Discussion Questions for Building Momentum - LifeWay Architecture
Discussion Questions for Building Momentum
Building Momentum
The following questions will assist church members L e a d i n g Yo u r C hu r c h t o P l a n a n d B u i l d E f fe c t i v e Fa c i l i t i e s f o r M i n i s t r y involved in a building team to reach the maximum Gary Nicholson benefit from the LifeWay book Building Momentum. Ideally, the study would be completed before beginning a project, but it could be done as the project progresses. The questions are organized so the group can study one chapter at a time (meeting once a week, every two weeks, or even once a month). Another possibility is to use this as a guide for retreat sessions to train the team for the project.
• Encourage the group to read the chapter before coming to the meeting • Begin each meeting with prayer and a discussion of the questions for that chapter • Follow up with a general discussion of the concepts involved • Close with prayer for the group to apply what they learn
Chapter One: Lay the Spiritual Foundation 1. Discuss the seven roles of a spiritual leader. Are there any of these that will come harder to you than others? What other roles should spiritual leaders take on? 2. Nehemiah had a vision to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. What’s the difference between a vision and a dream? 3. Read Nehemiah’s prayer in Nehemiah 1:4-11 and share a prayer for your church. 4. As you think about all of the ways opposition could arise to your project, how will you respond? 5. Thinking about your project, what will you consider to be success? How will you know when you attain it? 6. Look at the scriptures printed in the Appendix on page 193 and following. Which of these especially speaks to you? Why? Choose a few to enlarge and if possible, post in a conspicuous place to remind you of the importance of some key scriptural principles throughout the process.
Chapter Two: The Challenge 1. What part of a building program makes you the most uncomfortable? Why? What can we learn from that? 2. Have you seen evidence of spiritual battles surrounding this project? If so, what? If not, what kind of attacks are you expecting? 3. Is there anything between you and God, or you and another person that could hinder your relationship? Have you confessed and made it right? If not, do so now.
(continued on next page)
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Chapter Two: The Challenge (continued) 4. Can you tell about a time when God enabled you to do something you did not think you could do? What new abilities might you need for this task? 5. What are some reliable sources for wisdom and guidance you could turn to for this project? 6. What other obligations in your life are you most concerned about balancing with this project? How can you maintain balance? 7. What are some things you can teach your church through a project like this? 8. What is meant by “a stewardship mindset?” How does the parable of the talents speak to you about the finances of your project?
Chapter Three: Getting Started 1. Discuss the three analogies of the building as: container, billboard and tool. How do these help you see the importance of the current project? 2. How would you define your church’s mission field? What characteristics of a building might be important to be effective in reaching these people? How might this change in the next 10-20 years? 3. How important are beauty and aesthetics to your facilities? Why? 4. Based on the five factors discussed in the book, is it the right time for your church to build? What needs to happen to make the time right? 5. Does your church currently have momentum going into this project? What can you do to assure you maintain, or increase the momentum of the church as the project progresses? How can you create and sustain momentum for the project itself? 6. What are some expectations people have for your project that may or may not prove to be correct? How should you address those?
Chapter Four: Start Where You Are 1. Are there “wants” that might be confused with “needs” in your project? How can you tell the difference? 2. Discuss the difference between growth space and support space. Why is it important to distinguish these? 3. What percentage of your attendance is made up of preschoolers? Children? Youth? Adults? What does this say about your church? 4. What areas of your ministry are at or above 80% full in their current space? Are there some that will reach this point in the next few years? 5. What are some benefits of adding another service of worship or moving Sunday School to two hours? 6. How critical is parking to your church? Do you have enough available parking to reach the number of people you are designing for? Why is that important? 7. How would you describe the homes and offices of the people on your mission field? Do your current facilities measure up? How do you expect these standards and expectations to change over time? (continued on next page)
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Chapter Four: Start Where You Are (continued) 8. Discuss the three questions on page 115. What are your most critical needs? 9. Is there an alternative to building that makes sense for your church to investigate or try? What are the possible risks and rewards of such an approach? 10. Does a “quality gap” exist between your facilities and the expectations of those you are trying to reach? In what areas? Which is the highest priority to correct? 11. Brainstorm needs that have been identified by your team and suggested by others. Do the exercise on pages 124-125 to prioritize these. 12. Brainstorm several ways you can communicate about the project to different ears. What are some groups or populations that you need to address? Which communication methods will work best with these groups? 13. How important is being united as a congregation? What level of agreement is enough to move forward? 14. What are some of the more emotionally charged issues we may need to face? Is it worth risking turmoil to address these? 15. What is the appropriate level of input and authorization for your team to get from the congregation? How often should you need to get approval for actions?
Chapter Five: Prepare to Build 1. Of the three sources of funds discussed in the book (cash in hand, capital funds raised and borrowing), how much do you think you can count on from each of these? 2. Using the method described in the book, what is your estimate of the maximum total project budget your church can afford? What amount of this would be the building construction cost? 3. Why is it a good idea to obtain or update a master plan before engaging in designing your project? 4. Discuss the importance of getting a good architect on your team. How might the right architect be a key to the success of your project? 5. Of the three delivery systems described, what are the advantages and disadvantages of each? Which do you think is best for your church? 6. How and when will value engineering be done for your project? During or at the end of the design process? Why?
Chapter Six: Construction
1. What are the ways you can celebrate your success? How will you celebrate the groundbreaking for your project? 2. Who will be the spokesperson for the church during the construction of the project? 3. What amount in your budget is set aside for contingencies? (Two to five percent is generally recommended) 4. What areas of your church organizational structure might need to be enlarged to staff your enlarged facilities properly? (continued on next page)
615.251.2466 • [email protected] • www.lifeway.com/arch
Chapter Six: Construction (continued) 5. What do you visualize the mood being like at the dedication? What words do you want to hear people use to describe the finished product of the building program? 6. What positive changes do you want to result from the project? What can you do to be sure this happens? 7. After reading “Screwtape on Church Building” (page 182) discuss the ways you have seen attacks on the church in the past, and how you can be on guard to avoid falling into these traps in the future. 8. After reading the responsibilities of the owner, architect, and contractor beginning on page 202, will you need to hire additional help to assist through some of these items? Who would you turn to for this help – your architect? A contractor? A lawyer? Others?
This content is copyrighted by Lifeway Architecture and permission is granted to duplicate in the original format.
LifeWay Architecture One LifeWay Plaza Nashville, TN 37234-0168 Phone 615.251.2466 [email protected] www.lifeway.com/arch
615.251.2466 • [email protected] • www.lifeway.com/arch
Building Momentum
The following questions will assist church members L e a d i n g Yo u r C hu r c h t o P l a n a n d B u i l d E f fe c t i v e Fa c i l i t i e s f o r M i n i s t r y involved in a building team to reach the maximum Gary Nicholson benefit from the LifeWay book Building Momentum. Ideally, the study would be completed before beginning a project, but it could be done as the project progresses. The questions are organized so the group can study one chapter at a time (meeting once a week, every two weeks, or even once a month). Another possibility is to use this as a guide for retreat sessions to train the team for the project.
• Encourage the group to read the chapter before coming to the meeting • Begin each meeting with prayer and a discussion of the questions for that chapter • Follow up with a general discussion of the concepts involved • Close with prayer for the group to apply what they learn
Chapter One: Lay the Spiritual Foundation 1. Discuss the seven roles of a spiritual leader. Are there any of these that will come harder to you than others? What other roles should spiritual leaders take on? 2. Nehemiah had a vision to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. What’s the difference between a vision and a dream? 3. Read Nehemiah’s prayer in Nehemiah 1:4-11 and share a prayer for your church. 4. As you think about all of the ways opposition could arise to your project, how will you respond? 5. Thinking about your project, what will you consider to be success? How will you know when you attain it? 6. Look at the scriptures printed in the Appendix on page 193 and following. Which of these especially speaks to you? Why? Choose a few to enlarge and if possible, post in a conspicuous place to remind you of the importance of some key scriptural principles throughout the process.
Chapter Two: The Challenge 1. What part of a building program makes you the most uncomfortable? Why? What can we learn from that? 2. Have you seen evidence of spiritual battles surrounding this project? If so, what? If not, what kind of attacks are you expecting? 3. Is there anything between you and God, or you and another person that could hinder your relationship? Have you confessed and made it right? If not, do so now.
(continued on next page)
615.251.2466 • [email protected] • www.lifeway.com/arch
Chapter Two: The Challenge (continued) 4. Can you tell about a time when God enabled you to do something you did not think you could do? What new abilities might you need for this task? 5. What are some reliable sources for wisdom and guidance you could turn to for this project? 6. What other obligations in your life are you most concerned about balancing with this project? How can you maintain balance? 7. What are some things you can teach your church through a project like this? 8. What is meant by “a stewardship mindset?” How does the parable of the talents speak to you about the finances of your project?
Chapter Three: Getting Started 1. Discuss the three analogies of the building as: container, billboard and tool. How do these help you see the importance of the current project? 2. How would you define your church’s mission field? What characteristics of a building might be important to be effective in reaching these people? How might this change in the next 10-20 years? 3. How important are beauty and aesthetics to your facilities? Why? 4. Based on the five factors discussed in the book, is it the right time for your church to build? What needs to happen to make the time right? 5. Does your church currently have momentum going into this project? What can you do to assure you maintain, or increase the momentum of the church as the project progresses? How can you create and sustain momentum for the project itself? 6. What are some expectations people have for your project that may or may not prove to be correct? How should you address those?
Chapter Four: Start Where You Are 1. Are there “wants” that might be confused with “needs” in your project? How can you tell the difference? 2. Discuss the difference between growth space and support space. Why is it important to distinguish these? 3. What percentage of your attendance is made up of preschoolers? Children? Youth? Adults? What does this say about your church? 4. What areas of your ministry are at or above 80% full in their current space? Are there some that will reach this point in the next few years? 5. What are some benefits of adding another service of worship or moving Sunday School to two hours? 6. How critical is parking to your church? Do you have enough available parking to reach the number of people you are designing for? Why is that important? 7. How would you describe the homes and offices of the people on your mission field? Do your current facilities measure up? How do you expect these standards and expectations to change over time? (continued on next page)
615.251.2466 • [email protected] • www.lifeway.com/arch
Chapter Four: Start Where You Are (continued) 8. Discuss the three questions on page 115. What are your most critical needs? 9. Is there an alternative to building that makes sense for your church to investigate or try? What are the possible risks and rewards of such an approach? 10. Does a “quality gap” exist between your facilities and the expectations of those you are trying to reach? In what areas? Which is the highest priority to correct? 11. Brainstorm needs that have been identified by your team and suggested by others. Do the exercise on pages 124-125 to prioritize these. 12. Brainstorm several ways you can communicate about the project to different ears. What are some groups or populations that you need to address? Which communication methods will work best with these groups? 13. How important is being united as a congregation? What level of agreement is enough to move forward? 14. What are some of the more emotionally charged issues we may need to face? Is it worth risking turmoil to address these? 15. What is the appropriate level of input and authorization for your team to get from the congregation? How often should you need to get approval for actions?
Chapter Five: Prepare to Build 1. Of the three sources of funds discussed in the book (cash in hand, capital funds raised and borrowing), how much do you think you can count on from each of these? 2. Using the method described in the book, what is your estimate of the maximum total project budget your church can afford? What amount of this would be the building construction cost? 3. Why is it a good idea to obtain or update a master plan before engaging in designing your project? 4. Discuss the importance of getting a good architect on your team. How might the right architect be a key to the success of your project? 5. Of the three delivery systems described, what are the advantages and disadvantages of each? Which do you think is best for your church? 6. How and when will value engineering be done for your project? During or at the end of the design process? Why?
Chapter Six: Construction
1. What are the ways you can celebrate your success? How will you celebrate the groundbreaking for your project? 2. Who will be the spokesperson for the church during the construction of the project? 3. What amount in your budget is set aside for contingencies? (Two to five percent is generally recommended) 4. What areas of your church organizational structure might need to be enlarged to staff your enlarged facilities properly? (continued on next page)
615.251.2466 • [email protected] • www.lifeway.com/arch
Chapter Six: Construction (continued) 5. What do you visualize the mood being like at the dedication? What words do you want to hear people use to describe the finished product of the building program? 6. What positive changes do you want to result from the project? What can you do to be sure this happens? 7. After reading “Screwtape on Church Building” (page 182) discuss the ways you have seen attacks on the church in the past, and how you can be on guard to avoid falling into these traps in the future. 8. After reading the responsibilities of the owner, architect, and contractor beginning on page 202, will you need to hire additional help to assist through some of these items? Who would you turn to for this help – your architect? A contractor? A lawyer? Others?
This content is copyrighted by Lifeway Architecture and permission is granted to duplicate in the original format.
LifeWay Architecture One LifeWay Plaza Nashville, TN 37234-0168 Phone 615.251.2466 [email protected] www.lifeway.com/arch
615.251.2466 • [email protected] • www.lifeway.com/arch
