Research On Religion » multi-site churches

Dirk Dalhausser & Kerry Jones on Building Churches

tonygill — Sun, 11 Feb 2018 09:00:48 +0000

Have you ever wanted to build a church? And by “building a church,” we’re talking about the physical building that houses the congregation. What factors go into deciding how large the building should be, what types of space should be included in the interior, and how many parking spaces need to be allotted for peak use? To answer these questions and more, we are joined by Dirk Dalhausser and Kerry Jones from Goff Companies, a national church planning, construction, and real estate business headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Mr. Dalhousser serves as a project architect and Rev. Jones is a director of church planning. Our conversation begins by getting a bit of background on our two guests and a brief history of Goff Companies. Tony then presents these gentlemen with his own plan to build a cute, little New England-style church and demands to get it up and running in a few weeks. Fortunately, both Dirk and Kerry know better and tell him to slow down and start with a preliminary consultation to develop a plan. Although our discussion here is a bit facetious, Kerry points out that it is not uncommon for pastors and boards of elders to come to their company with architectural plans already drawn up, and that these plans often are too ambitious either for the finances that the congregation has or the land that they intend to use.

Kerry and Dirk detail some of the first steps that a congregation has to go through in thinking about what the appropriate structure would be for their intended use. A conversation needs to be held as to what the congregation’s mission and top priorities are, and then an assessment of current use, growth trends, and the church’s “DNA” should be conducted. This latter analysis includes mapping out where congregants are coming from, what physical barriers are in the way of the planned site (e.g., a lake), and whether there are other demographic shifts in the area that would affect the size of the church’s membership. We note how sensitive a few miles or the need to drive around a lake can affect who attends a church. Our conversation covers a number of other features that go into the planning stage such as the visibility of the church in the community, how much land will be needed, what can realistically be built on that land, and various governmental regulations that need to be met. Many congregations that are breaking ground on a new site are often asked to help develop some of the infrastructure in the surrounding area (e.g., roads, sidewalks). Our guests bring up how the recent rise of “multi-site services,” linked by various communication technologies, are reshaping the design of churches, with a tendency towards building (or renting) more structures as compared to building megachurch building that can seat thousands of attendees.

We review a number of the important component parts that need to be considered in the building process in order to provided a balanced facility directed at the intended uses of the physical structure. The worship center (or sanctuary) is obviously a central feature of any church building, but how it is set up for audio-visual needs and attendance comes into play. Tony learns that at a distance of about 90 feet from the podium, there becomes a need to create stadium-style seating that allows those in the back to gain a better view. We also discuss semi-circle type seating that facilitates a “togetherness” feel to the services, as well as the various technology features that determine how the stage area is constructed. One of the key aspects of the seating design is to provide enough seats so that crowding doesn’t discourage people from attending, but not having too many seats such that the worship center seems “uncomfortably empty,” as Kerry calls it. The importance of a commons area is discussed. (After taping the interview, Dirk and Kerry mentioned that open commons areas tend to encourage new attendees who are not familiar with others to come in, whereas a small foyer can actually frighten guests and potential members away. The more open and easy to maneuver the commons area is, the more inviting it will be to newcomers.) We also talk about various other spaces such as educational areas and space that could be used for other activities during the week, including things that might be open to the community at large (such as places to host meetings or play basketball). Parking is another major concern that is often overlooked and Dirk notes that while many municipalities require churches to have one parking space for every 3-4 seats, a church that has several other activities going on may need to think about a 1:1 ratio. The timing of services also becomes critical for ensuring that traffic flow doesn’t become a problem that could chase people away. Tony raises some questions about tax liabilities and the parsonage (pastor’s house) and how that all factors in to the land use.

We finish off the interview with some discussion on trends within the industry. Both guests note the movement towards less “symbology” on the physical building. This is not only intended to draw in the unchurched who might be scared off by lots of religious accoutrements, but sometimes the financers providing the funds for the building want a structure that could be repurposed and sold easily should the congregation move out. Both Dirk and Kerry talk a bit about some of their favorite projects and the joy the receive from helping a church meet its goals and then later returning to see how the space has suited their needs. Both see this not only as a business, but as a calling to serve God by helping others missionize in creative ways. They finish with some of their reflections on what they have learned over the decades and what they would have told their younger selves if they had the opportunity to travel back in time. Recorded: February 9, 2018.

Thom S. Rainer on Baptist Conventions & Church Health

tonygill — Sun, 14 Jul 2013 08:00:43 +0000

Prolific author and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources, Dr. Thom S. Rainer, joins us today to talk about a various number of issues affecting Southern Baptists and American religion writ large. We start with the recent convention of the Southern Baptist Convention that was held in Houston in June, 2013. Not knowing much about the history of these gatherings, Tony asks Dr. Rainer how far back these conferences date, how often they are convened, and what purpose they serve in guiding the denomination. Thom explains the history of them, the organizational structure of the Southern Baptist denomination, and how individuals are selected to attend the yearly confab. We also review the recent history of the “Conservative Resurgence” (circal 1979-92), also known as “The Battle for the Bible,” that moved the SBC in different directions. Unlike many other conferences that bring out the goofiest in behavior of attendees, Thom points out that there were no funny hats or water balloons at this recent meeting.

We then turn to the particular issues that were raised during the June 2013 gathering, from the trivial to the important, and to some issues that didn’t make many headlines. The trivial issues include some nitpicking over types of products and services offered by the various vendors at this convention. Thom also points out an interesting event that occurred at the conference, namely the presence of the Wetboro Baptist Church (WBC) protesting outside the convention doors. He was encouraged by the presence of these protesters outside their meeting as it demonstrated to the public that WBC is not in any way affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. We then move on to some of the bigger concerns that were raised in Houston, including how individual congregations should handle their charters with the Boy Scouts of America (given the new policy on openly gay scouts) and the issue of mental health. While the former issue garnered more headlines, Thom notes that discussions about mental health — prompted by the recent suicide of Rick Warren’s son — had more profound implications for the direction of the SBC.

Following our discussion on the SBC Convention, we shift gears to discuss what constitutes a healthy church, starting with an examination of some of the major trends that have affected America’s religious landscape in the past few decades. To Tony’s surprise, the first trend that Thom raises is the increasing consolidation of church attendance in megachurches as compared to medium-sized congregations. This is coupled with an increasing tendency to create “multi-campus” or “multi-site” churches. The issue of “religious nones” also comes up and Thom makes the observation that many of the “nones” are coming from what he calls CEO Christians — i.e., religious attendees that only showed up on Christmas and Easter Only. He also observes that attendance among the “millennials” (individuals born after 1980) has also slid, but those among that age group who remain active in the church tend to be extraordinarily committed. Tony challenges Thom regarding the declining faith of youth by noting that nearly every generation has wrung their hands about the moral decline of youth; Thom responds and we both agree that there are various ebbs and flows in the history of Christianity.

The last quarter of our interview focuses on what makes a church grow and what makes a congregation stagnate, starting with the latter. Thom notes that it is fairly easy to identify what causes churches to stagnate, namely a sense of comfortableness and self-centeredness that inculcates a culture opposed to constant change. Tony asks Thom how he advises churches who are in this stagnation mode, and he notes that the first thing is to assess the clergy and members’ willingness to change. Interestingly, he notes that about 90% of congregations that have this problem do not want to make any significant changes to change the direction of stagnation. Nonetheless, there are 10% who do make changes and “breakout,” to which Thom provides a few examples of congregations that make changes without firing the pastor (as the most common way a church deals with stagnation is to toss the minister at the podium). This discussion includes thoughts on what it takes to motivate “tired” clergy and includes a personal story that proved very important in Thom’s own life. Finally, we finish with a few seemingly “trivial” details about what makes for a successful church, but which can have a major impact on attendance and the vitality of a congregation. Such things include the proper size for the sanctuary so that the services feel well-attended but not over-crowded, the number of parking spaces available, how to encourage an appropriate level of giving, and the width of chairs! Recorded: June 18, 2013.