Place, Size, Fit, & Balance. One Church s search for the right home.

Transcription

1 Place, Size, Fit, & Balance One Church s search for the right home.

2 Findlay St Christian Church

3 The Right Place It s not all about visibility.

4 So why do Churches end up in the wrong place? The context or circumstances around them change and the Church doesn t.

5 Where is that Church?

6 Lake Washington CC Kirkland WA

7 Eminent Domain

8 Does it have Parking? $16,000 + Taxes $10,000 + Land Cost

9 Is it a Neighborhood Church or a Niche Church? Neighborhood Churches need to be located within walking distance of a residential neighborhood. Niche Churches need to be located near a Public Transit Station or major Bus Route.

10 Findlay St Household Locations Houston, we have a problem. Everyone is a far away alien. Findlay St CC changed from a neighborhood church to a niche church.

11 Neighborhood & Niche th Ave S. Findlay Street Christian Church

12 The Right Size It s not just about building for the greater glory of God.

13 So how do we determine how big a Church should be? Human social group size and sanctuary seat occupancy rates are the key factors in determining the right size for a church.

14 University Christian Church - Seattle

15 Church Building Size / Members Church - Location Size Active Members * Sunday Attendance * SF / Sunday University CC Seattle 48,400 SF 163 (???) 78 (<30)** 1613 SF Central CC Denver 35,000+/- SF 350 (???) 150 (???) 233 SF Fairview CC Kansas City MO 26,200 SF SF Old Findlay St CC Seattle 13,900 SF SF First CC Scott City KS 13,100 SF SF Lake City CC Seattle 12,640 SF SF Lake Washington CC Kirkland WA 6,900 SF SF Renton United CC Renton WA 6,700 SF SF Proposed Findlay St CC Seattle 4,300 SF SF * Statistics from 2009 DOC Yearbook ** Credible Anecdotal Information

16 Church Membership Size Small (pastoral) Churches: 100 to 150 Ac*ve Members Med-size (program) Churches: 250 to 300 Ac*ve Members Large (cathedral) Churches: 300+ Ac*ve Members

17 Old Findlay St Christian Church - Seattle

18 Findlay St CC - Timeline

19 The Magic Number 150 Primate Social Capacity closely correlates to the size of the brain s neocortex. For humans this translates to a social network of approximately is the tipping point, groups larger than 150 tend to splinter into two or more smaller groups. The Tipping Point Malcolm Gladwell

20 40 / 80 Rule

21 Sanctuary Size 150 Persons x 12 SF / person 1,800 SF or 1,700 2,100 SF Sanctuary Size should be approximately 12 +/- SF per Person

22 Proposed Findlay St CC - Seattle

23 Right Size the Not So Big Church Small Church (Pastoral) Sanctuary & Narthex 1-2 Offices 2-3 Classrooms Kitchen Medium Church (Program) Sanctuary & Narthex 2-3 Offices 3-4 Classrooms Kitchen Fellowship Hall 4,000 SF minimum 12,000 SF maximum

24 The Right Fit What were they thinking when they built this Church?

25 The Church s mission is no longer only Christian education and fellowship. Our Church buildings need to be simple and flexible structures that can accommodate a variety of uses in order to support evolving mission centered congregations.

26 First Christian Church Scott City KS

27 Lake City Christian Church Seattle

28 Classroom begets Storage This is a problem in at least half of our Churches.

29 How s that working for you?

30 Proposed Findlay St CC - Seattle

31 Proposed Findlay St CC - Seattle

32 The Right Balance It s about good stewardship of the resources we have.

33 Fairview Christian Church Kansas City!

34 Consider this: Utility costs are rising faster than inflation. Maintenance is the most often postponed line item in a budget but when it comes due it is often as an unavoidable crisis. Over the life of an average building Operating & Maintenance costs will be 3 to 6 times the original cost of the building. For Churches, that are expected to last longer this ratio is far higher.

35 How can we be good stewards of what we have been given? What s the right balance between staff salary, mission giving, facility O&M, and other program needs.

36 Operating Expenses

37 Fairview Christian Church Kansas City

38 Proposed Findlay St CC - Seattle

39 The Right Church Home Right Place Neighborhood or Niche Church Right Size Not So Big Church Right Fit Flexibility for Mission Right Balance Staff Salary vs. O&M Costs The KISS Principle Keep it Simple & Small

40 Findlay St Christian Church s Future Home