Recently, I attended a Thought Leader Event sponsored by Cornerstone Knowledge Network, creators of the Alignment4 conferences and BuildingForMinistry.com. The leaders gathered included innovative pastors, such as Dave Ferguson and Mark Beeson, consultants—Will Mancini and John Holm, writers, including Skye Jethani and Frank Viola, and others who bring out the best in churches.

The conversation pointed out some key shifts in church life.

When all the excuses are removed. When the desire returns. When the dechurched make initial steps in returning to the local body, one thing consistently slows their progress and makes it difficult for them to assimilate back into the church: Complexity. Churches have become too complicated, and there are too many unwanted barriers to entry (or re-entry).

Church design is ever-evolving. When I asked pastors for their opinions on trends in church facility design, their responses ranged from disappointment "with the apparent abandonment of the traditional designs in favor of designs that 'package' God to meet society's wants and desires" to support for more contemporary approaches "because they utilize 'less scary' designs that draw more people to the church to hear God's Word."

I have consulted with hundreds of churches around the country regarding vision, teambuilding, and organizational development. I am typically called in when a church is about to embark on a building project, or to deal with the aftermath of a project gone awry. Over the years, I've observed aspects that distinguish successful projects from failures. Successful projects have two common threads: a shared vision for the future, and a strong team. Failed projects occur for exactly the opposite reasons: no shared vision, and an ineffective team.

Hundreds of thousands, even millions of dollars, are at stake, as is the church's future vitality. In today's economy, your church cannot afford to make a mistake. A little extra investment on the front end produces huge returns on the back end.

Let's look at how to develop a shared vision for the future in your church.

In an ever-changing world, church leaders struggle to relevantly reach their community. This is evident by recent statistics from groups like The Barna Group and the Gallup Organization. But pastors don't need research to tell them the church is in decline and lacking relevance to Christians and the unchurched alike. They can see it in their own community.

Ed Bahler and Bill Couchenour discuss the vision of the Cornerstone Alignment 4 Conference, and how they approach issues of culture and foresight in the creation of ministry space. Alignment 4, a conference by the Cornerstone Knowledge Network, provides four opportunities in 2009 for church leaders to consider the critical factors of ministry, culture, leadership and facilities.

Christianity Today International
Christianity Today International is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit communications ministry whose mission is to create Christian content that changes the people who change the world. CTI serves the global church with 11 magazines, more than 40 e-newsletters, and www.ChristianityToday.com, which together reach nearly 4 million people each month.

Cornerstone Knowledge Network
The Cornerstone Knowledge Network (CKN) is a select group of innovative companies that collaborates to develop exclusive insights into:

culture,
ministry,
leadership and
facilities.

Our passion is to radically enhance ministry's impact in this dawning digital age. We are dedicated to creating powerful resources for church leadership, as well as designing and constructing strategic church facilities.

Both separately and together, the Network companies offer valuable information as well as proven consulting services to ministry teams. We are committed to helping these teams develop an empowering missional ministry that has a transforming impact on their communities.

The best way for you and your church to receive this knowledge is to attend a Cornerstone Conference. This acclaimed church building seminar is a clearinghouse of the latest information you need to assure your construction project is on a firm foundation.

The Protestant Reformation that followed the invention of the Gutenberg press in the 16th century ushered in an architectural revolution. To move the church into a print culture, in which people could read instead of simply absorbing what others told them, required massive changes in spaces that would be used for worship and teaching.

Today we are undergoing another kind of spiritual awakening as the church undergoes a postmodern Reformation from print to screen. That revolution can'y happen without altering the physical space of the church. What might postmodern church architecture look like?

Here are my 10 Commandments of Architecture for the Postmodern Church:

We needn't go much further than I Chronicles 17:1-4 to capture the heart of the challenges facing pastors today as it relates to building a new facility. If you recall King David's conversation with Nathan the prophet, "Behold I am dwelling in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant is under a tent." David was feeling guilty that he was living in a better constructed and more comfortable place than the "ark of the covenant." Nathan advised David, go with your heart. Today we would tell pastors, follow the vision that the Lord has given you. There was a small problem for David, however; the Lord instructed Nathan later that night to tell David NOT to build a new house for the Lord.