There are good reasons for building a new church. There are also not-so-good reasons. Sometimes, the differences between the two are subtle. It's important that you, as a leader in your church, learn to recognize when the situation is right for a building project, and when other actions are more appropriate.

More Space Without Building
Lack of space is probably the number one reason to consider building. But be careful that you aren't just suffering from an inefficient use of space, warns Bill Chegwidden, president of CDH Partners. "Look at everything that is used and how much it is used—this can get complicated." For example, many rooms are used only on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights. Are the uses set according to ministry priorities? Perhaps you are attracting new people but they aren't returning. It could be because you don't have an adequate nursery for their children. What space do you have now that could become a nursery? Could you combine some Sunday school classes, or move them to the fellowship hall to make room for a nursery?

"One way to maximize space is to have Sunday school and worship going on at the same time, so that the two groups meet during the same hour in different spaces," says Chegwidden. Then the groups trade spaces for the second hour. This necessitates staffing two worship services and two sets of Sunday school classes.

But even when more space is necessary, this doesn't automatically mean erecting new buildings. "Renovation is often the best solution," says Chegwidden. Older churches were built with different priorities for space, but that space can be renovated to meet today's priorities and expectations. Renovations often include things like creating better access for the disabled, upgrading bathrooms and mechanical systems, making it easier to get around within the church, and improving space used for children's ministries. Chegwidden explains that a renovation project is much less expensive than building new.

David Evans, president of Mantel Teter Architects, says another idea is to use two or three different on-site venues simultaneously to meet the needs of different groups. Do you have a fellowship area or gymnasium that could host an alternate worship service? This allows you to get more people on the site, but they're not crowded into one space.

Many inner city churches do not have land available for expansion. When they are out of space, Evans suggests implementing outreach programs using the homes of members or other locations. This approach not only relieves stress on church space, but it also takes the church out into the neighborhoods.

Many churches simply develop three or four different sites off the main campus for worship, says Chegwidden. These can be more modest structures, even rented. These different sites can be linked by video—the main service in the central church can be telecast to the satellite churches. Chegwidden says the satellite locations seem to be okay with not having a "live" pastor there. They might have their own praise band or choir, yet they share the same live sermon, which makes them feel part of the larger congregation.

Wrong Motives
"Some people think that a new building project is a way to revitalize a church, but that could be a wrong reason to build," says Todd Phillippi, president of WPH Architects For Ministry. He says that lack of growth could be related to the building, but in most situations, if the church is doing things right, they can find ways to temporarily use space more effectively. Only when all those options are exhausted is it time to build. The distinction is between building because of growth (good) and building in order to grow (not good).

Phillippi says some church leaders think building activity may draw people to the church. "This can be true--up to an extent," he says. People will be drawn to see what's going on. But after their curiosity is satisfied, they might not find a reason to stay. The danger to the church is in building for people who might come, rather than allowing for a continuation of growth already occurring.

"We've seen churches build auditoriums to seat 1,000 people," says Phillippi. "They thought it would help the church grow big. But what happened is that only 400 people came, so the church felt empty. These churches ended up building partition walls." These situations can be rough on church leadership, as well. The building project was supported by sacrificial gifts from the congregants, and now everyone sees that more was built than was necessary. This will make it difficult to raise money for legitimate and appropriate needs in the future.

Phillippi says yet another mistake happens when a church may be losing members to a nearby church that has just built a big facility. The church with declining membership thinks that if they build a bigger church, they will attract the people they've lost as well as new people. He mentions by example some churches in the Dallas area that have grown and faded. A new, bigger church grows at first, and then declines as another church builds newer and even bigger. "They're just trading sheep," he says. While one church may be growing in numbers, it's possible the Kingdom of God is not growing at all.

The Four Keys to Success
The decision to build should be based on four key components, says Evans of Mantel Teter Architects. The first is people—you need to have the right numbers now and be confident of continued growth in order to justify a new facility.

If you consider the cost of inflation, what you can't afford to pay cash for today will be even less affordable in five years.

Phillippi points to two examples of churches that built at the right times and for the right reasons. Both churches had maxed out with four or five services before they built. "It's very hard to sustain that number of services," he says. They had 800 to 900 people in attendance between all services, so they were confident in their need for a significant building investment. With their new facilities they were able to cut back to two services—each one a nice, full service.

The second component is space. As discussed, you must first maximize the use of all existing space.

The third component is timing. While it is important to stay ahead of your growing congregation, some churches err in building too soon. Evans advocates a deliberate, reasoned approach to growth planning. He says too many churches are in a reactionary mode, making decisions based on Sunday-to-Sunday deadlines, never really thinking beyond next week's service. They make immediate decisions about their facilities instead of taking time to think long-term and look at the big picture. As a result, many decisions to build are poorly timed.

Daniel Cook, founder of Building God's Way, argues that when the reasons are right, delaying the decision to build can be costly. "[Construction] inflation is at an all time high," he says, "and all the construction economists say it will continue into the double digits for the next five years." What that means is that waiting until next year to build can be expensive, and waiting even longer can be catastrophic. Because of rapidly rising material and construction costs, you will get much less building five years from now than you can buy today for the same amount of money. As a result, some churches never build. "You want to be ready," says Cook, "but once you are ready, in this eroding economy, build in the least amount of time possible."

The last component to be considered is money, which determines how much can be built. Sometimes projects have to be downsized. Cook says another reason some churches delay a needed project is their reluctance to go into debt. "Of the 350 ministry facilities we've designed since 1998, only one has completed its building debt free," he says. "Their project had some funding delays, but God blessed with some significant donors and a major sale of land."

But if you consider the cost of inflation, what you can't afford to pay cash for today will be even less affordable in five years. So the effect of inflation is the same as going into debt to start the project now. Cook says taking on some debt to make a needed project work now is better than waiting and paying the price of inflation.

When the Time is Right
A capital building project requires attention to many organizational factors. One of the most important, according to Cook, is to get 50 to 60 percent of the membership involved in the building process through various committees. The involvement can be through helping order supplies, serving as witnesses on the job site, writing letters of thank you and appreciation, helping with the cleanup, and other ways. "This kind of involvement creates ownership in the building," Cook says. "It becomes part of the church's mission and helps reduce labor costs."

There are no easy answers about when to build and when to wait. Before making a decision, consider in detail the four key factors of people, space, time, and money. Make the best plans you can. And most of all, be sure to pray for wisdom throughout the decision-making process.

This article first appeared in Your Church magazine (Christianity Today International).