Church growth is a spiritual blessing, but it can also be a spatial curse. The desire to design and build a new church that will address every space need you can afford is very powerful. But before you abandon your existing building in favor of a brand new one, consider some of the ideas here to get more from what you've already got.

Trading Spaces
"When you want more room at home, you clean out the closets and rearrange the furniture—why not do the same thing at church?" asks architect Bert Luper of Worship Concepts. "Churches are often pack rats. I have never seen a church with excess storage. They always fill it up no matter how much they have." To help keep clutter under control, Luper offers this rule of thumb: if it hasn't been used in a year, toss it.

Rearranging the furniture helps you to see things differently. Moving the platform or recessed baptistery might not be an option in the sanctuary, but changing the seating arrangement or moving the piano and organ can redirect traffic patterns and ease cramped spaces. Other areas of the church, such as lobbies or crowded classrooms, could also benefit from reorganizing. "You can't create space," says Luper, "but you can utilize it more efficiently."

For those things you need to keep, consider off-site storage. New storage companies will even drop a container in your parking lot. After you fill and lock it, they take it away and store it for you. It's a great way to get those once-a-year items, like your Christmas decorations, out of the way until they're needed.

Centralizing supplies will also help. Instead of a system where each person stores their own supplies, consider storing them in a central location. An even better idea might be to combine storage and office equipment into a single resource room. That way all your office supplies and copy, fax, postage, and folding machines are centrally and efficiently located.

Reduce the number of conference rooms you have. Trim three sporadically used conference rooms down to a single carefully scheduled room and you will immediately have two new spaces to use for classrooms or offices. Another idea is to follow the lead of secular businesses. Take a large single office and use office dividers to create workstations for two or three people.

If you're still tight on office space, architect Christopher Kidd of Christopher Kidd & Associates suggests checking out freestanding office buildings. To make more room for their administrative staff, Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in Marietta, Georgia moved their missions department to an office building adjacent to their parking lot. By moving an entire administration wing to another building, you can often free up enough space to make several classrooms or even a multipurpose space.

Adaptable Places
"When reviewing the options for a church we always begin by trying to efficiently reuse all of the existing space before adding any new space," says architect William E. Chegwidden of CDH Partners. He often finds that the most innovative way of reusing existing space comes from asking the church to rethink their ministry goals. By taking a fresh look, they see things differently.

"These discussions allow the church to explore creative ways to use their existing space," says Chegwidden. "But more importantly, it is an opportunity to help them rethink their programs, and to see if there is a better way to reach their ministry goals." Expanding your thinking can help you to expand a room from its original purpose to new uses for the same space.

"Sometimes it's all in the labeling," says Luper of Worship Concepts. "An Awana room has to hold a 40-foot diameter circle but if you take away the name, you've got a great multipurpose space." With the addition of folding partitions, the same room divides into four classrooms for Sunday morning. Adding a multimedia setup turns the room into a movie theater. Serving popcorn and soda will create an evening hangout for kids that will rival the local cinema.

Churches are used seven days a week and for more than just worship and teaching. Architects designing new structures keep this in mind and design spaces for multiple purposes. For example, the gym used for sporting events during the week becomes an overflow space for worship on Sunday. The sanctuary platform is a pulpit on the weekend and a multimedia stage for dramatic presentations on weekday evenings. Conference rooms double as small classrooms.

Even rooms in older churches can be designated for multiple uses. "With some modifications, a fellowship hall can also be wonderfully divided into classrooms with partitions," says architect David Evans of Mantel and Teter Architects.

An oversized atrium or centralized lobby could make a great overflow to the fellowship hall or even a banquet room if there is a full-service kitchen located nearby. Weekday evenings, the space can be transformed into a community gathering spot a la Barnes and Noble by combining a bookstore on wheels with a coffee station, simple desserts, and fold-up cafe tables and chairs. While adults sip cappuccino in the lobby, send the kids upstairs to the "Awana" room for a movie.

While versatility is important, it is equally important to understand that not every room can be used for every purpose, even with renovation. Taking the walls out of a set of adjacent classrooms can create one large space, but it still doesn't create a gym because the ceilings are too low.

"It is important to consider surfaces that are appropriate for dual use," says architect Don Mahoney of Daniel Cook & Associates. "Dining halls require floors that can easily be cleaned and protected from chairs and tables. A gymnasium needs a surface conducive to recreation functions and [it needs to] have a certain level of resiliency." The good news is that rooms can become more flexible because new products are available to solve the problems associated with dual-purpose spaces.

Space-Related Products
Want to create an office out of that unused conference room? Wireless technologies help by connecting your computers to a network and Internet connection without having to run cable. Using wireless products throughout the church means that ministries can be on the move. Instead of having sign-ups in the overcrowded children's office, registrations are handled on a laptop in the gym. Missions-minded members don't have to fight the crowds in the lobby to get information on the upcoming trip if they can download it to their pda from a wireless access point.

Dividing large spaces is easier with new partitions. "There are many different divider systems on the market that would allow a ministry to divide up space for Sunday school use and at the same time preserve the flexibility of a larger space for recreation and large gatherings," says architect Mark Hilles of Daniel Cook & Associates. For greater flexibility, he also suggests using portable platforms in large multipurpose rooms.

New furnishings can create a new environment. "We could come in and remodel the sanctuary, put in new carpeting, update the multimedia equipment, and exchange pews for theatre seats," says Luper of Worship Concepts, "and the sanctuary would look brand new." Not only would it look brand new, but Luper says that by doing nothing more than substituting theater seats for the pews, a typical church could also increase seating by 25 to 30 percent. So a church that seats 400 people would gain an additional 120 seats for a total seating capacity of 520 people. New chairs are so quiet you don't hear them when they are unfolded or spring back into place, according to Luper. Seating potential could increase even more if a church chooses to change their existing layout of their chairs or pews.

Renovate If You Can
You've tossed out the junk, moved the furniture, used the rooms more efficiently, and yet you still don't have enough room. Should you renovate and maybe add on to your existing facilities or just build a new building somewhere else?

First, your church needs to decide whether God is calling you to stay in the same place or to move somewhere else. A thorough and honest evaluation of your ministry goals and the vision God has given your church will help you with that decision. The conditions of your current site will also factor into your choice.

"It makes more sense to renovate if the existing facility already has room for expansion," says Kidd. Ensuring you have enough room applies to more than just the building footprint. You also need to make sure you have room for things like increased parking, traffic flow patterns, and demand on your sewer lines. For many churches, choosing to renovate or build something new becomes a decision based on costs.

Renovation Costs
When considering a renovation, it is important to get an architect and/or a contractor involved in the decision. "They have an excellent handle on costs and staging and phasing, and their input is critical to a decision," says Kidd.

Churches often assume renovating is cheaper than new construction, but on a basis of cost per square foot, renovating usually costs more. "The reasoning behind this is often connected to the effort to bring an older building into conformance with new codes and standards," says Hilles of Daniel Cook & Associates. Remodeling or renovation costs can be difficult to identify. "Many conditions are concealed and at times can be difficult to understand until some demolition has occurred," says Hilles, who notes churches must protect existing materials and systems during construction, adding to the cost.

"Remodeling is always more per square foot," says Luper of Worship Concepts. "You have to strip everything down and rebuild it, so you're handling it twice rather than once." This increases the costs. Construction experts don't know what kind of conditions they will be working in. And they always find surprises: everything from bad wiring, to unleveled floors, to load bearing walls that shouldn't be. To compensate, they increase their bids to cover those unexpected costs.

"When you prepare to remodel an existing building a church must understand that there will be unforeseen but not unexpected conditions that must be dealt with during the construction process," says Chegwidden of CDH Partners. "They cannot be predicted, but everyone knows they will occur during the remodeling process." He advises churches to add an additional three to five percent to the normal construction contingency to provide for unexpected conditions.

To get a solid bid, Luper recommends stripping everything away including the carpeting, sheet rock, and ceiling tiles, right down to the structural frame and hvac and plumbing systems. Then you can ask all the subcontractors to come back in and re-qualify their bids. You might spend a little money up front in demolition and clean up but you will save money over the length of the project. Once the professionals can see inside the walls, the surprises are reduced and so are their bids.

Remember that contractors, architects, and churches are all on the same team regarding whether to renovate or choose new construction. The goal is a successful project for the church's need regardless of the form that project takes.

Build When It's the Right Choice
If your building isn't sound you need to consider a new building. "It's just like faith," says Luper. "If you don't have a firm foundation you can't build on it."

Many churches are not accessible to seniors because they have a fellowship hall in the basement and seniors can't get down the stairs. Remodeling won't help much—you probably need a new building with access for seniors on the main level. Likewise, if you don't have room to expand, if costly renovations include bringing old buildings up to current codes, or if you have construction-related issues such as asbestos, then a new building can provide a fresh start.

But before you start with your building plans, start with your ministry goals. "Concerns about when to expand and build new facilities depend heavily on the vision of your congregation—and the capacity of your congregation to handle change," says Mark Martof of Morris Architects. Martof stresses the need for the congregation to understand and accept the vision and the need for change, or else church leaders will encounter resistance to the plan.

How would relocating to a new building affect your vision and your expected growth over time? A new building ten miles away might be wonderful and less expensive than an extreme makeover, but if God wants you to stay in your current location, then you'll need to find a way to deal with the problems where you are.

Remember that your building is simply a tool that helps you accomplish your ministry goals. It is not the ministry goal itself. If a new tool is necessary to accomplish your vision, then build it and God will bring the people. But maybe your current tool just needs to be cleaned, sharpened, and used a little more efficiently. In that case, invest in it—you're right where you need to be.

This article originally appeared in Your Church magazine.