How does a church figure out how much space they need to accommodate the people they have and the growth they're experiencing? "When we talk about expanding ministry space, what we're really trying to do is create space for people," says Jeff Otero, vice president and senior strategist for Strategic Dimensions, a facilities planning company.

According to Otero, you need to know where you've been. "Have good historical data on attendance," he says. "Many churches either don't track attendance numbers at all, or they do so in a very inaccurate way. Being able to evaluate accurate data is key to making good decisions on facility space."

There's no doubt that the 75 million baby boomers set to retire in the United States during the next three decades will have a great effect on our society. We have yet to experience the explosion of demands our aging population will require, including new models for senior living.

Churches dedicated to finding relevance both today and tomorrow should take note. They may offer meaningful answers to the challenging questions facing nearly every community around the country.

Today, boomers retiring will do so with more education, more financial independence, better overall health, and longer life expectancies than those of any previous generation. Many of today's seniors will spend as many years in retirement as they did in the work force. And many will want to remain in their homes, even at the expense of their health and well-being. Why? The alternative seems painfully worse, as we've seen through our own parents' and grandparents' experiences.

Our society typically rips seniors from their roots and daily routines just when their need for support—and a loving environment—reaches its pinnacle. They are removed from everything familiar: their home, their neighbors, their friends, their postman, their mechanic, their neighborhood bar, their supermarket clerk, and their church.

Once upon a time, pre-engineered buildings were something you picked out of a catalog and ordered over the phone. Then, about four weeks later, the components arrived on your job site. Basically, you got a big tinker-toy set with an assembly manual. Some thought this method of construction was a dream; others equated it with a lack of imagination and creativity. Today, however, cookie-cutter construction is generally a thing of the past.

Leaders in the pre-engineered building industry have listened to their critics and have found ways to customize their products in order to expand their customer base. As the industry grows, the structures are getting bigger and better. They are not only popular in industrial areas but in residential and commercial areas, too. A friend's home, your supermarket, your office, or your church&all of them could be pre-engineered buildings.

During a time when finances are tight for families and ministries, bring clarity to your vision. Churches cannot be practicing "fat thinking""—throwing money to any project that seems like a good idea. Drill down to what really speaks to the vision and priorities of your ministry. God will provide the money, but we need to spend it wisely. Jim Sheppard offers a three-point litmus test for church spending:

Is your spending:
—urgent
—compelling
—aligned

Watch his video to learn more.

THE NINES was a one day event held on 09/09/09. Leadership Network asked over 75 leaders, "If you had just nine minutes to share with church leaders, what would you tell them?" This was Jim Sheppard's response.

Until recently, churches didn't have to bother with such damage. The continuing unraveling of our social fabric, however, is affecting even the sacred places. Not only are churches being hit by vandals with increasing frequency, but they may even be special targets of those who are hostile to God and his people.

What does a church do when they've invested significant capital resources into land and a building, and their growth still outpaces their physical capacity to effectively serve all the people who attend? More and more churches are finding their answer in the multi-site church model.

According to Jim Tomberlin, founder of Multi-Site Solutions, "What started as a megachurch phenomenon has become a healthy-church strategy."

Tomberlin was hired in 2000 by Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois, to pioneer the multi-site model. During this time, he launched four campuses over the course of five years.

"Initially, going multi-site was a band-aid solution for churches like Willow that had plateaued or stymied because of space limitations," says Tomberlin. By creating satellite locations, Willow Creek could more effectively minister to the people who were driving long distances to attend church.

Today, Tomberlin says the thinking on multi-sites has evolved. "Churches now realize that going multi-site isn't just a band-aid for space limitations; it is a viable alternative for accommodating and accelerating church growth without investing in bigger buildings," says Tomberlin.

Our congregation recently moved out of the building we had occupied for almost 20 years.
The state bought the structure as part of a city expansion project and will demolish it in the next few months.

The final service in the building was sentimental, but most of us were ready to leave the aging structure, which required so much maintenance it was draining our finances.

Our new worship and ministry facility is scheduled for completion in 2011.

For now, we now rent space for our Sunday and Wednesday services at an events center called Noah's. The irony is not missed. As with the biblical prophet, the building serves as an ark in our time of transition.