking about saving some of your precious income for future unforeseen circumstances or perhaps expanding your church facility.

It is absolutely critical in our personal lives, but also critical not only for the normal operation of business (or church) that a portion of monthly income be deposited into a savings account. It is not poor stewardship to have money sitting idle in reserve.  It is poor stewardship to spend every dime one receives.

There are several reasons to save money each month. First, every church should have a reserve fund. This should be based on funding a sudden loss on income over a several month period. We recommend saving at least 3 months and preferably 6 months worth of expenses.

Secondly, should your church desire to seek debt financing for a future renovation or expansion project, it will need to prove to a lender that it already has established the habit of saving money. This is what church lenders always tell us and tell our church clients.

Your Project Needs a Church Expert

Churches have congregants with valuable skills including real estate and development experience. But rarely does a church have volunteers who have developed a fully functioning commercial church facility. Every church needs the guidance of professionals. Development Advisors now have years of learning (and making mistakes) how to execute these church specific projects.

Let us give you an example. Even though Mission Hills Church had volunteers with the skills and years of experience with commercial ground-up projects, they chose Advisors to lead them through the process of developing their new 100,000 SF church facility. Why did they hire a church specific developer?

1. All volunteers had full-time careers with no margin to lead a time consuming project.
2. They desired a professional firm to be accountable to the building committee.
3. They lacked experience with the design, financing and construction of a church facility.

Congregants with valuable skills are best suited to participate in a committee responsible for the facility project.

This Mission Hills New Building Committee was a “Who’s Who” of local and national organizations including:

• Former City Manager of the City of Littleton
• Principal of Weitz Construction (International construction firm)
• Principal of EKS&H (largest Colorado CPA and business consulting firm)
• Principal of MOA Architects (prominent commercial architectural firm)
• Principal of MTech (leading mechanical systems provider)
• Vice President of Wells Fargo
• Principal of a Private Equity Firm
• Real Estate Attorney

Advisors successfully led the site acquisition, rezoning, financing, design, engineering, construction and outfitting (AVL and FF&E) of this beautiful new church facility including regularly meeting with and reporting back to this amazing group of congregant volunteers.

Should a Church Lease or Own?

Should a church lease or own its church facility?  Advisors believe that most churches should own their property to build-up equity for future expansion, to lower facility costs, and to avoid paying property taxes.
In Colorado, in order to qualify for real property tax exemption, a church must both own the property and also use the property for qualifying charitable purposes. In other words, a qualifying 501c3 must be in title to the property. So if a church leases from a qualifying 501c3, then no problem. But this is almost never the case. Unlike California, churches thrive in all types of leased commercial properties. But in Colorado, the property taxes alone can amount to $3-4/SF which for a 500 seat church can amounts to as much as $100,000 annually. This is money that is better spent on ministry.
If a church leases property, then it has no opportunity to build up equity either through debt reduction or appreciation. Today, one could argue that church properties and many other commercial property types simply don’t appreciate. Perhaps the most relevant reason for a church to lease, would be if the church is on a steep expansion curve. A church that is quickly adding new campuses, will not likely be able to raise the capital necessary to fund such expansion. Further, expanding multi-sites may need the flexibility to be able to move quickly to a larger facility (if it outgrows a campus location) or perhaps to shut one down if the location was not as successful as hoped.

Beware of Inexpensive Land!

Have you ever heard someone describe a particular land parcel could be purchased inexpensively? There is usually a good reason for that. You get what you pay for. Cheap land usually requires exorbitant cost to prepare it for vertical construction.

Trying to compare land costs is like trying to compare watermelons and kiwi. They are not closely comparable! Some sites are flat and some are severely sloped. Some are triangular and some are square. Some have utilities on-site and some don’t have a sewer connection for miles!

Land is complex. Valuing land is even more complex. But the bottom line is that the value of a land parcel is directly related to the vertical development that can occur on it. Land suitable for Walgreens drugstore will obviously cost more than land for a FedEx warehouse.

The only way to compare land is to first estimate the costs to prepare the land for vertical development. This is called “horizontal” infrastructure, costs, improvements or development. Horizontal development costs can include both off-site and on-site costs. Such off-site costs can include extending utilities, constructing the access road to the property, government imposed acceleration/deceleration lanes, traffic signals, etc. Typical on-site costs include tap fees, permit fees; installation of curb, gutter, sidewalk; storm water detention facilities, and balancing / compacting the dirt. One municipality might require a brick façade while another might permit a metal building. Secondly, one needs to understand how much square footage (called “density”) a municipality will allow (“entitlement”) on the land. Land that allows a 10-story building is worth more than land that only allows a single family residence.

So, to accurately compare the “price” of two different land parcels, you need know the entitlements by the municipality and then compare the finished costs of preparing the land to go vertical. So ask the listing agent to give you this specific information or go research it yourself along with your civil engineer, general contractor and the municipality where you plan to pull a permit.

Scott McLean is a Principal with Development Advisors, LLC and has invested his lifelong career assisting organizations desiring to expand their facilities in order to grow their organization’s revenue and positively impact our community.