Are you Coachable for a new Church Building Project?

Are you Coachable?

Many churches considering a facility expansion project wonder whether they need to hire a third-party specialist. Does your church need someone to oversee the expansion process? Is it worth the investment? It’s a church building- how hard can it be? Surprisingly more difficult than you might realize!

According to a 2013 study, building costs account for up to 29% of a church’s annual budget, the second-highest category after personnel. (Evangelical Christian Credit Union) Churches can’t afford to assume they know what’s best when it comes to such a large line item. Staff and lay leaders need to be coached on what to expect when it comes to a facility expansion opportunity. What are the obstacles to avoid? What’s a realistic budget or timeline to target? What steps need to be taken for the best fiscal and ministry outcome for our congregation?

The involved nature of faith-based organizations, like churches, and ever-changing regulations in commercial construction make for complicated decisions. This can vary from zoning requirements to matching vision for the church building with the current and future needs of the congregation. Construction, including church facility expansion, is the second-most litigated industry in America today after medical. (TW Church) You need an expert to help avoid significant risk in both planning and preventive measures for your new church facility.

Proverbs 3:13 says, “Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding.” Churches who want to expand their facility need wisdom from people who have the expertise and connections to effectively create a permanent worship space. Development Advisors serves church staff and building committees by sharing from our years of experience in commercial real estate and church facility development.

Church Facility Services offered by Development Advisors

Development Advisors provides a variety of facility services for our clients, including:

• Strategic relocation planning;
• Financial feasibility analysis pertaining to potential land or building acquisitions;
• Listing and marketing of existing property;
• Acquisition of new property, including comprehensive property searches (may include identification of redevelopment candidates);
• Comprehensive project management including team selection (architects, engineers, consultants, general contractors, etc.);
• Project finance coordination;
• Construction management;
• FF&E planning & move coordination; and
• As needed, comprehensive and coordinated communication with all decision-makers involved with a church’s real estate decisions (church staff, elders, real estate committee, members, and national organization).

We help coach church staff and building committees through each of these services. Our goal is to provide a well-functioning permanent worship space for you to continue doing what you do best: helping build the kingdom of God. Our Development Advisors team is here to serve you and answer any questions you may have.

Development Advisors, LLC is a full service commercial real estate development services organization with a passion for serving churches. Should you wish to discuss your vision with us, please contact Mr. Scott McLean at 303-534-3344 x103 or at scott@developco.com.

Why your church needs a strategic plan for your new facility project

As the saying goes, failure to plan is a plan for failure. There’s a reason why banks are foreclosing on church facility loans at a record rate: failure to create fiscally-responsible building plans. (Reuters) The hallmark of any successful project is having a thorough plan ahead of time. Churches considering a new facility solution need a strategic plan in place before anything else.

What every church facility strategic plan needs

A good church facility strategic plan begins with the primary spiritual direction from God because it’s God who builds His kingdom. Without God’s direction, none of this matters. It then involves wise practical steps that address the financial feasibility, unique congregational needs, and community context for the new facility. The new church facility needs to serve both the current attendees and those who the church hopes to reach in the surrounding community in the years to come.

It’s important for your congregation to understand the vision and steps of the strategic plan. The Aspen Group has an excellent article on how to create buy-in for a church building project. A solid strategic plan and buy-in will help your leadership team and building committee navigate any bumps along the way as the plan is implemented.

How Development Advisors helps churches create strategic plans

What sets Development Advisors apart from a volunteer project manager, architects, or other church facility expansion experts is our ability to help churches understand what is achievable. We do sometimes stretch our clients to consider more possibilities, but we never put our clients in harm’s way when it comes to budgeting and planning for the future.

Development Advisors works with churches to develop a strategic plan during Phase 1 of the construction process. Phase 1 includes three important areas of focus:

• Project Vision - God gives the future vision of the local church to the church’s leaders. Development Advisors takes this vision and helps articulate the future facility program (building size, parking and related space configurations) in initial building concepts. This facility program starts with the ministry needs and desires for worship, teaching, discipleship, recovery, and fellowship.
• Financial Plan - Development Advisors documents existing and future financial resources and helps predict the likely capital giving potential and the future capacity to support debt resources. We help estimate the appropriate amount of debt financing necessary to accomplish the Project Vision without hindering the church’s future ministry goals.
• Budgeting - We create a pro‐forma budget based upon the Project Vision that is then reconciled to the church’s available financial resources. As the project is further defined, we continue to provide turn-key budgets for project planning and execution.

All three of these steps help Development Advisors and the church identify a Facility Goal for the future church facility. The strategic plan is one of the biggest reasons why churches trust Development Advisors with their next facility project. We can provide third-party expertise and accountability to best serve you and your congregation as you consider expanding into a new facility. 

Development Advisors, LLC is a full service commercial real estate development services organization with a passion for serving churches. This aligns with our principals personal values as followers of Jesus Christ. We provide A to Z services including strategic planning, financial feasibility, site/building selection, capital campaign direction (hiring the right coach), financing (as owner's representative), project team selection, land entitlement, project management and construction management (as owner's representative), FF&E and AVL procurement, and move coordination. Should you wish to discuss your vision with us, please contact Mr. Scott McLean at 303-534-3344 x103 or at scott@developco.com. God Bless.

Have you ever expanded a church facility?

It’s exciting when churches are ready to expand their facility or build a new one. Finding a new piece of land, renovating an existing building, and project financing are just a few of the many important variables to consider when upgrading your church facility.

Churches that try to do everything by themselves will encounter unfamiliar obstacles. We love seeing the body of Christ work together to accomplish great things for the Kingdom, but most churches aren’t equipped to create nor execute a significant facility expansion plan. Orchestrating a church facility expansion project requires the right type of professional experience:

• You need a commercial real estate agent who can help you find the right plot of land at the right price. This can be undeveloped land or perhaps an existing property with surplus land that would allow redevelopment or expansion possibilities.
• You need a general contractor and architect with previous experience in church facility development. But most importantly, you need a project manager to drive these professionals to accomplish their best work.
• You need a project manager who can devote the necessary time to oversee real-time decisions. Plans change throughout the course of a project and you need a project manager who can fully devote their time and attention towards making the right decision as a good steward of resources and finances.

Without the right structure and expertise in place, a local church can waste thousands of dollars, time, and resources. This is why you need a third-party church facility expansion expert.

Find your church facility solution with Development Advisors

Development Advisors helps churches expand into the right facility solution to fit your growing congregation. Our team has decades of experience in commercial real estate development, including church facility expansion projects. Some of our recent church facility projects include Flatirons Community Church (Golden and Lookout Mountain)), Mission Hills Church (Littleton), and Crossroads Community Church (Parker), plus several more.

If your congregation is considering a new facility or upgrading your current one, our Development Advisors team would love to talk with you. You can email us or call 303-534-3344 to start a conversation at any time. We look forward to serving you!

Blessed by Converge Ignite!

I just enjoyed three days with 700 loving and encouraging Converge Worldwide Christians at Cornerstone Church in Chandler, Arizona, where I met people from all four corners of the US—from Connecticut to Florida, from Washington to SoCal. I was invited to be a part of a church facilities expansion panel that included Nate Krueger, Paul Kruit, and Doug Peck from the Converge Cornerstone Fund—the lending arm of Converge. Perhaps I was a blessing to the many seeking to expand or relocate their growing churches, but for sure, I was blessed. How? After 7 years of helping Converge Churches here in Colorado, I see the forest for the trees. By attending this great event, I realize the important work that God has been up to, through Development Advisors, over the past 7 years. God has worked through us to affect the lives of thousands of people who have come to know Jesus in the Denver metro area. Eternal Life. Freedom through Forgiveness. Changed Lives. We are humbled. Thank you Lord. May we continue to make ourselves available for the work you would have us do for your glory! Amen.

New Friends from Grace River Church

Debt Reduction Plan - IN PLACE

It is with great pleasure that I can announce that Crossroads Community Church (Parker, CO) has finally put in place the critical plan to become debt free in just 7 years. Most church projects must deploy debt as a resource to accomplish God’s calling on the church to expand its ministry. It’s easy to get into debt, but hard to get out. At Development Advisors, we include, as a part of our future income projections for a church, a plan to pay off debt. We strongly encourage our clients to establish a written plan, voted on and approved by its elders. Today, we are thankful to announce that CCC has done just that.

As Randy Wade, former elder (CLC) stated in an email to me today: “It was because of your professional persistence and advice that the church has continued in keeping debt reduction as a priority! I remember that CLC meeting vividly as you “passionately” challenged us to put an aggressive written debt reduction plan in place and not just nod our collective heads! Your point obviously made a lasting imprint on those who remain, even after you and I have left our positions of influence. Praise Him! “

You may learn more about the the advantages and perils of debt as a resource for future expansion by contacting Mr. Scott McLean at scott@developco.com or by calling him at Development Advisors, LLC at 303-534-3344 x103.