In 2006, Lead Pastor Jason St. John and other leaders at Evangel Temple Assembly of God church in Kansas City, Mo., evaluated their growth patterns, predicting three years into the future, and it became clear they needed to expand—particularly in the space available for children’s ministry and in adult classrooms.

Business Administrator Tim Murlatt explains the extensive process that helped the church determine its future needs: “We broke down every area: early childhood, nursery, youth, adults, bathrooms, lobby, foyer space, kitchen, parking lot, storage. We evaluated our rate of growth and said, in X number of years, at this percentage of growth, where will these different areas be?”

s your church ready to begin an alternate worship style venue? Could your church use an extra fellowship hall? What about more space for the youth group? Do you need room to start an outreach program for community seniors? If you’re asking these questions and others, then it’s time to consider a well designed multipurpose room.

Additions with Limitations
Churches across this great country are constantly faced with the difficult reality of limited space. As the face of ministry changes, the need for more and more space increases. The biggest problem always challenging the church is one simple fact: the needs always outweigh the budget! Understanding which ministry requires what space and how they all prioritize within the church’s strategic plan, can be confusing and even frustrating to figure out. However, don’t fear, there are a few simple steps that a church can follow to relieve some of the frustration.

Grasp the Vision If you understand anything from reading this article, understand you must have a vision for your church. Many of us are naturally visionary people. However, being reminded to actively contemplate and pursue our vision is important. Let’s not forget to think big. Don’t underestimate the extent of your church’s potential for ministry in your community. Most churches remain the same size for years and years because they have not acted on their vision, or properly communicated it to the congregation. They lose people out the door as fast as they come in the door. Motivated people will generally not remain in an unmotivated church. People in the congregation want to “know where the church is going.” They want to know that there is a plan of action. You would be amazed at how easy it is to get people involved and excited about your church when they understand the church’s purpose and direction.

About to embark on a new building construction project? Many church building committees deliberate for hours over design and construction delivery methodologies. Should we hire an architect for design and then competitively “hard bid” the construction? Do we select a single point Design-Build firm for both architectural design and actual construction? The pros and cons of either method mentioned above or some hybrid of one or the other seems confusing, at the least, to the average church building committee member. If there could only be a way to have our cake and eat it, too! Perhaps there is.

It used to be families attended one-room church houses with musty basements for classrooms, no air conditioning, and leaky roofs — a far cry from today’s worship facilities. Now, churches are searching for creative ways to integrate spatial flexibility and high-tech features in sound technology, theatrical lighting, video projection with theatre-style seating. Regardless of the church size, faith, or demographic, creating a worship facility that supports that church’s vision and ministries is the ultimate goal. Whether outgrowing, relocating, or updating their facilities, today’s church exercises several design trends. Some of the hottest trends going involve well-developed and thought out strategic programming and master planning, state of the art technology, unique contemporary architectural style and image, and multifunctional use space.