Wildesign Group Architects

redirect

2008-06-23T12:18:00.001-06:00

Please visit our new blog and website here.

vision casting

2008-05-16T08:17:00.001-06:00

The Wildesign blog is moving. I've been duplicating posts here to make it easier for you, but at the end of the week I will no longer be doing so. Please update your links and bookmarks, we're here now.

Review: Your church's building is a ministry tool. It should be built or renovated in order to help your specific ministry do the specific work that God has called you, specifically, to do. It should express and serve the vision of your church, which means vision is important to your building process.

Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback sent me an email this morning (alright, I'm subscribed to a newsletter and it probably wasn't even him who sent it). The first section highlighted an article by Pastor Warren called "How to share God's vision for your church."

Vision is important to your building process in two ways:

Building projects can put undue strain an unhealthy church. A healthy church, however, is united behind the vision for their collective ministry, and can see how a new/renovated building is going to further that vision.
The building project itself needs an acute vision. It's part of your over-arching vision, but let's face it: this is a big project. Just like your children's ministry has a specific vision that fits into the vision of your whole church, your building project needs specific vision.

So while Pastor Warren's "seven things" to help people understand your vision is referring to the first kind of vision, they can easily be applied to the vision behind your building project.

Who you are. This is the VIP factor that Thom Rainer talks about in Breakout Churches.
Where you are going. How does the new/renovated building fit into the bigger vision?
Why you are going there. Why can't you do that in your current space?
What it feels like to be going there. "To get people behind your vision, you need to communicate to them how fulfilling it will be to join God in what He's doing through your church. People are looking for significance."
What people can do. Help people see how they're needed.
How you're going to do it. Share the plan with people. Show them the floor plans and the BIM images.
What the rewards will be. This goes back to 1 and 2, but months into the process people will need to be reminded. When the new building opens, how will it make our ministry more effective? How will it please the Lord that we've been faithful to do a hard thing in order to expand His kingdom?

For the whole article, with Pastor Warren's comments and explanations on each, go here.

the gothic conversation continues, continued

2008-05-14T08:05:00.001-06:00

So where do all these ideas get us? No where in particular, but probably closer to understanding what the results of this LifeWay study mean for us.

We decided that, as much as we might like to, we can't completely ignore LifeWay's findings.
It may be possible to capture what the unchurched and the emerging generations like about the cathedral-type spaces without actually hunting down someone who can sculpt gargoyles. We can design the outside of the building to be recognizable as a place of worship. We can create vast worship spaces that reflect the majesty of God, with niches that allow visitors to have an intimate experience. We can incorporate lighting schemes that help transform a space from a public setting one day, to a personal setting the next day.
When it comes down to it, we'll continue to do what we've always done. We'll meet the pastor, the leadership and the congregation. We'll survey the neighborhood and the surrounding community, and we'll help the church discover why it's there. From there we can design a facility that will demonstrate the beauty of our God, as well as serve the people He died for.

There simply is no formula. It would be nice to survey the general population once every year or so, get an idea about the trends, and decide on a cookie-cutter church building model that will appeal to the most generic crowd.

But you and your ministry are not called to appeal to the most generic crowd. You're called to the highways and byways; you're called to the suffering and the destitute; you're called to find the lost. We could grab a hold of the latest survey and start stamping out church facilities, but we're called to help you.

the gothic conversation continues

2008-05-13T13:19:00.001-06:00

The Wildesign staff had lunch together today, and the conversation about the recent LifeWay study continued. Nothing was resolved just yet, but we got a little closer to wrapping our heads around the implications of the thing. Here are some of the ideas/comments that came up:

Designers today, church designers especially, frame a building around cultural norms or according to what we reasonably believe the public wants. That's not how early houses of worship were drawn up. Moses' tabernacle, Solomon's temple, and early Catholic church buildings were all designed to communicate God to visitors. Floor plans and decor and vaulted ceilings revealed God's character. The focus was God, not people.
It's easy to blame boring or ugly church buildings on "stewardship," but that may be a very western mindset. In Haggai, the Lord gets upset with people for having nice homes while His temple is falling apart. He tells them to fix it up so He can take pleasure in it. As temporary as this all is, God does occasionally take pleasure in what we create.
Gothic cathedrals were designed to teach people about God. Stories were represented in art and the structures themselves inspired awe at the majesty and the magnitude of God. Illiteracy is not such a problem today, but young people especially are growing up with no Christian influences. Is there a time coming when church architecture should once again help to demonstrate some of the basics about God's nature?
The arts are fading from places of Christian worship and an emerging generation notices. It's not to our credit.
On the other hand, none of the exterior pictures that the unchurched were given to choose from is really contemporary. They all have steeples and they're all moderately unattractive. There are no big windows, no adapted store fronts or warehouses, and no landscaping. It looks like they were given one cathedral and three traditional churches to choose from.

So where does this discussion lead us? We'll talk about that tomorrow.

authentage

2008-05-08T08:08:00.000-06:00

Mr. Ed Bahler of the Aspen Group has, apparently, been filtering through six and a half Google pages of articles about the recent LifeWay study about church architecture. He points us, via lengthy quote, to one by a Benson Hines - a young man on a mission to explore college ministry.

As an expert on young adult ministry, Hines was not surprised by what LifeWay found. Emerging Church and New Monastic movements are both pronounced examples of young people moving back to a "vintage" faith. His analysis combined with his experience make for a great read, especially for anyone who may be struggling to come to grips with the uncertainty LifeWay has managed to expose.

My favorite part, though, was his use of the term "authentage." I don't know if he made that up, but I like it. And I quote:

"These stats certainly continue to confirm the appreciation for 'vintage' among many in our culture. An old church building is true vintage; it’s even more 'rooted' than candles put on a stage to manufacture a vintage environment. I continue to believe that some ministries could find great success by taking advantage of vintage elements they already possess.

"But vintage best connects with this generation when it’s paired with authenticity. Traditional building plus a 'traditionalist' congregation isn’t a good draw. But historic building plus alive and real congregation can be mighty attractive to somebody who’s into 'vintage' and 'authentic.' I like the term authentage myself. This generation loves authentage."

So how do we build authentage? First, I think we keep in mind the adjectives that the unchurched agreed should describe a church building: beautiful, simple, reverent, and traditional. Second, I think we keep doing what we've been doing for years: discover what God has called your congregation to, and design a building that will be your greatest ministry tool yet.

burning issues (part 2)

2008-05-06T08:07:00.001-06:00

So what does any of this have to do with church architecture?

Well, as Kevin G. Ford of TAG points out in Transforming Church, your ministry's building is a symbolic expression of the code, or the heart/identity, of your church - whether you're aware of it or not. The core of who your church is will naturally flow out from leadership to the congregation (via values, mission, strategy etc.), and from the congregation to the world outside (via traditions, marketing designs, and architecture).

In Breakout Churches, Thom Rainer locates this code at the "vision intersection profile" or VIP. The VIP is where the passions of the pastor, the passions of the congregation, and the needs of the community all overlap. The vast majority of churches that break out of the mold of "boom, plateau, erode" found their calling at this vision intersection.

If the passions of the generation that is currently breaking into local churches is in social justice, you know where to start. What social justice need is there in your community, and which of those really speaks to the heart of key leadership at your church? That is where you find the code of your ministry, and that is what you build for.

If unemployment is up in your neighborhood, maybe you need an adult learning center where tutors can set up meetings and people can do job searches online. If homelessness is a problem in your community, maybe you need a commercial kitchen and a multipurpose space that can be secured from the rest of the building for soup kitchens and over-night shelters. If violence is plaguing your schools, maybe you need attractive youth space, a basketball court, or a skate park.

Designing a facility with your call in mind will help your ministry answer that call to the best of your ability. It will also reflect your passions to your community and attract a younger generation who wants to make a difference in their world.

burning issues

2008-05-05T08:40:00.000-06:00

The validity of Relevant Magazine in the western Christian community is debated, but the fact remains that it is a key focal point for hip young people who identify themselves as Christians. Or at least Christ-curious. The May/June issue featured a piece called "Burning Issues: You Asked the Questions - We Found the Answers."

They asked a carefully selected response panel (Chuck Colson, Cindy Jacobs, N.T. Wright, etc.) about seven of what teenagers and young adults identified as the most important issues in our society. What is more interesting than the answers offered by renown writers and speakers is what issues were identified as "burning," and the results of the readers' poll on each issue.

I chose three for you this morning:

Q1: Is our focus on social justice out of balance?
RP: 74% of the Relevant target market said evangelism ("spreading the gospel") is equally important to service ("meeting the basic needs of others"). When asked what area the Church needs to work on most, 24% chose "social justice," another 24% chose "poverty," and 23% chose "unreached people."

Q3: Faith - What are the problems facing the Church today?
RP: When asked where the church has shown significant progress, 43% said "social justice," 26% chose "unreached people," and 17% indicated "poverty." When asked which issues they were most tired of hearing about, 33% said "war."

When asked what readers personally struggle with the most, the response was very nearly split between four of five possible answers. The majority (27%) chose "materialism," but "apathy" came in a close second (24%). "Disconnectedness" and "disillusionment" were tied for third at 21% each.

Q6: Consumerism - How do we escape the excesses of culture?
RP: 79% of readers are happy to tithe. When asked what would be most difficult to give up, 66% said relationships and 12% said money.

The other questions focused on homosexuality, political parties, influencing culture, and war. Serious stuff. I'm highlighting these three because they show a very interesting side of the emerging face of Christianity.

They do not separate the gospel with social justice. They believe that when Jesus said "go," He meant it. Those issues that they identify as the ones that the Church needs to work on, are also the ones they recognize the Church has made good progress on. They see that the Christian community is trying, but they're not satisfied yet. Most of them are happy to financially support a local church, but I'm guessing they're not doing so with ministries that do not reflect their passion for the practical work of the gospel.

At the same time, they realize they are being weighed down by the world. They know that they struggle with materialism and apathy. In the face of a digital revolution - where the world is at their fingertips every time they log on - they're feeling disconnected and disillusioned.

(To be continued ...)

church technology from Barna

2008-05-02T08:29:00.001-06:00

Our friends at the Barna Group released a new study a couple days ago on the use of technology in churches. The survey covered eight applications: large screens, the use of movie clips, email blasts, a church website, a blog from church leadership, a social networking page for the ministry, podcasts, and training via satellite. Only the first has to do with a church's facility, so that's what I'm covering. For the other seven, go here.

If you're using large projection screens at the front of your worship space, you're in good company.

65% of Protestant churches have large screen projection systems in their facilities.

In 2000, that number was only 39%. In 2005, it shot up to 62%. It's strange, then, that the number of churches using this system seems to have plateued.

The use of projection screens is related to the size of the church:

53% of churches with <>
76% of churches with between 100 and 250 adults/week use projection screens.
88% of churches with > 250 adults/week use projection screens.

Mr. Barna muses, "Many small churches seem to believe that new tools for ministry are outside of their budget range or may not be significant for a church of their size. It may be, though, that such thinking contributes to the continued small size of some of those churches."

So while we don't necessarily subscribe to the "if you build it, they will come" philosophy in terms of seating capacity - large projection screen systems may be another story. Your congregation may be small, but that doesn't mean it can't be digital. It also doesn't mean there aren't people outside who need to/want to come in.

If you feel it's something you need to do in order to better reach a post-Christian generation, a very traditional church may need to be eased into technology on a Sunday morning. Don't put up a couple screens and blast people with an elaborate multi-media extravaganza. Put up a couple screens and show one, short movie clip to emphasize the sermon. Don't even use them for worship or sermon notes for a while. Explain your heart to minister to teenagers and young adults. There may dissenters, but - well there always will be.

new monasticism

2008-04-30T08:16:00.001-06:00

As the conversation continues regarding the future of church facilities, the New Monastic movement is beginning to break substantial ground in the U.S. I can't help but wonder how this trend may influence the function of local church buildings in the years to come.

New Monasticism has been around for decades, but was officially birthed in the summer of 2004. New Monastics live in community with one another, sometimes in one building and other times in close proximity to one another. Singles, couples and families are all included in a communal way of life that seeks to return to the first century Church's way of doing things.

There are 12 "marks" that New Monastic communities live by , but general values can be outlined more simply:

Thoughtful, prayerful, and/or contemplative lives
Communal life
Focus on hospitality
Practical engagement with the poor

What that ends up looking like is several homes in close proximity that give shelter to even more families. They usually eat together on a regular basis, and host meals that are open to anyone in the community. They often shelter the homeless, or individuals recently released from jail/prison. They develop devotionals that the whole community participates in during their individual prayer times and corporately. Some attend a local church for weekend worship services; others do not.

So what does this mean for a local church? I think it simply means there may be church plants in your community that could use your support. They're not church plants in the traditional sense that they're trying to establish a house of worship like yours, but they are a member of the body of Christ doing the work of the gospel. They could probably use some extra food, or help with home repairs, or extra Bibles, or training/info on helping someone overcome a drug addiction.

It seems to be one more trend that would shrink a local church body, but have more use for a flexible church building. A quiet chapel or prayer room might be appreciated by New Monastics in your community whose homes are generally full of people. A library/bookstore with a few computers might be helpful for those trying to ease ex-cons back into society. A gym, rec room, or garden would be an asset for them as well.

The local church body in the digital era may need to become less about being the Church and more about supporting the church - whether or not they're "members."

keyless entry and alarm systems

2008-04-25T08:41:00.001-06:00

Church Solutions' Factbook 2008 also features an article titled "Is Your Church as Secure as it Could Be?" Something none of us really want to think about, and a question to which most of us would probably answer "No." The article points out that many churches foster a very open environment: easy to get in and out of, and easy to case. Also, "more than ever, church facilities contain valuable, high-tech items such as musical instruments and multi-media equipment."

Two things the author mentions that I found interesting: keyless entries and different kinds of alarm systems for after hours.

Keyless Entries
You know: ID badges, keyfobs, access cards, etc. In addition to everything a lock-and-key entry does, keyless entry systems allow temporary access for visitors, provide entry and exit reports, and eliminate the need to rekey or change locks.

Alarm Systems
Conventional systems are motion-based and work a lot like what you see in the movies. The problem with these is that the alarm creates a loud noise (so the intruder has time to escape and knows where the alarm is), and police are often slow to dispatch because 98% of these activations are false.

Another kind of alarm system is based on noise. First of all, they're silent, so the intruder doesn't know an alarm has gone off. Second, they're verified, which means trained professionals at a monitoring station are listening to determine if a break-in is actually taking place. If they decide it is, they dispatch local police to a "burglary in process," which gets much higher priority.

adaptive reuse

2008-04-24T08:16:00.001-06:00

The Church Solutions 2008 Factbook arrived digitally in my Inbox this morning - brimming over with good content. I will hereby commence regurgitating some of said content back to you.

One article, called "Adaptive Reuse" caught my particular attention because it seems like we hear more and more about local ministries opting to renovate an existing, non-church building rather than build from the ground up. Mars Hill in Seattle caused no small stir when they opened their newest campus in an old dance club. Several churches are now taking over bars on Sunday mornings. ... Or maybe I'm partial because my own church is in a former Big Lots department store space.

The Church Solutions article - teasingly labeled "Part I" - discusses some of the benefits to these "found spaces."

Lower first cost.
Faster occupancy.
Increased proportion of volunteer-ready work. (New constructions required trained, experienced professionals to lay concrete and erect steel. In a renovation, more of the work can be done by skilled or unskilled volunteers, and construction managers are usually more apt to let skilled volunteers participate since the risks are reduced.)
Location. (Renovating allows a ministry to set up in densely populated areas.)
Environmental sustainability. (Fewer raw materials and less garbage, and you can still get LEED certification.)
Cultural familiarity and mission. (It's all about knowing your church's DNA.)
Experimental freedom. (Go ahead and paint the walls ... again and again.)

Check out Church in the Word in our Project Gallery for one example of adaptive reuse.

church building news

2008-04-23T10:05:00.001-06:00

Local churches and the buildings they call home (or would like to) are making all kinds of news lately.

Celebration Community Church filed suit against the city of Muskegon (Michigan) after being denied a special-use permit to move into a building previously owned by a car dealership, according to The Muskegon Chronicle. "The planning commission's denials of the special-use permit came after opposition to the church's request by several people who live or do business in the area, including the owners of two nearby bars who feared negative consequences for their businesses."

In another part of Michigan, First Baptist Church in Waterford are - conversely - worshipping too loudly. A neighbor filed suit complaining of the noise, so the church filed a counter-suit. The counter-suit, as quoted by the Detroit Free Press, claims, "uniformed Waterford police officers raided ... without a search warrant ... or on any other legal authority, detained Pastor Mark Kerr, interrogated him and seized his driver's license."

Carlinville Southern Baptist Church is working on renovating an old Wal-Mart store in Carlinville (Illinois). So far they have permission from the city to set up offices, daycare, and just about everything they'd like ... except worship. According to Townhall, the decision as to whether or not the church will be allowed to worship in the building is yet to come.

Finally, in a move that hasn't resulted in any lawsuits at all, Dayton B2B reports that Country Rock Church's new facility in Sidney (Ohio) has "a dance floor, riding bull, big screen TV, pool tables, pizza, beer and a pleasant, everybody-knows-your-name vibe." They've started holding worship services in a local pub in order to "reach people where they are." Whether or not alcohol was available for sale is still undetermined.

happy earth day

2008-04-22T07:47:00.003-06:00

In honor of Earth Day we want to help your church building get greener, faster. Here are a few of the odd things you can get LEED credit for.

(In an existing building)
SS Credit 5: Reduced Site Disturbance - 1 Point
"Over the performance period, have in place native or adapted vegetation covering a minimum of 25% of the site area, excluding the building footprint." i.e. Let a quarter of your grounds get over-grown.

MR Credit 5: Sustainable Purchasing: Food - 1 Point
"Achieve sustainable purchases of at least 25% of total combined food and beverage purchases (by cost) during the performance period." i.e. Get donuts from a local bakery and USDA Certified Organic coffee.

EQ Credit 2.1: Occupant Survey - 1 Point
"Implement an occupant comfort survey and complaint response system to collect anonymous responses about thermal comfort, acoustics, indoor air quality, lighting levels, building cleanliness and other occupant comfort issues."

(In a rented interior space)
SS Credit 3.2: Alternative Transportation - 1 Point
"Provide secure bicycle storage, with convenient changing/shower facilities for 5% or more of tenant occupants."

SS Credit 3.3: Parking Availability - 1 Point
"Priority parking for carpools or van pools will be provided for 5% or more of tenant occupants."

MR Credit 1.1: Tenant Space - 1 Point
"Occupant commits to remain in the same location for not less than 10 years."

Who said going green isn't fun?

why go green?

2008-04-21T07:52:00.003-06:00

Two weeks ago was Green Week here at the WDG blog. It was fun, but it wasn't the end of the green speak. Before we go any further, however, let's discuss the Why? factor.

The April issue of Grow focused on a green Church, and closed with an address to the Why? factor. I think they put it pretty succinctly, so I'll just insert a block quote:

Your church can be designed, built, and operated to be energy and resource efficient. All it takes is a willingness to start with a goal, and assembling the right team to make it happen. The result will be a well-designed, functionally efficient building that is a 'living' example of stewardship in action.

Churches are community examples, not only of the ministries the people do, but also of the facilities they have. Church buildings stand for something - the recognition that there is a God of creation, that His people are stewards of the Earth, and that the Church should be a leader and example in all areas of community life.

To put it simply, if we are efficient in the use of our resources, we can be more effective in our ministry endeavors.

Wal-Mart made a huge impact on the national scene by encouraging their customers to make a difference by changing one light bulb. No matter how well-intentioned Wal-Mart is, they shouldn't be the leader in your community when it comes to sustainability issues. So take up the green challenge, and change your world - one light bulb at a time!

design build

2008-04-17T08:24:00.004-06:00

The April issue of Grow includes a short piece on two construction methods: design-bid-build and design-build. We're big fans of design-build here at Wildesign, but don't take our word for it.

Traditionally, the church will first hire an architecture firm to prepare the drawings and specifications. Then it will choose a contractor by competitive bidding, usually accepting the contractor with the best price (though, many times, the lowest bid is still well over the church's budget). This is referred to as the design-bid-build (DBB) approach.

The article mentions some of the problems with DBB and presents the following, which I found interesting:

The writer then summarizes the benefits of design-build.

The article closes with the following advice:

Of course, to realize these benefits, it is important to hire the right design-builder. Make sure your contractor has the necessary church-building experience.

We couldn't agree more.

what's in a building?

2008-04-15T07:14:00.003-06:00

Churches should leave their doors open throughout the week, making use of their facilities for more than just Sunday worship, the Archbishop of Wales says.

Dr. Barry Morgan is scheduled to speak to church delegates Monday at the Transforming Communities and Congregations conference in Llandudno, North Wales, to encourage them to "think creatively" about how their buildings are used.

An article in the Christian Post this morning reveals that the Church in Europe may be having the same re-think-about-how-we-use-our-buildings discussion as many local churches on this side of the pond.

"A church that is closed Monday to Friday is the worst possible advertisement for Christianity," he said, according to BBC News.
Making the most of church buildings includes opening it up for use as conference facilities, for school groups and for counseling services, among other things.

Conference attendees will be introduced to Church in Wales churches that are already adapting, including St. Hywyn's at Aberdaron, Gwynedd, which has been renovated to serve pilgrims making their way to Bardsey Island, as well as local visitors. St. Maelog's at Llanfaelog, Anglesey, built a meeting room above the church for wood and glasswork by local artists, and hosts concerts and classes, as well as worship, as reported by BBC News. And at St. John's in Llangollen, Clwyd, pews were taken out to create a flexible space for intimate or contemporary services.

The idea takes on a slightly different flavor in Europe, it seems, where churches meet in centuries-old feats of architecture. It's more difficult to remove pews or create multi-purpose space in that setting.

But still, the conversation continues: In our increasingly post-Christian, isolated societies, what should a church building be?

Green Week, Day 5: Acronyms and Labels

2008-04-11T07:25:00.010-06:00

More and more companies are stretching to get their products up to someone's code. It's a good idea to keep an eye out (or ask your contractor to keep an eye out) for some of these labels and acronyms.

FSC stands for Forest Stewardship Council. They have third-party certifiers around the world assessing forest management activities and tracking of forest products. If a forest landowner or manager becomes certified by the FSC, he signs a five-year commitment to continue sustainable forestry practices.

There are over 1500 FSC certified suppliers in the U.S., and many retailers stock FSC products. FSC certified wood usually costs about 2% more than non-FSC certified wood.

The CRI is the Carpet and Rug Institute. In 1992, they launched the Green Label program to test carpet, cushions and adhesives to help identify products with very low emissions of VOCs. Then came the Green Label Plus program, which is just a little more stringent. Green Label and Green Label Plus certifications must be re-evaluated annually.

VOCs are volatile organic compounds. They come from a wide variety of chemicals in a wide variety of products, and are released as gases into the air. They can create short-term or long-term, adverse health effects and are usually much worse indoors than out. As you're looking at paint, cleaning supplies, lacquers, furniture, etc., make sure you're looking for products that have low-VOC emissions. Prices should be comparable.

WaterSense is the EPA's (Environmental Protection Agency) label for efficient plumbing products. Prices are comparable, but the products will save you money in the long-run anyway!

That's enough to get anyone started! If you can get FSC Certified wood in your building's structure and/or finishes, Green Label carpeting on the floors, low-VOC paint on the walls, and WaterSense sinks in the bathrooms your church building will make a dramatic statement to your community without leaving a dramatic impact on the earth!

Green Week, Day 4: Green Roofs

2008-04-10T07:37:00.006-06:00

Green roof systems cover the roof of a building, partially or completely, with live plants over a waterproof membrane.

There is no shortage of companies that do this. Some lay it out as one big garden; others bring up scores of individual flats. Both methods work.

This looks really cool, especially if the roof is accessible and you put a big chess board or some seating up there too. I always assumed, however, that it was probably pretty terrible for the building. On the contrary, I've learned. Like most sustainable building initiatives there are few, if any, down-sides to this.

Highlights:

Reduces heating needs in cooler weather by adding mass and thermal resistance
Evaporative cooling reduces cooling load on building in warmer weather.
Increases the life span of the roof by protecting it from weather and UV rays
Reduces storm water runoff
Filters air and rain water
Provides sound insulation
Creates a wildlife habitat
Improves the aesthetic environment

Green roof systems also reduce the "heat island" effect in an urban area. This phenomena describes urban temperatures that are two to ten degrees higher than surrounding areas. The two main causes of urban heat islands (UHIs) are the modification of land surfaces by development, and the excess heat created by large buildings. These warmer temperatures have been linked to a variety of problems from residents' health to local weather patterns. Green roof systems help reverse the effect.

Green Week, Day 3: ULFs

2008-04-09T07:41:00.008-06:00

The average toilet uses 5 gallons of water per flush.

Low-flow toilets (LFs) use about 3.5 gallons of water per flush.

Ultra low-flow toilets (ULFs) use no more than 1.6 gallons of water per flush.

That's impressive. A more efficient bowl design and (as one website puts it) "increased flushing velocities" make sure that the 1.6 gallon flush is effective.

AND (scoop your jaw up off the ground for a minute 'cause we're not done) we now have Dual Flush Toilets. These are ULFs with an additional option for an ultra ultra low-flush that uses something like 0.8 to 1.1 (depending on the model) gallons of water per flush.

Most models have two buttons on them so the user can decide if the toilet just needs a little rinse or an increased flushing velocity. Some models, like the Sloan ECOS pictured, also use sensors to detect how long a user is in front of it, and automatically selects the smaller flush for short visits. That's right, the potty's timing you in the name of water conservation.

And if it's wrong, you can always hit the button. These models also ship with etched-metal plates clearly and concisely explaining the toilet to users.

The cost of a ULF toilet is comparable to the cost of a regular one, but if you want to get a nicer model it will pay for itself soon enough anyway. And they install just like regular, water-guzzling toilets: no special skills required.

Green Week, Day 2: Waterless Urinals

2008-04-08T07:36:00.005-06:00

I'll be honest: The first time I heard someone talk about waterless urinals my mind instantly went back to the "out-houses" in India and I recoiled. You can't put a waterless urinal in an American church building! Eww.

Then I did the research and I have to say, I'm about as big a fan of waterless urinals as a woman could be.

The picture (left, from Falcon) does a pretty concise job of describing the process. The blue sealant liquid is less dense, so it stays on top. It traps bacteria and odor beneath it. The small compartment beneath the sealant liquid quickly overflows into the drain line.

In some models, what you see pictured is a cartridge that needs to be changed every so often. In other models (like the Kohler at the top), maintenance only requires pouring a little more of the sealant liquid in and Tada!; you're done. I worked on our church's volunteer cleaning crew for about a year, and I must say: If you have church members volunteering to clean your building you owe them this.

And, while this initially seems completely counter-intuitive, they actually make restrooms more sanitary. Think about it: no standing water in the bottom of the urinal, and they're touch-free!

AND they're usually less expensive than traditional urinals. I know, everyone likes to argue that they can't build green 'cause it costs more but it's not true in the men's restroom (actually, it's generally not true overall). The models are less expensive because there's no flushing mechanism, and installation is easier because all it needs is a drain line.

In a nutshell:

Zero water consumption
Low maintenance and operating costs
Easier and more sanitary maintenance prodecure
Lower sewage costs
Less expensive installation
More hygienic restrooms

I'm sold.

Green Week

2008-04-07T08:02:00.004-06:00

Welcome to Green Week at Wildesign. This week will feature some of my favorite sustainable building options, but first, allow me to introduce you to Keystone Community Church.

Keystone is the first LEED-certified church building in the U.S. Our new mantra is "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's LEED certification." We're working on it.

Keystone is a non-denominational church in Ada, Michigan. They minister to about 850 people every weekend in a really cool, earth-friendly building. Worship Facilities featured them last spring; you can check that out here.

Highlights:

Sensored lighting insures that lights are not left on in empty rooms.
Waterless urinals and low-flow toilets save a bundle of water and money (we'll talk about those tomorrow).
The building was intentionally situated in a natural clearing of a wooded area to protect the building from weather and avoid tree clearing.
Every room gets some degree of natural lighting.
Old, exterior building products were re-introduced as interior finishes.
All paints and finishes are low-VOC products.
There are electric car outlets in the parking lot.

Of course, LEED certification is not easy to come by. Every meeting and every decision needs to be made with LEED in mind, and the up-front costs for paperwork can be daunting.

Eventually, though, it all pays off. Your community knows that your congregation shares its values and is willing to put its money where its mouth is. Not to mention you save tremendously on reduced water and energy consumption.

Props to Keystone. May the rest of us be close behind.

the war in iraq, the economy and third place

2008-04-01T13:42:00.005-06:00

That's right, third place is a campaign issue. Project for Public Spaces has an article up highlighting each candidate's response.

Hilary: "When that red phone rings at 3 AM I will have my tennis shoes on and be ready to hit the streets with carefully drafted plans to calm traffic, revitalize business districts and create public plazas in every neighborhood from Bangor to Bellingham.”

Barack: "My record speaks for itself. While Hillary Clinton was in the White House, I was a community organizer in the streets of Chicago, working to help people create neighborhood places to hang-out and have fun. It will take that kind of bottom-up approach to give the American people the great places they desire and deserve.”

John: "America is the most free nation on Earth, so we cannot tolerate a situation where people are not able to take a walk in their own community due to poor urban planning and everything-for-the-auto transportation policies."

(I'm exercising serious restraint in not commenting on those quotes.)

The lack of public space (the "problem of place," as Oldenburg refers to it in The Great Good Place) was bound to become a trendy social issue sooner or later. We've been helping churches jump the curb, but are enough churches on board?

When this thing gets really popular, will people say, "Oh, the church in my town has been doing that for years" and wonder what all the fuss is about? Will the media be hard pressed to talk about third place without talking about local churches? It's probably not to late for churches to get a head-start, but it may be getting close!

jim and casper (3 of 3)

2008-03-28T07:39:00.008-06:00

One more church-architecture-related comment I want to draw out of Jim & Casper.

The guys had an "emerging church weekend" wherein they visited Imago Dei and Mars Hill, out west. Imago Dei was first:

As soon as we got out of the car, we spotted the redbrick, three-story school surrounded by an asphalt playground ... We went inside and found our way to an old auditorium with a high balcony circling all the way around its perimeter.

"What a great building," said Casper. "It's straight out of the fifties. I half expect the Beav and Wally to be here this morning."

It was the only church whose building got a decidedly positive comment - albeit tainted with sarcasm - from the friendly atheist, and they meet in an old elementary school auditorium.

Casper liked everything about Imago Dei: the worship, the video about the playground they resurrected and how it affected the community, and the visiting pastor from a church plant in L.A. And when said visiting pastor said, "Giving isn't really giving until it interrupts your lifestyle," Casper did not take issue. (Quite the opposite, actually. Casper quoted that pastor several times.)

All of Casper's facility-comments only serve to revive that popular conversation in me: What is the future of church buildings? More than size and style and technology, the pattern that seems to be forming is consistency. A church facility should serve the purposes of the ministry that calls it home.

When a church preached a message of perseverance in an auditorium that seats thousands of people, it seemed out of place. When a church flaunted a community service effort to a camera attached to "a $5000 camera crane," Casper noticed. When a church called itself a church and didn't talk about God, even the friendly atheist got a little irritated. But when a church talks about transforming a community from a school auditorium, it makes sense.

Especially in a society that doesn't see the need to attend church, the future of church architecture may not be in beautiful buildings, but in innovative, flexible, multi-purpose, sustainable buildings.

jim and casper (2 of 3)

2008-03-27T07:54:00.002-06:00

(If you're not sure who Jim and Casper are, scroll down to Tuesday.)

I would like to reiterate that Casper is one atheist, not a conglomerate of the outsider population. While he is not a statistic, though, he does offer a non-Christian, post-modern view of local churches.

Previously, we learned that Casper almost always noticed the buildings he was in, and he almost always commented about them without being asked. Your building is your first impression many times. The pair visited several huge church buildings, but Casper never made a negative comment about the size of the building until it seemed to conflict with the church's stated mission/purpose/vision.

So should we go back to/stick with hymnals and ugly carpeting? No. Allow me/Casper to clarify:

"What about the PowerPoint, Cas? It bothered you at the other churches. Does it bother you here?"

"Churches using technology to communicate better doesn't bother me at all," he said. "What was bothering me at those churches was the amount of money that was clearly being spent on technology and equipment, which I see as vain at best, hypocritical at worst. How are you helping others by spending your offering money on a Hollywood stage show?"

We're all used to technology, but a light show at church seems to irritate the atheist.

It's tempting, here, to want to defend ourselves. Where's the line between what's acceptable and what's "vain at best, hypocritical at worst?" Is a church to hold itself accountable to every unbeliever for the way they spend money? If a big church has a big budget, even a small percentage can seem like a whole lot ...

What I like about the book is that Jim rarely defends a local church, because the point is not to discuss but to listen. The truth is you won't be able to address the concerns and misconceptions of every non-Christian that walks in the door, so whether we like it or not, we do need to consider their perceptions.

pause for architectural oogling

2008-03-26T07:25:00.006-06:00

We are moving into a digital age. Our constant challenge is to blend the old into the new, to draw the past into the future, to keep church architecture reflective of the culture the Church is trying to reach out to. I've solved it. Simply crash a space ship into your existing building:

That is The Crystal, the new entrance to the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. Here's another angle:

Conde Nast's April issue chose the seven new architectural wonders of the world. Sadly, none of them were churches. The other one that caught my eye is the New Museum of Contemporary Art in Manhattan:

Look a the neighborhood it's in. Seems a little out of place.

The thought crossed my mind as I looked up images of the architectural wonders of the world: church buildings are always trying to blend into their neighborhoods, but what if they stood out? Of course, they shouldn't stand out in a culturally irrelevant, terribly ugly, cast-a-shadow-for-five-city-blocks way.

But what if they stood out for their architectural beauty? What if people made a point to drive visiting friends and family by the cool building downtown that happened to be a church? What if people saw it go up, or moved into town, and thought, "That's a church? It looks like an art museum!"

What if?

jim and casper (1 of 3)

2008-03-25T07:35:00.003-06:00

I read almost all of Jim & Casper Go To Church yesterday, in two sittings - and only because I took a lunch break.

From the back cover:

In 2006, Jim Henderson, veteran Christian and director of Off The Map, hired Casper (atheist) to join him in visiting twelve of America's best- and least-known churches ... Week after week, this spiritual odd couple attended services at churches all over the country and documented their experiences at and reactions to each one. Along the way, they found the real value of their journey in the open and authentic friendship that developed as they talked, questioned, joked, and - most importantly - listened.

I give it two thumbs up. Definitely a good read.

My sole hesitation is in how easy it may be for some of us to read it, however, and assume that Casper speaks for the American atheist population in general. While his outsider POV is certainly valuable and often insightful, he is one dude with biases and background that we know not of.

That said, he makes some very interesting comments about the buildings they visit - of course. What really stood out was that he was constantly put off by the hidden price tag behind huge, fancy facilities.

Jim and Casper went to a lot of mega-churches (Saddleback, Lakewood, The Potter's House, Dream Center, etc.), and Jim asked a lot of questions. Casper was asked to rate various parts of the service, like the people, the music, and the sermon. He was never asked to comment on the facility, but in almost every church he offered some sort of opinion on the building anyway. The general opinion, like I said, was that most of them probably cost a lot.

I, of course, got a little defensive at first. "The church has to have a place to meet, man. A nice place that is welcoming and part of the community ..." Casper would have gotten a third place lecture from me yesterday.

Then, as I reviewed some of his comments, I noticed that he was generally impressed with the grand buildings until it seemed to contradict the pastor's message or the church's mission.

In one mega-church, the pastor preached a sermon called "Don't Give Up." Casper saw the contradiction in delivering an encouraging, "hang in there" message in a huge, suburban church. It actually made such a (negative) impression that he brought it up at other churches weeks later.

what's new in Seattle?

2008-03-19T07:47:00.003-06:00

Mars Hill Church in Seattle is a multi-site, mega-church with probably a half-dozen campuses. This past Sunday, they celebrated the grand opening of their first campus in the downtown Seattle area - in a renovated night club.

Weeks of preparation and nearly $370,000 in renovations went into the complete transformation of the former night club – located in an area that had long been notorious for drugs and gang violence. Go-go dancer cages were converted to coat hangers and what had been a condom dispenser is a now a diaper-changing station.
Residents and churchgoers alike welcomed the new location and were amazed how a previously notorious night club could be transformed into a house of worship.
"It's amazing how God can change things," said Sarah Rosenberger, who attended the opening service with her infant son, according to the Post-Intelligencer.

(You can read the whole Christian Post article here.)

I love the symbolism of what Mars Hill did here, evident in Rosenberger's comment, and I'm sure it was intentional. Mars Hill took what no one else wanted, a shell that had been hallowed by sin, and redeemed it for the glory of the kingdom of Christ.

Your church building is your first impression. What does it say about you? What does it say about God?

relationships in church

2008-03-17T07:35:00.003-06:00

A new Barna study focuses on people's most important relationships. There are a lot of interesting numbers at Barna's website, but what caught my attention was an observation from Mr. Barna,

People were more than 50% more likely to say that their church’s congregation is their most significant group than to say that God represents their most important personal connection. That certainly reflects the interpersonal comfort that millions of people have developed at their church, but also indicates that people may have forgotten the ultimate reason for belonging to a Christian church.

I wonder if that is what it indicates.

Maybe I'm just feeling optimistic this morning, but I think those numbers could be a good sign. He could be talking about lazy "Christians" with no interest in discipleship, but he could also be talking about the spiritually-curious. Those people whom we assume have "forgotten the ultimate reason for belonging to a Christian church" may just be coming to the faith.

If the later were true, what a testimony those numbers would be to the power of third place spaces and small group communities within a church! People who do not yet list God as their BFF are at least naming their church congregation as their most significant network!

Because, remember, a digital society behaves differently from a broadcast one. In broadcast, you have to subscribe to HBO before you can talk about the shows around the office water cooler. Believe comes before Belong. In a digital society, you can sign up for a dozen social networking sites and never create a profile on half. Belong comes before Believe.

seth godin knows

2008-03-14T07:55:00.004-06:00

Seth Godin gave a great interview on the Catalyst podcast here. Allow me to reflect some of his thoughts through the lens of church architecture:

"People don't buy products, they buy stories."
Ed Bahler talked about the power of story at the Chicago Cornerstone Conference last September, and it's probably something a church should revisit once or twice a year. What is the story of your church? Is it an exciting story? Is it on your website? Are there "family" pictures from years of ministry on the walls of your living room/third place?

On social networking:
"Friends are not a fad."
Facebook won't look the same in three years, but people like people. This is a plug for your third place space, and for your church's Facebook group. Social networking may seem like a silly teenager fad right now, but those teenagers are growing up with it. Every company and organization has a website, but are you on Facebook? MySpace? Twitter? Squidoo?

On bloggers and social network-ers:
People who succeed offer goodness to people who want it, as opposed to those who push it on people because they think they have a right to.
For a generation with a digital, hyper-linked worldview, this principal extends beyond the internet. Are you offering the gospel or pushing it? In a society with so much being offered, is your offer relevant to people's lives? The emerging generation doesn't recognize the Church's "right" to speak into their lives like their grandparents did. We need to engage them.

building for your neighbors

2008-03-03T08:36:00.003-06:00

In Breakout Churches, Thom Rainer identifies the VIP (Vision Intersection Profile) factor. It is where the pastor's passions, the congregation's passions, and the community's needs overlap. Churches that break out of the eroding church model are very often those who write their vision and mission in that small cross-section.

And we know that from Kevin Ford's Transforming Church, (and abundant experience) that a ministry building is the outer-most visual representation of that ministry. A church facility should show its community what kind of church this is, and serve the congregation as they serve their neighbors.

Which is why Barna's new study is both interesting and applicable.

American adults have been redefining "church." There are new (however correct or incorrect) ideas of what it means to be the church, to "go to church," and to know God. With these new opinions in mind, it is becoming difficult to assess church health, so Barna is redefining some standards. Instead of "churched" and "unchurched," the Barna group is suggesting:

Unattached - People who have not attended a church or organic church community in the past year.

Intermittents, or "under-churched" - People who have attended a church or organic church community in the past year, but not in the past month.

Homebodies - People who have not attended a traditional church in the past month, but have attended a home church.

Blenders - People who have attended a traditional church and a home church during the past month.

Conventionals - People who have attended a traditional church in the past month, but not a house church.

It's not as clear as "churched" and "unchurched" anymore. The people in your community have a wide variety of experiences and expectations that they're bringing into your church when they visit.

Some characteristics of the "unattached:"

More likely to be stressed out
Less likely to feel they are making a difference in the world
Less optimistic about the future
More likely to define their sociopolitical views as "mostly liberal"
Much more likely to believe the holy texts of different world religions teach basically the same things

How is your church building allowing you to serve or minister to these people? How is it helping to attract these people?

unChristian

2008-02-29T08:23:00.003-06:00

I've started reading through unChristian this week, by the Barna Research Group's very own David Kinnaman. He's going through the six most common points of skepticism that "outsiders" - anyone who's not a Christian, basically - hold against the Church.

Chapter 4 is about complaint #2: That Christians are too focused on getting converts, and we don't really care about people.

He gives some shocking testimony and provides startling numbers, all to explain that people think Christians just want them to be another notch on their Salvations belts. He discusses the frequency with which young people leave the Church after a try (or being forced into it by their parents), and how Christians have largely dumbed-down salvation to say-this-prayer-and-come-to-church. He continues with the transformation that the Church needs to make and he confesses this:

In the last two years, we have completely reengineered the Barna organization around this concept - that the church must become a catalyst, an environment for genuine and sustainable spiritual transformation.

(Emphasis mine.)

He goes on to explain that emerging generations are looking for process, and journey, so the kind of discipleship that Jesus modeled is actually quite appealing. What they're not interested in is say-this-prayer-and-come-to-church.

When people become Christians, we must describe appropriate expectations for them; engage them in significant, accountable relationships; and fashion environments where deep life change can take place.

(Emphasis mine.)

How do we fashion these environments? I'll let David explain,

We can create an environment in which relationships facilitate spiritual formation.

Relationships are key.

There is a resounding call for the Church to move back into mentorship and back into the art of making disciples - one at a time. Young people don't want to feel like a head to count, they want the people who are trying to tell them how to live their lives, to understand their lives. In the next chapter, David writes, "Our research demonstrates that conversations begin to open up avenues for spiritual influence."

How easy would it be to offer to buy a young visitor a cup of coffee if you both only had to walk across the lobby?

And part of this research is speaking to the need for the Church to be more relational in general. The Senior Pastor can't mentor every young adult that walks through the door, but a church family that is comfortable with themselves and acclimated to conversation can. Something else that will only happen in the correct environment.

motivation

2008-02-27T08:52:00.002-06:00

The Pew Forum released the results of their U.S. Religious Landscape Survey. Some interesting findings:

28% of American adults have left the faith they were raised in for another religion, or no religion at all.
The number of people who say they are currently unaffiliated with any particular faith today (16.1%) is more than double the number who say they were unaffiliated with a particular faith as children.
Of those who report no religious affiliation, the majority (12.1% of the adult population overall) describe their religion as "nothing in particular," as opposed to atheist or agnostic.
One-quarter of young adults (18-29) are currently unaffiliated with a particular faith.

Some of the Forum's observations:
"The United States is on the verge of becoming a minority Protestant country."

"Men are significantly more likely than women to claim no religious affiliation. Nearly one-in-five men say they have no formal religious affiliation, compared with roughly 13% of women."

"People not affiliated with any particular religion stand out for their relative youth compared with other religious traditions. Among the unaffiliated, 31% are under age 30 and 71% are under age 50. Comparable numbers for the overall adult population are 20% and 59%, respectively."

"In sharp contrast to Islam and Hinduism, Buddhism in the U.S. is primarily made up of native-born adherents, whites and converts. Only one-in-three American Buddhists describe their race as Asian, while nearly three-in-four Buddhists say they are converts to Buddhism."

why have a building?

2008-02-22T08:21:00.002-06:00

The Future of Church Facilities has been a hot topic for conversation this week. Barna released and interesting study Tuesday with heavy implications for church space, and without mentioning the research, the topic came up at a staff meeting.

Yesterday, Brad made some interesting observations on the Church Marketing Sucks blog about a student ministry gathering. Apparently it's been in the works for quite a while, but they had a lower-than-expected turnout. He writes,

Gone are the days when event-goers were content with being captivated by the energy of crowds and connected with like-minded peers. It used to be that you could put on an event with awesome experiences (technical) and spectacular content (spiritual) and it would be a winning combination with little competition. These days, events are a dime-a-dozen with often little distinction between purpose, people or participants.

Take a big step back, and I think there's a pattern emerging (no pun intended).

Barna shows us that budding Christians - for whatever reason - don't think they need to attend a church to further their relationship with God. This idea has been festering for years, and what has the Church done? She's kept pace with the social order and turned worship into an experience. Way to engage.

Now it's becoming more and more evident that "events are a dime-a-dozen," and the next generation isn't coming out. They don't starve for social connection like their parents did when they were teenagers, because Twitter tracks their BFF's every move. So what is the Church doing?

It's a question that the western Church as a whole, and that your local church leadership, needs to seriously brainstorm on. Especially if you're in a building project. What is about to dawn that we need to prepare for, plan for, and build for?

Church Alternatives?

2008-02-18T08:49:00.004-06:00

The Barna Group released a new study this morning: Americans Embrace Various Alternatives to Conventional Church Experience as Being Fully Biblical.

Those surveyed were asked if they think the following alternatives are "a complete and biblically valid way for someone who does NOT participate in the services or activities of a conventional church to experience and express their faith in God."

89% consider participating in faith activities at home with their families acceptable.
75% consider participating in a house church an acceptable/Biblical alternative.
69% think watching a religious television program is a legitimate alternative to church.
68% believe listening to a religious radio broadcast is a Biblical alternative to church.
68% consider participating in a special ministry event (a concert or community service activity) an acceptable church alternative.
54% think participating in a marketplace ministry is a Biblical alternative to conventional church.

We know nothing of the spiritual condition of the American adults surveyed. The report does not specify if people were asked anything about their faith or spiritual habits.

Some of the "alternative activities," I believe, many pastors/lay leaders would argue are not Biblical and/or acceptable substitutions for attending a church service. Others could probably inspire good debate. The bigger picture, at least in part, is that American adults largely believe they can be Christians and still avoid your church.

One more reason why your facility should be attractive, relevant, and functional. People - even people who may be interested in Christianity - are predisposed to believe they don't need what you have to offer, so offer something they want instead. An open gym two nights a week, a baseball diamond, a cozy café, preschool, a skate park, free wireless internet ...

10 Most Innovative (3 of 3)

2008-02-15T08:15:00.004-06:00

One more observation about the top 10 churches on Outreach Magazine's "Most Innovative" list:

All of the top 10 churches are "broadcast era" churches.

In his epic classic, The Millennium Matrix, Rex Miller divides written history into four basic "eras."

The Oral Era. Very few people can read. Tradition - including religion - is handed down through the spoken word. In church, this means stained glass tells Bible stories and sanctuaries are constructed to communicate the majesty of God. Priests tell Christians what they believe.
The Written Era. The printing press changed everything. More people had access to literature, and so many more learned to read. In church, this meant the Bible was in the hands of the laity and they started to have their own ideas. Church buildings became more functional and the Bible, not the priest, was exalted.

The Broadcast Era. Television changed everything again. People are learning more by experience than reading, and the popular mindset became less "beginning to end - left to right." In church, this means helping people experience God. Sanctuaries are designed to reflect modern culture and ease an increasingly hostile society into the truth of Christ.

The Digital Era. The Internet upset life again ... or is upsetting. "Beginning to end" has been demolished by hyperlinks, and people learn by interaction with others or their subject matter. In church, we're only beginning to understand what this means.

All of the 10 most innovative churches have kept up with the pace of our culture. All 10, at least in some measure, realize that the U.S. is a mission field, and they need to use the native language to communicate.

10 Most Innovative (2 of 3)

2008-02-14T08:31:00.004-06:00

We're in the process of reviewing - via very fine-toothed comb - Outreach Magazine's 10 Most Innovative churches, as a people who like buildings.

Only two of the 10 most innovative churches are being innovative about their building.

This surprised me. "Innovative" is developing a connotation that has to do with the latest and greatest technology. Microsites (such as ineed2change.com from Fellowship) and web-based technology (such as youversion.com from LifeChurch.tv) may be the easiest way to innovate, but it's not the only way.

Mars Hill Church in Seattle (#2 on the list) transforms its main campus each December 31 for its annual "Red Hot New Year's Eve" party. They create a safe, dry (except for the champaign at midnight), and really hip environment for New Year's eve. A feat I can't imagine in the the heart of Seattle. Their newest campus is a renovated dance club (which caused a stir in the community), and they're offering pet-sitting during weekend services.

Seacoast in South Carolina (#5 on the Innovative list) is also re-thinking the use of space. From Outreach:

Seacoast Church continues to expand to multiple states and is looking at a micro-site approach, asking how small a site can be and still be a church ... Informal versions of Seacoast have cropped up in non-traditional sites, including submarines and military bases around the world.

Local churches, especially if you're not multi-site (yet?), may find more value in thinking innovatively (yup, made that word up myself) about their buildings.

If you're in a building project, or getting ready to start one, turn your Innovative switch to ON and tape it there. Get your building team together and have some crazy, the-box-is-no-where-in-sight brainstorming sessions (you can reel them in later). Don't just create what you've seen, or what works for Seattle. Ask your team what God has called you to do, what you're passionate about, and what your community needs, and build a facility that will help you do that.

In a region and a time when its easy to just build a cookie-cutter church building, that's innovative.

10 Most Innovative (1 of 3)

2008-02-13T08:33:00.004-06:00

I finished going through the first 10 of Outreach Magazine's 25 Most Innovative Churches last week. Yes, it's been out for close to a month, but I use a very fine-toothed comb. So let's review as a people more interested in buildings than microsites and webcasts.

Nine of the 10 most innovative churches are multi-site.
The exception is Granger Community Church in Granger, Indiana. Granger is, however, still reproducing itself through WiredChurches.

What is this telling us?

Even though multi-site has been around for 20 years, it's still a relatively radical, innovative step for a church to take.
Innovative churches seem to know they have something to offer the world. Remember, most churches go multi-site to inspire growth, not as a solution to a lack-of-space problem. These ministry leaders don't need to add campuses, but they do in order to better distribute their message.

Does this mean multi-site is the new mega? It may be too early to tell. These churches, remember, are innovative, which does not necessarily mean they're the most popular. In fact, only one of the 10 most innovative also made Outreach Magazine's 10 fastest-growing U.S. churches, and of the 10 fastest-growing churches, only six are multi-site.

(Which is not to say those on the Innovative list are not growing. LifeChurch.tv is #1 for Innovative, and #31 for Fastest-growing. Mars Hill is #2 for Innovative, and #23 for Fastest-growing. Seacoast is #5 for Innovative, and #66 for Fastest-growing. Etc.)

most innovative gets more innovative

2008-02-11T08:29:00.000-06:00

LifeChurch.tv is holding fast to it's #1 position on Outreach Magazine's list of the "Most Innovative" churches in the U.S. LifeChurch.tv is a multi-site campus, so much of their ministry depends on live video feed. Recently, the church upgraded to HD (high definition) equipment. There are details on the Swerve blog, but I thought the pictures Bobby posted said it all.

(before)

(after)

Multi-Site Exposed

2008-02-08T08:43:00.001-06:00

Why become a multi-site church?

The purpose of becoming a multi-site church is to make more and better disciples by bringing the church closer to where people are. The motivation is to do a better job of loving people, including different types of people, with an outcome of making significant advances in obeying Jesus’ Great Commandment (Matt. 22:37-40) and Great Commission (Matt. 28:19-20). Churches report that conversion growth is greater on their extension campuses than at the original campus.

It seems like multi-site churches may be the mega-churches for an emerging generation. The Multi-Site Exposed Conference is coming to Chicago in September, but early-bird registration is only available through February.

Speakers in Chicago this year are going to be Dave Ferguson from Community Christian Church, Mark Jobe from New Life Community Church, and Jim Downing of First UMC in Sedalia, Missouri.

If your church is looking for a fresh way to reach deeper into your community, you might be ready to go multi-site. Contrary to first impressions, most churches do not go to a multi-site model because they are growing, but because they want to grow. Kind of a "if you build it, they will come" strategy ... and it's working.

bricks, mortar and learning (about Jesus)

2008-02-07T08:51:00.000-06:00

USA Today published an article yesterday about how a building can recreate an environment. The story is one of an English teacher, and the change that occurred in his school when they decided to go all the way with a new building.

A church building is primarily a place of worship, but it is also a place of teaching. Right now many church buildings are filled with middle-aged conservatives who grew up in church. They are far from the rebellious, unruly crowds that fill public high schools, but probably not for long. The mission field that is beginning to overtake the western church is made up of "free-thinking" young people who don't know who Moses is. They are used to making their own rules, used to hating Christianity, and used to avoiding church.

So maybe this is more applicable than we'd like it to be.

Space. The school in question doubled the width of the hallways and made classrooms bigger. Adolescent behavior improves when they're not crammed into tight spaces. Imagine how much more comfortable new visitors will feel.

Lighting. We think natural lighting looks pretty, but it can increase learning rates by about 20%.

Improved security. Especially in your children's space.

Collegian cafeteria. The school added a better cafeteria, and stopped allowing students to leave campus for lunch. "To my amazement, few kids have complained, and the cafeteria has created a sense of unity in the student body." People come together over food. Your third place space should be immaculate.

High-tech teaching. "Even the most distracted students perk up when the LCD lights up." When ministering in a foreign mission field, you use the native language. The native language of the emerging generation is interactive, multi-media, and usually 140 characters or less. Don't make it a show, and don't compromise your message, just use their language.

Design/Redesign

2008-02-06T08:31:00.000-06:00

There's a blog entry on Vandelay from a couple weeks ago titled 21 Factors to Consider Before a Redesign. They do websites. We do buildings. There are a lot of similarities.

1. What is the goal of the (re)design?
This is your mission/vision statement. Your church building should both reflect and serve your ministry. Don't set aside your vision statement while you consider your building (re)design.

3. What aspects of the current design are most effective?
"Most likely there are some things about the current design that work very well, and these may be aspects that you would like to keep or incorporate into the new design."

4. What aspects of the current design are not effective?
"Are there some characteristics of the design that do not accurately portray your [ministry] to new visitors?"

5. Who are your target users?
"By knowing who you are targeting and how you can meet their needs, you will be on your way to building an effective [facility]."

6. How can the [building] be more user-friendly?
Visible, staffed welcome center. Clear signage. Third place space. Exciting kids ministry space. Good traffic flow.

12. How can navigation be made more effective?
"Before designing think about how visitors will want to move through the [building], and make it as easy as possible for them."

14. How can increased user interaction be incorporated?
"By making the [building] more engaging to visitors you are more likely to get a high number of repeat visitors." Again, I'm thinking fun stuff for their kids and a swank café.

20. What [ministries] currently have inbound links?
Where are your first time visitors coming from? Are the kids inviting their friends? Are the homeless coming for a warm cup of coffee and shelter? Are business people coming for lunch and free wireless internet? " ... you’ll want to make sure that any changes do not negatively affect these links."

provide utility

2008-01-31T09:09:00.000-06:00

Brad Abare is posting on Church Marketing Sucks about his recent trip to Haiti, and gleaning tips for church marketing. In his first post, he writes about providing utility.

Electricity in Haiti is scarce. The government rotates the power grid so that you get about two hours of electricity in the middle of the night. This means days and evenings are without power unless you are wealthy enough to own a generator (few do). Businesses are also affected by this and very few of them have generators. The two churches we worked with did have generators and they could afford to run them once a day for a couple hours, sometimes longer if a service was in progress to amplify the sound. An auxiliary benefit to churches being one of the only places in town with electricity is that people will bring their cell phones and line them up along the walls to charge their batteries.

Most western churches are not the only places in town with electricity, but we can provide "utility" for our communities.

The first thing that comes to mind is third place. We're a little higher up Maslow's hierarchy of needs than Haiti, but there is a drought of social spaces in most of our neighborhoods. What if there was a cool, comfortable, WiFi zone in town that offered, but did not obligate, the purchase of coffee, etc? Revolutionary.

And what about those in your community who are somewhere in the middle? Maybe your facility isn't the only place with heat in the winter, but how many of those other places open their doors to the homeless? Maybe your building isn't the only building in town with a kitchen, but how many other kitchens are feeding low-income, single moms?

James 2:15-16//If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

Wildesign's construction project

2008-01-23T08:17:00.000-06:00

Wildesign's got our own building project going on. That's right, we're not only hearers of the word, but doers also. They're talking about work space and war rooms and conference tables. I think we should put in a social/third place space. Full coffee bar - the works. (I'll have a petition out later this week if you want to take sides.)

Don's happy with the hole in the wall. I think it looks kind of like ET's hospital quarters.

That's right, the coffee pot is still running. The chocolate buffet has been moved for safety reasons.

Pretty.

is your building selfish?

2008-01-15T09:16:00.000-06:00

An article on The Christian Post this morning quotes Pastor Erwin McManus on why the Church in America is in a state of decline:

My primary assessment would be because American Christians tend to be incredibly self-indulgent so they see the church as a place there for them to meet their needs and to express faith in a way that is meaningful for them. There is almost no genuine compassion or urgency about serving and reaching people who don't know Christ.

*Nervous laughter* Ouch.

But you also have to consider that while the United Methodist Church is at its lowest membership rate since 1930, and the Lutheran World Federation reported a slip in western membership, McManus has led his church from 300 to over 3000 members in his 10 years as lead pastor. Maybe he's on to something.

Is there compassion - even urgency - for service and outreach in your church? I could probably walk around your building and tell you. Not because I take to judging books by their covers, but because - as Kevin Ford discusses in Transforming Church - your building is a natural extension of the core of your ministry. Whether you've ever thought about it or not.

For example, when my husband and I visited West Side Christian in Springfield over Christmas the first thing I noticed was how uncomfortable I felt in their lobby. But the second thing I noticed was that their welcome center had been transformed into an African village. It didn't take long to figure out that they had made a commitment to bring Christmas 07 to a small, poor community in Africa. That was cool, and that they took the time and resources to put that together demonstrated that they're serious about it.

If your building is in a community, it's part of that community. Is your facility serving your community, or sucking the life out of it? Is there room in your building for your Church body to serve the community? When a visitor walks into your lobby, what does she learn about your ministry?

If you don't have a third place space, you can't offer an escape for students or parents who work at home. If you don't have a kitchen, you can't feed the homeless. If everything in your lobby talks about you, you won't have anything to talk to a globally-minded, anti-Christian millennial about.

McManus continued,

I think the bottom line really is our own spiritual narcissism. There are methods and you can talk about style, structure and music, but in the end it really comes down to your heart and what you care about.

building for the next generation

2008-01-11T09:39:00.000-06:00

You know that times are changing. You know that the age of digital is dawning. You know that your mission field is getting younger and more jaded. You know that they have very little Christian background, that they're naturally cynical about Christianity, and that they don't trust and respect your ministry like they should. You know music most defines them and media most affects them.

You've been paying attention.

This morning, I watched Granger Community Church's Christmas worship service, and was reminded of an article I read yesterday in Church Solutions.

Danielle Maheux contributed an article called The Art of Worship. She writes about creating beauty, being excellent, and being relevant. That last bit is where technology comes in, and is what GCC's presentation of the nativity reminded me of.

Maheux quotes Matt Card of Clark ProMedia extensively as he discusses entertainment vs. communication, and discovering a target audience. Then he comments,

Too many people think they should decide how the building should look and feel, and then they shove their worship arts to fit within that box.

If you have a vision and a mission statement, you probably know your audience. As you consider design or redesign for your worship space (the most important space in your facility to the unchurched), start thinking about media about the time you start thinking about how many chairs you'll need.

It's okay to engage people.

by the mouth of two or three witnesses ...

2008-01-09T09:35:00.000-06:00

I keep telling you to do more with the third place space in your church building. Mr. Mike Trent is backing me up.

Most churches today have fallen in love with the idea of a café in their church, but few have understood the investment and return on investment. It’s our responsibility as leaders to use what we’ve been given to unlock this potential. Intentional third places have amazing and unlimited ability to connect people, develop leaders, and fund ministries. And the return on investment is internal, external and eternal.

He wrote an article recently for Church Solutions called Blended Services, which you can read here.

is your building secure?

2007-12-10T10:26:00.000-06:00

It's not a question anyone likes to consider. It's not something anyone wants to talk about in much detail. It's something everyone hopes will just never be a problem, but it was a problem twice in Colorado Springs yesterday.

And if we're building for the future it may be a necessarily evil: how secure is your building?

We've talked about securing children's space - one entrance, video surveillance, secure check-in systems, etc. What about the rest of your building?

Do you have a security team/staff? How many entrances are there to your building? Are there cameras anywhere at all? How many exits are there from your parking lot? What areas are accessible from the front entrance, but largely unsupervised during a worship service?

Our hearts and prayers go out to the families at New Life and the vicitms of the YWAM attack.

new from Barna

2007-12-04T09:02:00.000-06:00

Pastor Rick Warren from Saddleback Church is sharing 12 Convictions about Worship with his email list. (Or you can read it here.) He sent out the first six last week. Two that caught my attention:

2. You don't need a building to worship God.
"Worship isn't a place; it's a verb."

And all God's people said ... ("Amen.") We talk a lot about church buildings because what you do with your church building is important. Still, I don't know how many times I've heard/said/typed the phrase, "Your church facility is a tool for your ministry." Jesus is the Big Idea, worship is the key, and the building is a very helpful ... tool.

6. God expects us to be sensitive to the fears, hang-ups, and the needs of unbelievers when they are present in our worship services.
"Colossians 4:5 (NIV): 'Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.' It's called being polite. Whenever you hear people talk about being sensitive to unbelievers, that is not watering down the gospel. It's called love."

And the way to many suburban-American hearts is through their java.

Maybe not, but when I feel like I don't belong some place, I'm comforted by something familiar. On the way to India this past summer we had a layover in a German airport. I don't speak German. I don't know how to convert dollars to Euros. I'm clearly not European, and was dressed a little like a missionary anticipating 23 hours of travel. I felt out of place ... until I found the airport McDonald's. I never eat McDonald's, but I did that day because that's where I was comfortable. I knew McDonald's.

A lot of "unchurched" people in your community don't know God. They don't know what a tithe is, they don't know how to worship, they don't know if they should take communion ... but they all know how to order a cup of coffee.

please remain alone and isolated at all times

2007-11-30T09:12:00.000-06:00

I took this picture as my husband and I prepared to leave Arkansas last week. Anyone who can identify the restaurant by the "Enter" sign wins a Wildesign mug. I'll give you a clue: they're more prolific than McDonald's the further south you drive, and they seem to be based on the old 1950's drive-up diners (although, regrettably, the servers don't wear roller skates).

It was that last bit that made me want the picture.

Here we were, in small-town America, at a fast-food joint that spends hundreds of thousands of dollars every year marketing itself as a modern rendition of a hip, retro diner. When you think about said diners, what comes to mind?

I imagine teenagers parked next to their friends, yelling and throwing things at each other's cars. I imagine that the four plastic picnic tables out front are swarming with high school students. I imagine somewhere, some couple is making out in someone's back seat, someone is waiting for a friend to show up, someone is getting in a fight, someone is on a first date, someone is fleeing a mid-life crisis, and someone has given in to the kids' request to eat here tonight because - what the hey - it's Saturday night.

I do not imagine a sign that says, "No Cruising or Loitering."

What if McDonald's started posting signs in their Play Places that said, "No laughing?"

The crisis of Third Place Space re-emerged in my mind, and as we drove past the sign again to leave my husband reminded me that we were still, technically, on vacation and he doesn't have the resources to create such a space so please stop trying to sell him one.

The lack of Third Place Spaces in our society is a problem. Sooner or later someone will answer the call to start recreating real community space again. Someone will lead the charge, inspire passion in our hearts, and probably make a lot of money or a name for himself in the process. Or the Church can jump the curve and do it first in Jesus' name and for the glory of the kingdom of God.

talking to teenagers

2007-11-28T09:11:00.000-06:00

I was invited to speak to a group of about 20 Christian high school students at 6:40 this morning. Ya, I said 6:40 in the morning and alluded to a large group of teenagers. I know I'm your hero.

The girl that called me (two days ago) asked me to talk about evangelism and why it's important to share your faith. Easy enough.

I did a little research to verify that the numbers swimming around in my head haven't gotten mixed up. Numbers like:

- 1 in 12 teenagers will attempt suicide this year.
- About 2000 of those teenagers will succeed.
- About 40% of teenagers have experimented with self-injury.
- About 48% of high school seniors are sexually active.
- 1 in 3 teen pregnancies is aborted.

Standing in front of them this morning, though, my answer to the "Why?" could suddenly only be, "Because the Church in America is not doing it."

I stood there with three years of experience in youth ministry, about a year's worth of research, and more statistics than I could have recited in 20 minutes, and pleaded with them to reach out to their peers because most local churches right now are struggling to keep up with the new society that is being birthed around them. The Church will catch up, as she always has in the past, but it's my fear that a generation will slip through the cracks in the meantime.

Now to you. How is your student ministry? What are you doing to keep on top of social trends and digital technology (because that's how they learn and how they communicate)? Are you speaking to Millennials/Digital Natives/an Emerging Generation? Is there space for them in your building, or are they using the leftovers?

Mark Beeson made a comment about their children's space at Granger Community Church at the 2007 Innovate conference. He spoke about how, when someone walks downstairs, no one needs to tell them this is a place that loves kids because that space is cool. It's obvious that a lot of time and money and planning and effort went into that because they love and value kids. What about teenagers? What about your church's facilities obviously took a lot of either time, money, planning or effort just because you love and value teenagers?

Thorncrown Chapel

2007-11-23T18:54:00.000-06:00

My husband and I are spending Thanksgiving in Arkansas, so we decided to swing by Eureka Springs and visit Thorncrown Chapel. I have no great advice or revelation to share. I just wanted to brag.

atheists go to church

2007-11-20T10:03:00.000-06:00

I found and article about a month ago called A Month of Sundays. It was printed in a Seattle newspaper called The Stranger, which - like most of Seattle - is quite liberal. I hestitate to comment on it because it's from June and my spider/blogger-taboo sense is going off about posting an article six months old.

I'm going to do it anyway, though, so if you can't take it I advise you to leave now. We're breaking all the blogger rules here, man.

This newspaper sent 30 atheist reporters to 30 different houses of worship - mostly Christian - and each reported briefly on their experiences. It's a really insightful read, although I'll warn you now it's rated PG-13 for language and some sexual imagery.

The second reporter made some interesting comments about the mega-church building he was sent to:

The [church] is raising cash to build the largest church in the Northwest, scheduled to open in less than three months. This Hummer of a church, with its coffee shop and valet parking and banners proclaiming 'desire,' 'worship,' and 'attitude' (?!), is already a testament to all things smug and ugly about America.

He ends his very short report with,

If you're thinking of attending a church, I beg you not to attend the [church] - find one that understands humility and grace and charity. I'm an atheist, but the [church] brings Bible imagery to my mind. Standing in all the gaudy sound and tacky fury, all I can think of is the perverted temple that Jesus Christ ripped to pieces with his bare ... hands.

Strong words. What's really interesting is that his first comment was about how "huge" it was, and everything after that fell in line with his first impression of the ministry.

Of course, big church buildings are not bad ideas by default, but ministry leadership needs to understand their audience. They need to come together within a city or region despite denomination and debates about speaking in tongues, to make sure there's a church for every demographic or lifestyle.

Some people are drawn to mega churches, but if there's one in town already, maybe someone needs to concentrate on putting a church in a warehouse. It's not glamorous, but if you're trying to get the gospel to people who are not, themselves, very glamorous then you need to speak their language. Your building is your first impression.

what color is your church?

2007-11-09T09:16:00.000-06:00

Sixty-five leaders from the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) met with NAE vice president Richard Cizik and the national manager of Energy Star Small Business & Congregations Network on Tuesday to discuss energy consumption in religious facilities. The "Creation Care and the Church" luncheon in Eden Prairie, MN encouraged pastors to protect the environment and save money on monthly bills.

Interesting numbers:

If the 300,000 worship facilities in America each cut energy consumption by 10%, they would save nearly $200 million each year.
That same reduction in energy use would also prevent the release of two million tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year. (Think 400,000 cars)

Most pastors would love to do their part, but simply don't know where to begin.

Begin here. Energy Star has put together two pages especially for small businesses and churches packed with information, tips for cutting energy consumption, and links to further steps that can be taken. You can get more info from Energy Star here.

the state of church planting

2007-11-02T08:30:00.000-06:00

The Leadership Network has released a new study on church planting. Managing Director Dave Travis commented, "In commissioning this study, our goal was to review the current state of U.S. church planting efforts - and begin to assess what today's reality means for the next generation of planters."

Church planters, listen up:

Interest is growing. From Google search results to the number of book printed on the topic, the interest in church planting is on the rise. "Equally important," according to a Monday Morning Insight article, "[is that] church planting has now become a preferred ministry option, not a consolation prize."

Local churches and church planting networks are leading the way. Church planting used to be the business of denominations, but today local congregations are so excited about the idea that they're doing it themselves.

Affinity strategies dominate. New church plants used to go up according to geographic area - churches trying to set down root in an "unchurched" area. Now, church plants are filling a niche. Travis explains, "For example, they may exclusively plant house churches or ethnic churches - or perhaps build purpose-driven, seeker, or missional churches."

It's working. Observers have estimated that in the past, 80 to 90% for church plants fail within a year. Researchers discovered, however, that today, 68% of the 4000 churches planted each year are still around four years later.

What does this mean for you? Giving part of your congregation and resources to a church plant is very possible, there are a lot of resources to help get you started, you can do it even if you're not part of a denomination, and your best bet is to find a specific culture within your community to serve and build for them.

its time

2007-10-31T07:44:00.000-06:00

WILLOW Magazine (a service of the Willow Creek Association) published an article recently titled 15 Innovations the Church Should Embrace Now! Item #5 is "Multi-Purpose Church Buildings - Doing ministry in the marketplace." And I quote,

Jesus didn't hang out at synagogues. He hung out at wells. Wells were natural gathering places in ancient culture. Coffeehouses are postmodern wells. That's why National Community Church, in Washington, DC, built a coffeehouse on Capitol Hill instead of a church building - to create a marketplace environment where the church and community could cross paths. Less than a year after it opened, "Ebenezers" [see pic below] was rated the #2 coffeehouse in the metro DC area by AOL CityGuide 2007. They serve 600+ customers seven days a week. Instead of asking people to come to them, the church is going to the people.

"Coffeehouses are postmodern wells." How I wish I could say I penned that one.

I'm assuming by now you have a well-established third place space in your church building. Good for you. You've probably seen your congregation grow in both size and relationships. You may even be asking, "What now?" How about adding a third place on the other side of town? Third place space is supposed to be accessible, and yours just is not accessible across town. Silence the little voice that immediately screams, "We could never do that!" and just consider it for a few moments.

(If your church is growing and you're considering a satellite campus, consider it for a few extra moments.)

On paper it could be a not-for-profit outreach ministry of your church; you don't have to start a new business. That said, in brick-and-mortar it should look like a new business: a hip coffee shop, not an outreach mission ... except on Sunday mornings. National Community Church uses Ebenezer's ("the #2 coffeehouse in the metro DC area") as a satellite campus on Sunday mornings. Imagine! Broadcasting the gospel into the unchurched's favorite café.

But if it worked for Jesus ...

build? now?

2007-10-16T07:46:00.000-06:00

Pastor Nelson Searcy of The Journey Church in NYC recently spoke with Outreach magazine about five common growth barriers churches deal with.

(Before we go any further, I would like to reiterate that these are barriers growing churches need to take care to overcome. These are not five steps to turn a ministry into a megachurch.)

The number one barrier, and easiest to overlook, Searcy argues, is space.

"As church leaders, we love full rooms, so we say, 'Pack 'em in, there's (sic) still a few seats!' But the truth is that when a room reaches 70 percent of its seating capacity, it's full. Period."

I've always heard that number closer to 80 percent, but as you grow past the 70 percent mark it's time to start considering options. A Christian Post article goes on to cite Searcy noting that most churches face growth barriers when attendance reaches 65, 125, 250, 500 and 1000.

Where is your church? Seem to be stuck at about 250 people every weekend? It might be time to start calculating what percentage of your worship space is full at each service. The reason this is the most overlooked barrier to church growth is because you're probably not even thinking about a building project when you hit 70 to 80 percent capacity, and because it may seem silly to add a service or knock down a wall with 20 percent of your seating still available.

But people need space, especially new visitors. It may not be true that "if you build it, they will come," but it certainly is true that if you don't - they won't.

eat your heart out, without walls international

2007-10-11T09:44:00.000-06:00

Need more ministry space? Scared to death at the idea of a building project? Worried about the finances? You could do what Cornerstone Community Church in California has decided to do and just ... not build.

Enter the Tierra Rejada Building Project.

Yup. Cornerstone has purchased almost 140 acres that will feature a 5000-seat, outdoor, garden-style amphitheater that will be used for weekend services instead of a traditional, indoor auditorium.

Other site features include:

> Eternity Bible College. 1000-seat (indoor) multi-purpose auditorium, classroom buildings, a maintenance building, restrooms, admin/library, and a 300-seat chapel.
> Community Athletic Fields. About five acres for two community fields.
> Children's Hunger Fund (CHF). Ten acres would house about 100,000 sq ft of (indoor) space for the CHF international headquarters.
> Finally, 80 acres (nearly 60% of the site) will remain undeveloped.

Why? Well, for one, it's California and you can do that kind of thing in California. Cornerstone has a short list of reasons, elaborated upon on the website, but it comes down to vision.

The heart of Cornerstone Community Church is to care for some of the material needs of the poor. Their leadership did not feel that the cost involved in a building project (not to mention there wasn't a lot of room in town for a building of the size they would need) was congruent with the mission and vision of their ministry.

We talk a lot about how your church facility should reflect and support your vision and your calling. If your vision is to care for children, you need a good children's wing. If your vision is to foster families, you need space for family-oriented activities. If your vision is to shelter and care for the homeless in the midwest, you need a big kitchen and room for cots. If your vision is to feed and clothe the poor on the west coast ... maybe you don't need a building at all.

Mark Beeson at Innovate 07

2007-10-10T07:10:00.000-06:00

Granger Community Church recently hosted their annual Innovate conference in Indiana. You can watch each of the sessions online, and I highly recommend doing so. You can get to the list here.

I watched three yesterday. The second session was Pastor Mark Beeson on That's Going to Leave a Mark. He talked about how churches can make the greatest impact on visitors and spent some time talking about ... you guessed it ... the church facility.

Some quotes I caught:

"Every person matters, so we try to create space. ... We designed this space (their church building) for the simple reason that we're trying to reach people who don't understand how much they matter, and they don't go to church. We built this facility that looks like safe territory for normal people."

(Talking about their children's ministry space downstairs:) "The architecture communicates a message. You don't need a guide. ... The architecture screams, when you go downstairs, 'These people must love kids!'"

He talked about how the excellece of your ministry space communicates value to visitors. The design and the maintenance of your building tell people who haven't yet met your greeters or passed the peace, that you value them and you want them to be there.

He goes on to talk about the importance of women's restrooms. Because as young couples become young families it is usually the woman who decides its time to take the kids to church and sets out to find a good one. I think a lot of this was Mark being funny, but I can say there are places that I avoid (or would if I could) because of the state of the women's restroom.

new from barna

2007-10-09T08:52:00.000-06:00

Barna has released a new study titled What Teenagers Look for in a Church. You shouldn't even be reading this because you should have demolished the left key on your mouse trying to get to get to that study. But since you are still reading I'll oblige.

Encouragement:
"The (second) most common activity (among teenagers) is attending a worship service at a church. ... Compared to American adults, teenagers are more likely to report engagement in corporate forms of worship and spiritual expression."

Kick in the pants:
"However, the research raises caution that teenagers' prodigious appetites for spiritual activity may be waning."

Wake-up call:
"One out of every four teenagers (26%) had learned something about their faith or spirituality online in the last six months. ... Furthermore, one-sixth of teenagers (16%) and one-quarter of born again teens (25%) said they had 'a spiritual experience' online where they worshipped or connected with God." (Emphasis mine.)

Direction for designing youth space:
"The most common elements sought by young people were 'to worship or make a connection with God' (45% described this as very important) and 'to better understand what I believe' (42%)."

We know that for unchurched teenagers and young adults, the most important part of your facility is third place space. It's not lost on those teenagers who regularly attend worship services, either; the new Barna report goes on to reveal that about one-third of them say they want to spend time with close friends at church.

For those teenagers who are coming regularly, your student ministry space needs to be a place they can connect with God and learn about their faith. Sharing worship space with a traditional adult congregation won't inspire them, and sharing classroom or teaching space with the children's ministry will not keep them focused.

options for growing churches

2007-10-05T07:32:00.000-06:00

Is your church growing? (If it is, you're doing better than 70 to 80% of the churches in America.) If so, what are you planning to do about it?

The auto-pilot response is, "Build." Expand the worship space, add-on and renovate, or ditch the existing facility and start all over. All good ideas, but a new one is beginning to take hold: broadcast.

Currently, seven of the top ten fastest-growing churches, according to Outreach Magazine's latest report, are multi-site campuses. Some stretch across town, others stretch across the country.

For the present, going multi-site may be a good solution for small churches that are growing quickly and may not have all the funds for a new or dramatically expanded facility. You only have to give your current worship space a face lift, add better lighting and video capabilities, and establish other campuses. These campuses can be partnering churches, coffee houses, or homes. They can support live worship, or broadcast yours. It seems to be working ... for the present.

I'd be interested to see demographics on people who attend satellite campuses. If anyone knows where that report is, please let me know. I'm guessing it's mostly people who are 30 or older, or in their 20's with a Christian background. I'm guessing, that is, that there are not a lot of millennials taking a keen interest.

Dr. Ed Stetzer, director of research for LifeWay, considers multi-sites "the new normal," according to a Christian Post article. I wonder.

Because we know that the emerging generation, the millennials, the digital natives, etc. are bored to death with broadcast. They haven't been raised on teevee like most of those attending multi-site campuses; they have been raising each other on the Web. They don't trust superstar personalities, they're not interested in being passive spectators, and they already don't like church/Christians. Can you imagine taking one of these kids to a satellite campus? I'm guessing she'd make some comment like, "I can do this at home, except my couch is more comfortable and I don't have to deal with these people."

The Church needs to look forward. Right now teenagers are difficult to understand and next to impossible to work with, but they're taking over. You are going to have to hand off the torch at some point. Your ministry is going to depend on their offerings. Your church will be trying to reach into their community and into their culture.

Multi-site campuses are working for now, and that's great. Keep them running as long as they're bringing people to Christ. Be watching the horizon, though, so when this generation finally swallows yours whole the Church can be ready to move into interactive, relationship-based meetings.

communication is key

2007-10-03T07:55:00.000-06:00

Communication is key. You know that, but how much are you communicating and how often?

We talk a lot about staying relevant and catching up with the culture in order to reach people. We're trying to teach you to speak their language and reach out into a growing unchurched population. A recent survey of American evangelicals, though, reminds us that it's similarly important to make sure your congregation knows what is going on.

What concerns American evangelicals today?

The National Association of Evangelicals recently surveyed its leadership and found little concern centered on national politics or the war in Iraq. Culture concerns ... were listed as top issues of concern to the evangelical leaders representing about 30 million members.

Everyone knows that our culture is in the middle of an amazing upheaval, and it's kind of scary.

So as you get excited about adding a third place space and a youth center to your facility, explain what that means to your staff and ministry leaders - so they are equipped to talk about it and encourage their head volunteers, who will be equipped to talk about it and encourage the volunteers who work with them. Share the cool stuff you're learning about Joe Meyer's spaces of belonging, or the digital age that is dawning, or the benefits of third place.

If you reach into your communities long enough, you will eventually catch at least a few people. They will come in for coffee or to drop off their teenagers to play basketball, and they will bring with them their worldviews. They will come with the culture that is a greater concern to many evangelicals than who the next president is going to be. Is your congregation ready?

personal space

2007-10-01T07:37:00.000-06:00

Joe Meyers, in The Search to Belong, discusses four kinds of space: public, social, personal and intimate. The former three are appropriate for some element of a ministry, and we talk a lot about how to make sure your church is providing for and allowing people to find belonging in each of those three spaces. On the other hand, as David Zimmerman illustrates in entry six of nine on A Visitor's Perspective, you want to allow people to protect their own intimate space as well.

David has been talking about your church from a visitor's perspective, and today he's talking about the awkward moment wherein one has to find a seat. He brings up the 80% rule.

The 80% rule states that when a building has reached 80% of capacity it is full.

It's because we all have personal (or "intimate" if you're sticking with Meyers-vernacular) space and we want to keep it - especially if we're strangers somewhere.

Church growth presents all kinds of blessings and challenges, but it's good to remember that when your worship space gets to be about 75% full, you really need to start making plans for expanding your space or adding another service. Ministry leaders like to see a packed sanctuary every weekend - it makes us feel like we're doing something right - but your visitors will be uncomfortable and may not come back.

So monitor. Assign someone to count heads. If you have 250 seats, 187 people is all it takes to start making people feel uncomfortable. If you have 500 seats, it's 375 people.

new from Barna

2007-09-27T07:40:00.000-06:00

Pause on the CKN Conference notes for the latest release from Barna: A New Generation Expresses its Skepticism and Frustration with Christianity. The generals are nothing most of us didn't already know: teenagers and young adults don't like Christians. Some of the actual numbers, though, are worse than I thought.

(These are 16 to 29 year-olds)
- 16% have a "good impression" of Christianity.
- 3% express favorable views of evangelicals.
- 87% believe present-day Christianity is judgmental.
- 85% believe present-day Christianity is hypocritical.
- Half of young church-goers agree with the previous two.

The most frequent, unprompted impressions of Christianity reflected the themes, "Christianity is changed from what it used to be," and "Christianity in today's society no longer looks like Jesus." That's from Christian and non-Christian young people.

Researcher David Kinnaman commented,

Going into this three-year project, I assumed that people's perceptions were generally soft, based on misinformation, and would gradually morph into more traditional views. But then, as we probed why young people had come to such conclusions, I was surprised how much their perceptions were rooted in specific stories and personal interactions with Christians and in churches.

Of course, your ministry needs to teach Biblical truth, no matter how much it conflicts with a young person's worldview. Teaching, though, requires communication, and in the digital age communication is at least two-way. In the emerging worldview, there is no such thing as the "gospel truth," accepted without question. Relationship is more important than position, and authenticity speaks louder than a white collar or robe. You will preach a better post-modern sermon with one to three young people around a café table than you will from the front of your worship space.

Wait, does your building have a café table?

Evan McBroom at Cornerstone

2007-09-26T09:02:00.000-06:00

Evan McBroom gave a great presentation on communication during the building process at the CKN Conference yesterday. My notes:

Five key concepts:
1. Communication is not an event, it's a process.
2. Branding does matter, and it's foundational to all communication.
3. make the need obvious to move and inspire people.
4. Creating "buzz" is essential. Cut through the clutter.
5. Make proven approaches your own. This is not the time for cookie-cutter material.

"Branding:" Clear communication of your promise; paints a picture; creates expectations; refine experiences to match brand.

Brand Equation: Identity + Communication = Offering + Experience

Bonus Advice: Stop doing some things.

When he got onto branding being "foundational," I cringed and he lost credibility points. After his definition, though, I realized his idea of branding is not congruent with my idea of branding and most of his points were reinstated.

And a fun video about communication. Evan didn't use this one, I think Ed Bahler and Bill Couchenour did during the opening session, but it applies and I like it:

conference updates

2007-09-25T14:42:00.000-06:00

Don's having fun.

what good is a ball pit?

2007-09-25T10:52:00.001-06:00

We're hanging out at the Cornerstone (CKN) Conference in Bolingbrook today. I got a picture of Lynn - mua ha ha - and our mugs rule.

Notes will be posted over the next few days, but first: story time.

As Rose, Rashmi and I gave ourselves a tour of Living Water, we paused to consider breaking into the play place (McDonald's has nothing on this church). A man who volunteers at the church told us a story about a two-and-a-half year old boy that came a few months ago with his parents as new visitors. The pastor was greeting people and showed the parents their children's wing. The parents cited several recent church visits, and insisted the boy would not leave their side. One look at that play place, though, and he was gone. They've been attending Living Water for a few months and have never had a problem leaving their son in class. Cool.

new wineskins

2007-09-21T07:53:00.000-06:00

Mark 2:22//And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins.

That's New King James. In today's vernacular it goes, "Just be real." No one understands this principal better than the emerging generation.

Don pulled up the vague empty chair next to me yesterday and asked why, despite all the cool spaces designed for post-moderns, he always sees them hanging out at Taco Bell and White Castle.

"Because it's cheaper than Panera," I answered, "and all of their friends are already there."

Teenagers and young adults appreciate well-designed spaces, probably more than you think. We notice the colors you choose for the walls, and how the layout of the room affects traffic flow. Decor is discussed, just in terms you may not understand. At the end of the day, though, the principals of third place rule.

Chapter two of Oldenburg's The Great Good Place is called "The Character of Third Place Spaces." He discusses eight principals. Below are the ones that especially hit home with teenagers and young adults, as demonstrated by a little pizza place in my home town:

1. The Leveling effect. Everyone's a teenager who likes getting a huge slice of pizza and as much pop as they can drink for $3. Social strata fade into the background because the place is cool. Walking in the door earns you cool-points.

2. Conversation is the main activity. The $3 also buys you a table for as long as you want it.

3. Accessibility and accommodation. This is especially key for teenagers who can't drive yet. It needs to be within walking/biking distance or it needs to have enough entertainment value to justify being dropped off for most of the day.

4. Regulars. When this pizzeria opened, they first earned the favor of a few. Most of their staff now is high school kids, they cultivate a culture of fierce loyalty (easier because they're right next door to a Pizza Hut), and they let delivery drivers sit at tables to smoke or play arcade games between runs. Anyone knows they can go in any time and meet someone they know, or wait a few minutes until he gets back from a delivery.

5. A low profile. This is going to mess with you, but the building is pretty drab. People know they can put their feet up on the seat across from them, sit on the table, or stand on a chair to change the channel on the wall-mounted TV if they don't want to watch sports. It's comfortable.

6. Playful mood. I already mentioned the arcade games (the owner has the high score on Street Fighter), the TVs, and the conversation ...

7. Home away from home. Those who frequent this pizza place know that it belongs to them. When the owner found out one of his regulars had become vegan, and would no longer be eating pizza, he hauled out his food catalog to find alternatives and ordered things just for her that never even made it to the menu. (And can I also say, if you've never had a pickle breaded and deep-fried, you haven't lived.)

Everyone needs a third place space, but if you're planning one for your student/young adult ministry it needs to be different. They are new wine, and they will tear asunder an old wineskin. It needs to be real.

reason #117

2007-09-20T07:22:00.000-06:00

Guest blogger Abbi Zeliff had a nice talk with his grandfather that he wants to tell you all about over at the Swerve blog. It's a good reminder, and yet another compelling reason to get on the Third Place bandwagon. People need some place they can go, why not your place?

He goes on to talk about how the burden is "compounded" for those in ministry, "because there are lives at stake." He encourages you to slow down too. So once you have your third place space, either staff it during regular business hours or learn to use the espresso machine.

Pastor Brian Zahnd of Word of Life Church in St. Joseph, Missouri is one guy I really like to listen to, and I think he would agree. (He's even more fun to watch, because he's very animated - the audio podcasts don't really do him justice.) Their third place space is called Solomon's Porch, and he mentioned once in passing that, "In my church I am never more than 160 steps from a cappuccino. It's great."

a visitor's perspective

2007-09-18T07:57:00.001-06:00

Guest blogger David Zimmerman is doing a series on church from the visitor's point of view over at Church Marketing Sucks. Number three, yesterday, was titled "The Welcoming Paradox."

He talks about the delicate balance between not embarrassing new visitors (which was the subject of installment #2), and not leaving them to fend for themselves. The part that I nervously laughed at yesterday was when he and his wife, "eventually found a table in the lobby with a sign declaring it to be the 'Welcome Table,' but no one ever showed up."

He goes on to talk about empowering your congregation to be nice to people, but I couldn't get past the welcome center. Can visitors to your church get past the welcome center? Is it visible? Obvious, even? Are there people there on Sunday mornings? If not, is there a floor plan on display? Signage? Directions? Anything that is at all helpful?

branding and teen ministry 3 (of 3)

2007-09-10T09:06:00.000-06:00

One more thing I want to point out about Brandweek's article on some summer research:

>> Music most defines them, according to 44% of teens, followed by family (39%) and moral values (38%).

How's the sound system in your youth ministry space? Is it the left-over, or old equipment from the main church facility; or is it new, designed specifically for your space? What about the lighting and visual equipment that enhance the worship experience? What about their fellowship/social space? Do you have a CD player in the corner, or a central sound system?

These are numbers that a youth ministry can embrace, rather than fight. If music most defines teenagers, music should perhaps most define the space you create for them.

branding and teen ministry 2 (of 3)

2007-09-07T07:14:00.000-06:00

Another interesting observation from the research highlighted by Brandweek earlier this summer:

>> Despite being wired 24/7 with mobile devices and online communities, they feel the word "chill" best describes them (according to 40% of those surveyed).

Reporter Kenneth Hein reveals his age as he alludes to an interesting note about teenage/young adult culture. Hein begins with "despite" as though being wired and being relaxed were contradictory ideas, but teenagers don't seem to think so.

(Pause for a moment for those of you who may be scratching your heads at "chill." Adj. "cool, calm, relaxed, etc." V. "hang out, relax, slow down, etc.")

So what about your youth ministry space?

First of all, you need a place where students can "chill" before or after your worship service. Again, this should be a place set aside for them. Props if your church facility already has a third place space, but your youth ministry needs one of its own. See the three insights from yesterday.

Secondly, it needs to be chill according to their standards, not yours. They can be innundated with electronics and noise and still be chill, but they probably don't want you to organize mandatory group games for them. Go ahead and play loud music with the TVs on and the video game/internet station running all at the same time. You might feel over-stimulated, but they're used to it - more than that: they're comfortable in it.

branding and teen ministry 1 (of 3)

2007-09-06T08:23:00.000-06:00

Open Mind Research and OTX joined forces to survey 1000 teenagers this summer on branding. Not something a youth ministry may be interested in initially, but when Brandweek highlighted the study, they titled their article, "How to Reach Teens? It's All About the Brand." What youth ministry isn't always looking for better ways to "reach teens?"

Some interesting observations:

>> Of the 47 brands tested, the iPod came out on top as the brand "absolutely essential to teens."

Why? Irma Zandl, principal of The Zandl Group, mused, "They respond to brands that reflect their lifestyle and offer innovation, creativity and a high degree of style." Similarly, the study found that,

>> Nineteen percent will swap brands due to boredom.

The implications herein for youth ministry are endless, and one facet of those implications speaks to youth ministry space.

First of all, this should drive home the idea (if you're not already convinced) that a youth ministry needs a unique space. It's not enough to take over your church's main worship space when the adults are not around.

Zandl's insight is ... insightful. That the iPod is "absolutely essential" tells us three things about what is important to teenagers:

1. Reflect their culture

Youth ministry space should look, feel, and sound (maybe not "smell") like their favorite hang-out. Where do teenagers and young adults in your community hang out? Starbucks? Build out a third place space. Skatepark? Get some ramps, helmets and permission slips. Bedrooms? Make it comfortable, malleable, and accessible.

2. Be innovative/creative

Keep the space simple. There was a time when youth ministry spaces were themed, but it may be time to leave that for the children's ministry. Your space should be flexible: from hang out to open mic night to movie screening to Summer Kick-Off party.

3. Be stylish

Your space can be simple and stylish at the same time. Look at the iPod commericals that have catapulted their product to "absolutely essential:" simple and stylish. All it takes is good color, clever lighting, and some hip furniture.

innovative?

2007-09-05T09:59:00.000-06:00

Okay, so this doesn't have a lot to do with building a church facility (unless you're considering an escalator, in which case the message is: beware!), but it has a lot to do with the difference between using innovation and being innovative.

DIY walls

2007-08-31T08:58:00.000-06:00

Do your walls need more fun? Don can help, but if you want a DIY ("do it yourself") project Rust-Oleum comes in second:

They have products that will make the walls of your children's, youth, or admin space magnetic, glow in the dark, dry erase, or chalk board.

what's wrong with this picture?

2007-08-30T08:12:00.000-06:00

LifeWay Research put this piece together and while I appreciate the valuable information in a user-friendly, aesthetic format, I can't help but cringe at the subtle message being communicated by the models.

The "Regular Attender" is an attractive young lady who has apparently been practicing her Vanna White moves. She's dressed casually, but nicely: jeans and a nice top. Her makeup has been carefully applied and she looks happy.

The "Not Regular Attender" looks less put-together. His body language is apathetic. His baggy, black t-shirt isn't working so well with whatever kind of brown pants he's wearing, and his hair and facial expression scream, "I got out of bed for this?"

One belongs and one does not. Of course I'm sure whoever set up this shot did not intend to paint a picture of who belongs in a church body and who does not, and that decisions were made regarding wardrobe and makeup based on past experiences and influences without a second thought as to their implications.

The stereotype remains, however. The fact that is was probably done unintentionally, and that you may not have noticed when you first saw the image, confirms this is what we blindly believe "Regular Attenders" and "Not Regular Attenders" look like.

So what? So how does this affect your student and young adult ministries? Who do we blindly accept as those that "belong," and who do we assume will never get it because they don't look happy to be at church?

How does this affect the design for spaces for these ministries? Are you making space for those who "belong" (i.e. who will come anyway)? Or are you making space for the "Not Regular Attenders," who really need the extra effort to feel comfortable? Is your student/young adult ministry reaching out, into the unknown, or in, to the comfortable?

young adults

2007-08-23T08:18:00.000-06:00

We know from a myriad of previous reports and studies that young adults (ages 18 to 23 or 30, depending on the research group) are the least likely to attend church, and the most likely to feel unwanted. The Barna Group reports that three in four will drop out of church after high school. LifeWay Research recently took the research one step further to answer the "Why?"

According to a new report, the most common reason young adults give for leaving church is, "I simply wanted a break from church."

Among those young adults who did not drop out of church, most said, "Church was a vital part of my relationship with God." A close second-place reason was, "I wanted the church to help guide my decisions in everyday life." The third and fourth reasons given also spoke of the church's relevance to the young people's lives.

Scott McConnell, the associate director of LifeWay Research, commented, "The vitality and everyday relevance these young people experienced in church is a stark contrast to church dropouts who wanted a break from church and felt unconnected." You can read the whole report here.

Is your ministry speaking to young adults? Is there space in your facility that reflects and serves their culture? Where they can feel at home? Remember, the Rainer Research Group reported earlier this year that inviting social space is the most important part of a church facility to those between the ages of 18 and 24. How are you connecting with them?

take it from Jim

2007-08-21T08:53:00.000-06:00

Hi everyone. I've been out of the country for two weeks - not slacking off. It's good to be home, and its been fun trying to catch up.

Jim Wideman posted his "Top 10 List for Life and Ministry Management" while I was gone. Several are good tips for building project management:

8. KEEP YOUR PRIORITIES IN ORDER
For a lot of ministries, this comes after actually identifying your priorities and that's okay. Once you get a healthy assessment of your church's situation and realize, for example, that there's a community college across town, keep your priorities in order.

6. PLAN FOR INTERRUPTIONS
Avoiding interruptions is nice, but don't count on it. A permit may take longer than you hoped, or your building committee will refuse to agree on how many restrooms you need, etc.

3. GET SOME HELP
Talk to other pastors who have been through this, talk to us, read a book. "Don't try to reinvent the wheel."

2. PLAN FOR GROWTH
"Remember, people follow people with a plan." People also follow people who are going somewhere. If you're not moving, no one can follow. If your church is building/expanding its building it's probably because you're growing. Think big.

1. PRAY
Amen.

futuristic

2007-08-02T07:42:00.000-06:00

A couple weeks ago, futurist and theologian Leonard Sweet named the top five trends religious leaders should keep their eyes on. Number three is, "epic rules."

In Sweet's The Gospel According to Starbucks, the futurist calls the church to master the "EPIC" living that Starbucks has mastered. EPIC stands for Experience, Participation, "Images that trob with meaning," and Connection.

How many of these four epic principals are you making room for in your church's third place space?

Experience: Is your third place hosting events? Speakers, artists, clowns, etc. Are there experiences available?

Participation: Is there room for volunteers? Are your events participatory? Open mic nights are good for this.

Images: What are people looking at in your space? The same picture of Jesus in the same gold frame that was in their parents' church? Local artists expressions of what it is to find freedom? Does your third place space have a logo of its own? Is it meaningful? Is it displayed?

Connection: How are people able to connect in your space? Is there room to connect over business? Is there room to connect socially? Is there WiFi to connect internationally?

The Christian Post quotes Sweet as explaining, "The culture helps the church become more of an epic community." When was the last time we considered how culture could help a local church?

Nehemiah had a building project

2007-07-27T07:37:00.000-06:00

Rick Warren has posted "Seven principles for every project" based on Nehemiah's model of leadership. I don't think I need to make the connect here, do I?

1. Simplification
Nehemiah did what worked naturally. He used groups of people that already existed and didn't try to reinvent ministry leadership roles for the sake of a building committee.

2. Participation
Nehemiah worked with people who wanted to work, and ignored the people who didn't want to work.

3. Delegation
Break down major goals into smaller tasks. Develop clear job descriptioins. Match the right person with the right task. Assign specific responsibility.

4. Motivation
Help people "own" the project, and allow them to work in their areas of interest. This is especially true of volunteers; everyone has other things to do.

5. Cooperation
"Good organizations provide a supportive climate of trust and teamwork." Nehemiah could not have rebuilt the wall on his own, or even with a few close friends. Your building project will be the best it can be when your entire congregation is in "one accord."

6. Administration
Supervise. Nehemiah walked up and down the wall inspecting the work. "People do what you inspect, not what you expect." Delegate authority and responsibility to your building committee(s) or committee members, but review their work too.

7. Appreciation
If someone is doing a good job, let him or her know! People will slowly become weary and burnt out if they don't feel their work is valued. Nehemiah knew the names of the people working on the wall, and even went so far as to write them all down!

You can read the full article here.

growth is in the eye of the beholder

2007-07-20T07:36:00.000-06:00

Usually, a churches takes on a building project because it is growing. After your facility has been renovated/expanded/razed and reborn, your body will probably grow. During the process, maybe not so much.

A building project is a serious analysis of the health of a local church. It will call people out - How serious are you about this place? It is not uncommon for little rifts to crack during a building project, and ya, a few people may leave.

Craig Groeschel, pastor of LifeChurch.tv, has been posting an interesting series of blogs (which are making for even more interesting conversation in the comments sections) called "Leaving the Church." Number 3 in the series recounts one special Sunday wherein Craig taught on the church's vision and lovingly encouraged everyone who didn't think they could sell out to that vision, to consider finding another church. He had information in the lobby on ten other churches in the area that he knew and respected.

The next week, we had about 500 new seats for people who could get excited about the vision. Within a short period of time, God filled those seats with passionate people. Many of those who left our church found great, biblical churches where they could worship and use their gifts.

Also interesting is Jim Wideman's recent blog post titled, "Why people resist change." He lists ten really good insights. Number 7 is, "Change requires additional commitment."

Now, if 500 people leave your church during a building project, something is wrong - especially because your church is probably not as big as LifeChurch.tv. But if a few families get a clearer picture of the vision and direction of your church (and they should), and decide it is not for them, don't get upset about your eroding numbers.

It's easy to read about church growth, and all of Outreach Magazine's "25 biggest and best" lists, and make that the goal. Yes, a healthy church will grow, but it will grow best when everyone is where he should be. Church leaders also need to remember that while you have been made responsible for your local church, the people are Christ's. If someone is not blossoming in your ministry, it is more important that you move him to another one.

So yes, a few families may leave, but rather than conduct an exit survey - help them find a local church that they can get excited about.

third place for everyone

2007-07-13T07:31:00.000-06:00

We talk a lot about the third place space in your facility being a fresh way to extend your ministry into your community, and it should be primarily that. Most of your facility, actually, should be primarily that. Recently, I was talking with a consultant in the industry (who shall remain nameless because he turned out to be less interested in sharing ideas than getting new business), and we discovered the internal benefit of third place space.

Your building is a tool. Renovating, expanding, or abondoning it for a new one is a major event in the life of a congregation. Healthy congregations tend to come out stronger in the end, but what of not-so-healthy, divided congregations?

Not-so-healthy, divided congregations should be careful about starting a building project, but they can benefit from some third place space. Congregations that are not of one mind usually don't know each other very well. A welcoming, relaxing third place space will often draw the congregation together and allow them to socialize and get to know one another more.

The good news is you probably don't have to put an addition on your building to do this. If you know your church body needs some strengthening before you move into a building project, you can usually find some space to turn into a temporary third place. Many churches have a large narthex, lobby, or other open space.

Here are some simple suggestions:

Add seating (around some tables). People will gather in a big empty room for a while, but they'll stay and get to know one another when they can get comfortable.
Up the food and beverage service. If you're just serving coffee now, add donuts. If you're already doing pastries, add fruit, bagels, or pre-wrapped deli sandwhiches and juice for lunch. This can become an outreach ministry as you partner with a local bakery/deli. If you use them exclusively, they may agree to give you a discount along with some napkins that have their logo on them.
Get a stack of newspapers.
Advertise it every once in a while. Get creative once every four to eight weeks. Offer a cook-out one week after your worship service, or bring in a balloon artist for the kids. These don't have to be big events, just something to make people aware of the community that's going on.

Above all, have a good time with it and don't put huge expectations on the thing. You're providing a space for community to happen (Joseph Meyers would be so proud), but you can't make it happen. Have fun, meet people, introduce them to each other, and they'll get it eventually.

don't build small

2007-07-11T08:02:00.000-06:00

Craig Groeschel of LifeChurch.tv has been sharing his top four ministry mistakes. The second one is Don't Build Small. From his own experience with 12 to 15 "major" building projects, he has learned not to skimp on:

Parking
Hallways
Gathering space
Offices
Kids' space
Anything else that's important to your ministry

The comment section is interesting. It seems a lot of church leaders are, unfortunately, learning lessons about building projects the hard way.

first impressions

2007-07-10T07:39:00.000-06:00

My husband and I took some kids from our youth ministry to Nashville last weekend for a big prayer meeting. The meeting was on Saturday, so we planned to get breakfast, go to church, and drive home on Sunday. In preparation, I had done an internet search for non-denominational churches in the small Tennessee town where we were staying. There were three, all along the same stretch of road. This is a story of the first impressions I got from their facilities.

Church #1
First Impression #1: There was no sign near the road. The building wasn't far from the road, but I saw the address number before I saw the name of the church on the building.

First Impression #2: Service started at 10 am. It' was 9:50 and there were zero cars in the parking lot.

We drove right by that one. I noticed as we sped up again that there was a sign on the door, but we didn't have time to pull up and read it. I'm guessing the unchurched in their community who perhaps tried to get to church one morning wouldn't have been interested either.

Church #2
First Impression #1: We saw the sign by the road, but drove by it because the building was so far back, and behind a line of trees, that we weren't sure where to turn.

First Impression #2: The church facility was a warehouse next to a very nice home. I'm not one of those that needs a traditional church building, but this warehouse was in someone's back yard.

First Impression #3: As we did a U-turn in the gravel parking lot, a man emerged from the house on his way to the church building. He was bald, but sporting a thick goatee, and wearing shorts with knee-high black socks.

I'm sure it was a good, fun ministry, but they did not seem prepared for visitors at all. I didn't feel like being stared at all morning.

Church #3
Never found it.

We put on a sermon CD and drove home. On the way I started to think about having a similar experience as an unchurched family in that town.

Church #1: I might have been more inclined to stop and read the sign on the door if I lived in that town. Maybe they moved their service to a different location; if so, I might still go. Maybe they cancelled their service for that morning for whatever reason. Would I come back next week? I couldn't say.

Church #2: Getting me into that church on a Sunday morning would take a relationship with someone there. I like small churches, and I like industrial settings - I think it's cool. I don't, however, like feeling like the oddball.

Church #3: If someone happened to tell me where it was, I might have gone the following week to check it out. I probably wouldn't seek out the information, though. If they wanted me to come, they wouldn't hide their building.

breakout churches

2007-07-05T07:29:00.000-06:00

I recently enjoyed reading through Breakout Churches by Thom Rainer and his research team. The research was designed to test the principals of Jim Collins' Good to Great in a ministry setting. It's a very interesting read, and generally congruent with Collins' results.

What Collins calls "Technology Accelerators," Rainer calls "Innovation Accelerators." One such accelerator is a building project.

Rainer's research confirms again that a building project is only effective when it is used to further the vision and goals of the ministry. Breakout Churches also suggests, however, that timing is a key issue as well - that building a facility that enhances the work of your ministry a year before you really need it (or a year after) can be damaging to the health of the congregation.

Also interesting is the role of a building project observed in "comparison churches." Just as the Good to Great team compared their highlighted companies with others who did not make the leap to greatness, the Breakout Churches team studied three mediocre churches compared to each breakout church. In almost every case, the comparison churches either ignored their need for expanded/improved facilities (thus sentencing their ministry to death by erosion), or jumped into a building project as the magic formula for growth (thus sentencing their ministry to death by bankruptcy).

Just as important as knowing what to do when considering a building project (align vision, remember goals, assess the health and support level of the congregation, etc.), may be knowing what not to do: don't ignore your need for an improved facility (hint: if your worship space is consistently full, you need more space), and don't assume that "if you build it, they will come."

public space

2007-07-02T08:05:00.000-06:00

The Project for Public Spaces (PPS) has released a book titled The Great Neighborhood Book. The PPS works with public spaces such as parks and town squares, but applies many of Oldenburg's concepts from The Great Good Place.

Part of the book description reads,

Neighborhoods decline when the people who live there lose their connection and no longer feel part of their community. Recapturing that sense of belonging and pride can be as simple as planting a civic garden or placing some benches in a park.

I started to think about the many neighborhood churches I drive past every week, and wonder how much they are really a part of their neighborhoods.

Then I considered my own church. Our leadership has a vision to become a regional church, so our new facility is at the intersection of two major highways in a business district. I know a lot of churches that are on the edge of town, or in a "downtown" area surrounded by businesses. These churches, however, still have neighbors - they're just not residential neighbors.

We talk a lot in the Church about reaching into our communities, but are we being neighbors? Are we letting our communities similarly reach into us? Parks are nice, but what about winter? Or rain? Or lunch breaks? People don't want to be reached because it feels too much like being sold or marketed. People want to be loved, appreciated, valued, entertained, neighbors.

Third place space is becoming more common in ministry facilities, but becoming a neighbor may add a new, twofold challenge.

The first is to make sure your third place space is what your neighborhood needs. If you're in a residential area, you would probably do well with a competitive coffee service, snacks, and WiFi. If you're in a business district, you probably want to be able to serve lunch and simplify the beverage menu.

The second is to deliberately use your third place space. Rather than just design, build, and operate it - develop it. Host open mic nights, business conferences, public speakers, sports nights - whatever your neighbors are looking for - and start building (or strengthening) a sense of community in your neighborhood.

how many churches will you build?

2007-06-28T07:40:00.000-06:00

Outreach Magazine released 2007's Top 25 Multiplying Churches. The article highlights some of these churches and their strategies and philosophies for planting daughter churches. It's pretty inspiring. Dave Ferguson, lead pastor of Community Christian Church (#7 on the list) is quoted as, "For us to accomplish Christ's directive, we have come to value the edge over the center, the new over the established, and the lost more than the found."

It's been said that new church plants have a way of attracting the unchurched in a community like your established ministry cannot. They're less intimidating because visitors don't feel like the only new people that everyone's looking at.

If you're starting/working on a building project of your own right now, planting a church may be the last thing you want to think about. But if you're starting/working on a building project right now you know that God is moving your ministry into bigger and better things. Are there volunteers in your church who, with a little training, could plant a church across town (or in the next town) and reach a whole segment of the unchurched that are not attracted to your ministry?

If so, does that mean you should scale down your facility because you'll be sending people off? Not at all. Most of the churches on Outreach's list are still growing themselves. It does mean you should probably become comfortable with the building process, and use it to build the Church (see post below). It may also mean a "renewing of the mind" so that a building project is not something you think about once a decade, but a constant part of the process of expanding God's kingdom on earth.

building the Church while you build a church

2007-06-22T07:26:00.000-06:00

The building process is usually a long one, and for a myriad of good reasons, our eyes are usually focused on the end of the process.

But I've been reading a lot about leadership lately. One book I recently enjoyed was Steven B. Sample's The Contrarian's Guide to Leadership. The underlying theme throughout the book is that leadership is a process, and it's less about the leader than most of us assume.

So I was thinking, if building a church facility is a process and leadership is a process, why not marry the two? Focus on the process of creating a building and the process of leading a strong organization at the same time - you'll probably end up with a better building, more respect as a leader, and a stronger church body.

For example, chapter five in Sample's Guide is called "Decisions, Decisions." One topic covered is that of delegation. "Never make a decision that you can reasonably delegate." Two reasons for this are developing strong "lieutenants," and developing a strong organization - those that don't hang on your every word, but could carry on if something should happen to you.

The building process is a good time to exercise what you've been taught about good leadership. Most of what I've been taught lately is that good leaders build good organizations and develop capable employees. Use this time to listen to people you have perhaps written off in the past, or delegate authority and responsiblity in order to grow the people on your team. You can come out of this with not only a new building, but a refreshed and energized church body.

the building project that never ends

2007-06-21T07:45:00.000-06:00

I was reading Church Marketing Sucks this morning (ya, it's one of the first things I do every morning). They posted an interview with "chief blogger" Kevin D. Hendricks. This struck me:

Do you think church marketing is any different from business marketing?
Yes, because businesses can be happy with the status quo. They need to grow enough to cover turn over and increased costs ... but if they're paying their bills and keeping customers happy, great.

The church on the other hand, should never be sitting back and thinking, 'Gee, we've saved enough people. Our pews are full. We can sit back and relax.' A business can have enough; a church can't.

Plan for expansion, plan for growth, start thinking about the day when you have to move out of or expand what is now your brand new church building because there are enough people to fill it. Don't build a worship space that seats 500 and call it a day when you've filled it. Your building is a means to an end, it is a tool. When a carpenter's hammer breaks he doesn't quit, look back on everything he's built, and retire; he gets a new one.

If you're church is full, if your facilities are maxed out, don't be satisfied with the status quo. A building project is a big project, but the God who separated light from darkness with a word is on your side. He wants you to grow.

like my building?

2007-06-20T07:51:00.000-06:00

Zogby International and the Center for Missional Research recently asked 1200 Americans,

If you were considering visiting or joining a church, would knowing that the church does not meet in a traditional church building impact your decision?

73% said it would not make any difference
19% said it would negatively impact their decision
6% said it would positively impact their decision
2% were unsure

Among the unchurched, the "makes no difference" group was an even larger slice of the pie chart.

The study was done primarily in the interests of church planters - do they need a new building right away or can they meet at the local high school? But what does this mean for you and your new/renovated church building?

It means that if you're building to encourage and allow for more growth, for the next big thing God is about to move you into, for the people in your community who are currently not attending church - your facility doesn't necessarily need a white steeple with a bell.

Now if you really want a while steeple with a bell, by all means - go right ahead. If you set up shop in New England, especially, it might be a good idea. The point is to make your building congruent with your community, comfortable, functional ... and if it doesn't end up looking like the church you grew up in, that's okay. Most people don't care.

priorities

2007-06-19T07:24:00.000-06:00

Jim Wideman (former children's pastor at Church on the Move in Tulsa who has now struck out on his own to advise and grow children's ministries all over the nation) posted a blog entry yesterday about priorities.

Everybody I know says they have them (priorities), but most can't name them off the top of their head(s). If you don't know them, you can't keep them.

Jim's blog focuses on leadership, but to the end that every successful building project needs good leadership, much - especially this - is applicable.

Unless you're building with an unlimited budget, there should be priorities for your new or newly renovated building. What do you need the most? Which ministry is most quickly outgrowing its current space and resources? What new space or style will best support your ministry? Don't just answer the question in your head, talk to your building committee! Come up with a top three or five, write them down, and keep them in front of you throughout the process.

build outside the box

2007-06-12T07:30:00.000-06:00

Your building is a tool to aid in your ministry. When your church gets to the point of renovating or building a facility, it is because God is moving you to bigger and better things. That's exciting!

In Matthew, Jesus teaches that people don't put new wine into old wineskins, because the wineskin would burst and both would be ruined. "But," He explains, "they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved."

As you consider how to build a facility that will support the strengths of your ministry, make sure your team is looking forward as well as back. Plan to continue the good work your church is doing, but remember to talk to God about where He's taking you with this new facility. Get creative teams together and brainstorm. Consider your community and ask yourselves what you may be able to do that you haven't already. Trust God to show you what He wants to do through you and build for the possibilities.

Don't take the new thing God is doing in your church and build an old wineskin for it.

Here's an example: Outreach Cinema. "We help you reach your church and local community by providing a turnkey feature film experience that is easy, 100%, safe, and potentially life transforming." You're probably planning to put seats in your building, and many churches are using overhead screens to aid in worship. If you aren't planning for overhead screens, but you think this is something that could really help you reach your neighbors, maybe you should think about those screens.

first impressions

2007-06-11T10:59:00.000-06:00

Todd Rhoades posted an interesting article on Insight last week about first impressions.

The main thrust of the article was on making sure your church website is catchy, but - and he mentions this - the same principal applies to your building. We like to quote the statistic that it takes about three seconds for someone to decide if he'll return to your church, but it may not even take that long.

A study of internet users, reported at nature.com, shows, "the brain can make flash judgements almost as fast as the eye can take in the information." While this study, again, focused on how users judge websites, the "halo effect" has long been recognized by psychologists as, "a potential inaccuracy in observation, due to overgeneralization from a limited amount of evidence or the influence of preconceived beliefs."

Andy Stanley, pastor of North Point Community Church, put it more simply when he said, "Your sermon starts in the parking lot."

What do visitors to your church see in the first 50 milliseconds that your building comes into view? What do they see within 50 milliseconds of walking in the front door? And more importantly, what do you want them to see?

don't get too relevant

2007-06-08T10:22:00.000-06:00

The Church Marketing Sucks blog takes a weekly poll. Last week's question was, "What is the number one thing that would make you leave your church?" The slight majority of roughly 300 voters said, "The church foresakes traditions of Scripture for relevance."

There's no way to know the demographic of the voters here, but judging from the forum and the profile pics on most of those who participate in their Church Marketing Lab on Flickr, it's probably safe to say they're mostly tech-savvy, artistic, twenty-somethings. Not the crowd we may normally think of as the, "We don't need a Starbucks; this is a church!" voices.

Of course that's not what these voters are saying, but it is interesting to note that while design may be the most powerful force a local church has to either attract or deter young adults (the population segment that generally feels the most rejected by the Church), even they would have you be a church before they'd have you be a community center.

Yes, you need a relevant facility for your ministry, but this may be further evidence that you first need to discover the vision/purpose for your minsitry. Yes, third place is important and will help you reach the unchurched in your community, but take care not to get so caught up in espresso that the sermon suffers.

College-Level Faith Part 2

2007-06-06T12:36:00.000-06:00

On Monday we reported the increase in Christian activity on college campuses all over the country. Today, we bring you a LifeWay Research report that shows young adults (18 - 34) are falling away from the church. Consider:

In 1980, more than 100,000 young adults were baptized on Southern Baptist churches. In 2005, that number dropped to just over 60,000. That's huge when you consider the population growth in America at the same time.

Do the studies contradict one another? Not at all.

First of all, the Christian Post article from our Monday meeting only looked at college students. LifeWay is reporting on people as old as 34. If the numbers are up for 18 to 22 year-olds, and down for 18 to 34 year-olds it's not hard to determine where the drop-off is. What is happening to Christian college students in the later years, or immediately after college?

Second, and possibly in answer to our own question, the Rainer Research quoted Monday showed that Third Place space is most important to people between the ages of 18 and 24. LifeWay concurs,

Seventy-three percent of church members and 47 percent of non-affiliated young adults inidcated that community with other young adults is extremely important in their lives.

The lack of opportunity for connection within the church proves to be a frustration point for young adults. One study participant said, "After graduation they give you a pat on the back and say, 'When you start a family, we'll be here for you.'"

Connection - or the lack thereof - is the number one reason young adults don't find church relevant to their lives.

So if social/Third Place space is the number one thing young adults are looking for in Christian communities - and if attendance is on the rise at college, and falling in local churches - that tells us they are connecting with their peers at college, but not at home.

The question remains: Is your ministry ready for the college students coming home in the next few days and weeks? Where will they meet friends? Will they be comfortable in your church building, or will it feel like their parents' institution?

get passionate, get vision, then build

2007-06-05T10:30:00.000-06:00

"Relevance should be the supernatural consequence of Kingdom-living."

There's a great article posted on Relevant Magazine's website titled, Pursuing Relevance. Jason Johnson writes,

The truth, however, is that when we engage ourselves in pursing the Kingdom of God and setting our hearts on becoming a people through which His Kingdom is most effectively able to be ushered into this world, then our lives will supernaturally develop within them a brokenness for the broken, a longing for the lost, a hope for the hopeless, and a love for those who do not know love.

The idea reminds me very much of what Thom Rainer refers to as the "VIP (Vision Intersection Profile) Factor" in his book Breakout Churches. The VIP Factor is where the passions of church leadership, the passions of the congregation, and the needs of the community all intersect. It is where a local church's vision is not developed, but discovered.

So what on earth does this have to do with church architecture? Everything.

In Before You Build, Bill Couchenour emphasizes over and over again that a church building is just a tool to aid in ministry. He encourages church leaders to celebrate the completion of a building or renovation project as a beginning, not an end, because that is what it should be: the beginning of the next thing God has called your church into.

What vision do you have for your ministry? Where and to whom is God calling your congregation? Where do your passions, the passions of your people, and the needs of your community meet? Is your vision a statement on paper, or something the members of your church are living out?

If you're starting or considering any kind of building project, make sure everyone is after the same vision. If your community needs a Christian pre-school program and there are volunteers in your church who love toddlers, maybe you need to add or expand their classrooms/playground. If there's a community college in your neighborhood, maybe you need more Third Place space.

Ed Bahler recently commented on the Cornerstone Conference Blog that,

Buying property or designing buildings without clarity of both 'Code' and 'Calling' is analogous to beginning a vacation without a clear destination ... resulting in the risk of backtracking, wrong destinations, frustration, and hesitation.

National Community Church is an example of a church doing this right. Their vision is to reach the unchurched in the Washington, D.C. area, so they have foresaken the idea of constructing their own church home in order to meet in movie theaters at Metro stations around the city.

College-Level Faith

2007-06-04T13:11:00.000-06:00

Faith is in on college campuses across America, according to a recent Christian Post article. Some of the largest campus ministry groups have expanded dramatically in the past two years, and even seminaries are seeing record enrollment numbers.

Harvard University’s preacher told the New York Times, “There is probably more active religious life now than there has been in 100 years.”

Terry Erickson, the director of evangelism for InterVarsity commented that, “In the last two school years we have seen exciting growth in the number of students who have come to faith in Jesus Christ.” The group reported that over 1000 college students came to faith in Jesus Christ through their ministry events during the 06-07 school year.

A 2004 UCLA study found that nearly half of university freshman say they are seeking opportunities to grow spiritually.

But summer is nearly upon us, and many of these baby Christians will be returning home for three to four months to meet old friends, work part-time jobs, and either encourage or forget their new faith.

How many will return to your town? Does your church have a ministry that speaks to the culture of college students? Is there space in your facility where they will feel comfortable and at home?

With half of those returning home from their first year of college, “seeking opportunities to grow spiritually,” your ministry may not need to emphasize outreach – they’ll come to you. But will they return? Will your ministry be able to encourage and strengthen their faith before they return to the mission field that is the American college campus?

A Rainer Research Group report conducted for the Cornerstone Knowledge Network earlier this year found that comfortable worship space and inviting social (third place) spaces are the two most important areas of a church facility to the formerly unchurched. That third place space is most important to those between the ages of 18 and 24. How well will your facility be serving your community this summer?

facts on growth

2007-05-01T08:58:00.000-06:00

Faith Communities Today and the Cooperative Congregational Studies Partnership (CCSP) has released Facts on Growth - a study of over 14,000 local churches, synagogues, parishes, temples and mosques to see what makes congregations grow (or not). Here are some interesting tidbits:

Tidbit #1: Congregations located in newer suburbs are more likely to experience growth than congregations in any other type of location. (If you're not in a new suburb, we do not recommend moving your church to one just to grow the congregation.)

Tidbit #2: Congregations that are composed of 2+ racial/ethnic groups are more likely to have experienced strong growth in worship attendance.

Tidbit #3: How old are your congregants? Congregations where older adults (60+) compromise 20% or less of active adult participation are most likely to grow. Similarly, larger proportions of younger adults lead to growth opportunities. Read: Your church needs to reach young adults and families.

Tidbit #4: A higher proportion of women is associated with decline. "As was the case for younger adults, the congregation that is able to attract larger proportions of men, who also tend to be less religiously active, is the exceptional congregation - and is more likely to grow."

Tidbit #5: Conservative or liberal? Growth is least likely among congregations that say they are "right in the middle." Only 27% of centrist congregations are growing at the highest level.

Tidbit #6: "More important that theological orientation is the religious character of the congregation and clarity of mission and purpose. Growing churches are clear about why they exist and about what they are to be doing."

Tidbit #7: Congregations that have experienced major conflict are quite likely to have declined in attendance (42% did). The interesting thing here is that minor conflicts didn't seem to have much affect. That's how important it is to not let a little problem get out of hand - 24% important.

Tidbit #8: Make a joyful noise. 86% of the congregations who described their worship as "joyful" are experiencing strong growth, whereas almost 60% of congregations who described their worship as "reverent" are declining in attendance.

Tidbit #9: Congregations that involve children in worship were more likely to experience significant growth.

Tidbit #10: The programmatic activity that is most strongly related to growth is establishing or maintaining a web site for the congregation.

Tidbit #11: Have a party. 44% of congregations that sponsor an event to attract non-members experience significant growth.

green buildings

2007-04-25T08:11:00.000-06:00

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and its Committee on the Environment (COTE) have selected the top ten examples of sustainable architecture and green design solutions that protect and enhance the environment. The projects will be honored on May 3rd at the AIA 2007 National Convention and Design Exposition in San Antonio.

"What few people realize is that buildings have the greatest impact on climate change — more than transportation and industry — because they consume so much electricity and natural gas, and they're all powered by power plants that themselves produce carbon emissions," said AIA spokesman Scott Frank.

In alphabetical order, the winners are:

EpiCenter, Artists for Humanity in Boston, MA
Global Ecology Research Center in Stanford, CA
Government Canyon Visitor Center in Helotes, TX
Hawaii Gateway Energy Center in Kailua-Kona, HI
Heifer International in Little Rock, AR (pictured above)
Sidwel Friends Middle School in Washington, DC
Wayne L. Morse U.S. Courthouse in Eugene, OR
Whitney Water Purification Facility in New Haven, CT
Willingboro Master Plan & Public Library in Willingboro, NJ
Z6 House in Santa Monica, CA

Nickelback video

2007-04-20T08:04:00.000-06:00

Don likes this one. Savin' Me by Nickelback.

Christian vs. Christ Follwer #4

2007-04-18T07:13:00.001-06:00

And finally ...