We are building our first building as a church. We have bought 154 acres and are taking over a golf course. Yes, it is pretty cool and we are even thinking about keeping 9 holes. A matter of fact, you can go today and play on our property. It is in the mid 50's today so it is possible. Anyway, the hope is to break ground in September of 2007. We have picked an architect but have not yet settled on a look and feel. If you have ever built a building then you know that it comes with much excitement and even more stress. There are always more questions then there are answers. What is going to be best long term? How much do we plan to grow over the next 5, 10, and 20 years? How many phases are we talking? Gym or no Gym? Carpet or stained concrete? Sloped, flat, or stadium floor in the auditorium? Classrooms for children or auditoriums and breakout spaces? What do you do for a baptismal? How much should spend? Should we keep the existing lake or build a new one that fits the property better? What do you do with the rest of the land? These questions are just the ones that came to mind in the first 10 seconds of thought. Needless to say, there are tons more. This past Sunday and Monday I traveled to Dallas/Fort Worth and looked at some churches there. Seems like standard procedure to go look at what people are doing well and ask what mistakes they have made. Of course, no one is just like you and you want your building to be unique and inviting according to your community. So why am I going on and on about building a building? We don't want to make mistakes. We don't want to repeat anyone else. We do want inspiration. We do want great ideas. So here are some questions for you:
What is the most innovative children's space that you have seen in a church or outside of church?
What is the biggest mistake that we need to watch out for?
What church building has the best auditorium for adults?
What is the inspiration behind your building?
Please post in the comment section so that we all can learn together. Thanks.
