For leaders at Bethel Lutheran Church, the signals that it was time to expand were not subtle. By RaeAnn Slaybaugh At the home church in Fergus Falls, Minn., nearly 90 cars per worship service had to park off-campus and walk to church — and this was across three services. Inside the sanctuary, two of […]
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By Rodney C. James Jesus said, For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to […]
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A major building project is something typical pastors undertake only once or twice in their careers, if ever. Many potential pitfalls loom without the right guidance, and far too many pastors are essentially “flying blind” when they start out. It can even lead them to burnout … and leaving their churches behind. To this end, […]
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By RaeAnn Slaybaugh After more than a decade meeting in a school, and then in a leased warehouse, Faith and Victory Church in Auburn, Wash. — a suburb of Seattle — was enjoying significant growth: 30 percent, year over year, for several years. The need for a more permanent (and suitable) church home was […]
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For Franklin Christian Church, the road to a new facility was paved with obstacles — which turned into opportunities. By RaeAnn Slaybaugh The pre-construction planning phase for Franklin Christian Church’s (FCC) new facility began in 2016, focusing on the programming and requirements for the space. But the story of how it came to be […]
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BILL AANESTAD / EXECUTIVE PASTOR / ORCHARD CHURCH / MURRIETA, CALIF. By RaeAnn Slaybaugh As Executive Pastor Bill Aanestad and his team at Orchard Church neared completion of their construction project, they were looking for a long-term fixed-rate loan. With interest rates on the verge of a sharp increase, they wanted something predictable. Something manageable. […]
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J.T. ENGLISH / LEAD PASTOR / LINDSAY ACOCELLA / DIRECTOR OF STRATEGY & OPERATIONS / STORYLINE CHURCH / ARVADA, COLO. By RaeAnn Slaybaugh / Photos by Mike Schueler Storyline Church was running out of room. Nestled beneath the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Arvada, Colorado, what had started in 2015 as small church plant […]
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By RaeAnn Slaybaugh If you had to choose a time to build a new church, it wouldn’t be during COVID. But as PaulAnn Church Lead Pastor Kirt Dauphin and Leadership Development Director Quinn Banister discovered, God’s timing is always good. Though Kirt Dauphin and his wife, Cindi, had never visited San Angelo, Texas, they were […]
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By Mike Schueler Out of space and out of time, Sunnylane Church needed a loan to grow. But the promise of an ultra-low interest rate turned into a financing nightmare for this Oklahoma City congregation. Drew Sanford was frustrated. He’d already wasted too much time working to secure a loan for Sunnylane Church, the Southern […]
Read More >Designing a user experience that supports the vision and ministry of the facility — on a budget By Ravi Waldon, AIA, LEED AP Looking at the really amazing spaces in church design magazines certainly can make one drool. It’s all wonderful if the church has a vast budget, unconstrained land, and a lot of resources. […]
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