If you pick up a Bible, leaf to the first page and read the first three words, what do you learn about God's approach to creation? He started, "In the beginning..." Pastors often find themselves in a bind because they didn't follow this approach with a construction project.

If you pick up a Bible, you don't have to look any further than Genesis 6:14-22 to learn about God's approach to Master Planning. It was only through God's tremendous vision and skillful planning that Noah was able to successfully complete the task of building an ark large enough to save mankind. While this was certainly a God-sized task, the principles are the same today. Through Noah, the Lord was able to assess the problem, take stock of materials on hand, and carefully put together a blueprint for the construction of a three-story boat, capable of housing all of the species of the world.

"... And the wise man built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against the house, yet it did not fall, because it had a foundation on the rock." Matthew 7:24

Though it is obvious that Jesus was making a spiritual analogy here, a comparison may still be made to the vitally important issue of selecting the right property for a church to build upon. The following guidelines will be helpful as you begin the property selection process.

BuildingForMinistry.com, a collaborative partnership between Christianity Today International and the Cornerstone Knowledge Network, offers a variety of tools and resources to help church leaders with their thinking regarding ministry space.

One of the ways the site desires to help is through electronic training resources. For a low cost, church leaders can purchase these resources and use them as they work through facilities-related matters with staff members, board members, committee members, and volunteers.

Here are six of those resources that BuildingForMinistry.com offers; watch the site in 2010 as new ones get added: