A Church Consultant Can Save You Time,
Grief, and Money
If you never considered a
church building
consultant for your building program, consider that Moses
and Solomon both got expert help for their building program.
We recommend AMI - Church Consulting
Services for your church construction
consulting requirements.
In Exodus
31:1-11 we see God provided Moses with an expert to lead his
project with "the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in
knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship.
”Similarly, we see in 2 Chronicles 2:13-14 that God, by way of
the King of Tyre, sent to Solomon, "a skillful man endowed with
understanding" to help this wisest of men with his building
program.
Both of these men had huge building projects ahead of them, but
one significant difference was that Solomon was wise enough to
know that he needed help; that wisdom alone was no replacement
for experience. Today we would call this wise counsel a
consultant, an owners rep or advocate of the church. Their
goal is to help the church build with the least amount of cost,
effort and risk.
|
Church
Building Guide
 |
Written by an experienced church
building consultant,
Preparing to Build provides
your church valuable, real-world insight based on real-world experiences and
input from hundreds of church building projects.
"Preparing to Build was an
incredible value - just a wealth of
information. The truth & his experience
jump off the pages."
Dwight VanDaveer, Engineer & Church Building Committee Member
With over 160 information packed pages, this
book will explain the process of building and how equip the saints for the
work of building the church in an effective manner that will reduce the
church's cost, risk and effort. Click for more information or to purchase. |
T. Austin Beavis, in his article entitled "How
to Save Up to 30% on the Cost of Your New Church Construction
Project" (available on
Ziegler.com) says,
"Well-intentioned church members without construction
cost expertise and creative building design experience
cannot adequately create and provide the 30% or more
potential saving that exists in almost every new
construction project. Additionally, architects and
contractors do not have adequate incentives to ensure that a
Church obtains the greatest value for the lowest possible
costs. An independent construction consultant works for the
Church, and will provide significant cost savings..."
Tip: Your lack of experience will cause you to
spend more money time and effort on a church building program
than necessary. Many architects or builders offer
"consulting services". One consideration is that
these services
are often specifically designed to feed their core business. An
independent consultant can offer a wide variety of services such as
Needs Analysis/Feasibility Studies and
Capital Stewardship; as well
as help overseeing the design and construction of your church
construction project. In most cases, a church consultant will
save your church several times he cost of their services, making
this important ministry free or even a money saving proposition
to the church.
Tip: If the consultant saves you more than their
fee, how much did the consulting really cost?
Given
the value they bring, every church should give serious
consideration to utilizing a church consultant early in the
process to help:
-
Identify and quantify needs - What does the church need
to build and why is that the right thing to build to help
the church become the vision and accomplish the mission of
the church.
-
Financial Feasibility - What can the church
afford and how will they pay for a church building program.
This may include helping the church prepare to receive a
church construction loan or
execute a capital campaign.
-
Run a Capital Campaign - A
capital stewardship
campaign can help your church raise 1.5-3x your current
annual budget in just 3 years.
-
Assist the church in
evaluating, selecting and negotiating with the architect,
engineers, builders and other professionals.
Generally speaking, the church consultant can help the church
develop understanding about what they need in balance with
what they can afford, before they hire an architect or
builder. Typically the church consultant can assist the
church in hiring these professionals, to help lend experience to
the selection and contract negotiation of these critical, but
expensive, professionals. A good church building consultant
will help your church save money, time, effort and stress in its
church building program. |
