Class 101 - Planning a Building Program

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. This course goes far beyond developing your purpose, vision, mission and core values. Where is God taking your ministry and how will you get there? What are your long and short goals, your strategies, objectives and action plans? What will your ministry staff have to do today in order to keep your ministry on course and to move your ministry closer to the realization of it’s full potential? This course will fill in the gaps and teach you how to develop and implement a proven strategy, highlighting sample strategic plans from some of America's fastest growing churches.

You will leave this class knowing how to:

1. Conduct a S. W. O. T. (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis for your ministry to identify areas that require immediate attention.
2. Define the core values of your ministry as a benchmark for remaining focused.
3. Develop a purpose statement for your ministry founded on your core values.
4. Identify your long range vision so you will have a tangible way of marking progress.
5. Develop your mission strategy, a high level game plan.
6. Determine long range and short term goals that underscore your strategy.
7. Identify objectives and tactics that make measurable strides toward your goals.
8. Align your daily executable activities with your strategic ministry plan.

Attachments: An outline of the development process for your Strategic Ministry Plan and Sample Strategic Ministry Plans from some of the nation’s fastest growing churches, but no plan that is strategic can be cut and pasted. This is why our course guides you through the process of creating a custom course for ministry success. Also included is a sample organizational chart.

It has often been said, "What you don’t know won’t hurt you."  When it comes to building new church facilities, what you don’t know can be devastating.  The design, development, finance, and construction of a new facility can be a very rewarding and positive experience when done correctly.  In any building program there exists a maze of complex decision, obstacles, and problems that stand between you and your completed facility.  Our goal at Harvestime University is to utilize our experience and guide you through that maze without interrupting your ongoing ministry.  Far too often, building committees embark blindly into the field of church development, only to make the same mistakes that other committees have made before.  Sometimes big mistakes and sometime small, but in short, “church development by trial and error” accurately describes the typical building program.  This type of learning process can be very expensive.

Harvestime offers you an alternative.  We have been down the road you are about to travel.  Many times, in fact.  We have identified the pitfalls, detours, roadblocks, and other hazards that have damaged other building programs.  By acting as your road map, we can steer you and your building committee around these obstacles and make your building program a truly rewarding experience.  Harvestime is a veteran of hundreds of building programs, and our team has the experience and knowledge to guide you through the development process.  This class will identify and define the following steps:

Step #1 – Develop Your Strategic Ministry Plan
Step #2 -  Determine Long – Range Facility Needs / Master Plan
Step #3 -  Site Selection / Acquisition
Step #4   – Financial Analysis / Loan Documentation
Step #5   – Project Phasing / Phase 1 Schematics
Step #6  – Fund Raising / 3-D Virtual Tour
Step #7   – Zoning and Planning Department Approvals
Step #8  – Construction Drawings / Building Permits
Step #9   – Construction Financing and Mobilization
Step #10 – Construction / Occupancy Permit / Move-In

Attachment: An outline of the 10 step Development Process

In the old days, when a church wanted to build, they simply put together a small building committee, charged them with “getting it done” then stood back and watched. Often there was a realtor or a mortgage professional leading the team who had residential but not commercial experience. Today the process is much more complicated and involves multiple, specialized teams each focused on specific tasks. This class will break down the process and show you what teams need to accomplish what tasks in order to guarantee the success of your building program.

1. The Prayer Team
2. The Communications Team
3. The Growth Team
4. The Programs TeamThe Finance and Fund Raising Team
5. The Land Acquisition Team
6. The Interiors Team
7. The Technical Systems Team

Attachment: Job Descriptions of the Long Range Planning Task Force

The development team is made up of multiple organizations from outside the church.  This course will identify all involved parties of a church buildout, provide a detailed job description for each and specify what they should charge for their services.

This class will teach you how to understand the roles of choose these members of the development team:

1. Project Manager
2. Architect
3. Structural Engineer
4. Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
5. Civil Engineer
6. Landscape Designer
7. Sound, Video, Acoustic and Theatrical Lighting Consultant
8. Geotechnical Engineer
9. Fund Raising Consultant
10. Lender
11. Builder
12. Interior Designer
13. Kitchen Designer
14. Café and Bookstore Designer
15. Sprinkler and Fire Alarm System Designer
16. Security and Video Surveillance System Designer
17. Interior Themed Environment Company
18. Environmental Graphics – Interior/Exterior Signage

Professional real estate developers know how to buy land! They do not call realtors, they do not look at the MLS and they do not drive around looking at “for sale” signs! This class will save you a fortune on your next land acquisition. Creative Land Acquisition will teach you to think like a developer and look at your community through a whole new set of eyes. This class examines multiple case studies where churches acquired land at no cost and walked out of the escrow closing with very big checks!

Learn the answers to the following questions before you buy land:

1. How much land do we need to accomplish our objectives?
2. Where is the best land and how do we find it?
3. How much of our overall budget should be allocated for land acquisition?
4. How can we get land for free?
5. Where are the nearest utilities located and what will it cost to bring them to the site?
6. What type of off-site improvements will the city require?
7. Will the city require a use permit and can a church be built under the existing zoning?
8. Should the land be annexed into the city first, after construction, or not at all?
9. What, if any, environmental issues could hinder the development of this parcel?
10. Is there an easier way to deal with environmental issues?
11. What on-site improvements will be required?
12. What are the fees for sanitary and storm sewer hook-ups?
13. Are water meters in place?  Are there separate meters for domestic and irrigation waters?
14. When negotiating the purchase offer, what contingencies should there be?
15. How long should the escrow period be?
16. What are the growth patterns of your town?

Attachment: Site research and development checklist with comprehensive evaluation forms to use when looking at potential properties and where to find the answers to these questions.

Not everybody in your community is going to be excited about a new church facility being developed.  Just as Nehemiah had to deal with Sanballt, Tobiah, and Geshem the Arab, you may have neighbors who are committed to defeating your project. C.A.V.E. People (Citizens Against Virtually Everything) come in all shapes and sizes.  This course will teach you how to identify, win over and if necessary, defeat the C.A.V.E. People. Multiple case studies will be examined.

This class will teach you how to:

1. Identify the C.A.V.E. People in your community.
2. Learn their strategy for defeating your project.
3. Plan your counter strategy for overcoming opposition.
4. Win over the C.A.V.E. People prior to a public hearing.
5. Once all other strategies have been exhausted, play hardball to win!

There are a lot of hearings, approvals, permits and fees that stand between you and your completed project.  It is no secret that cities do not want more tax-exempt ministries building facilities that do not generate revenue. This class will unfold the mystery around working with government agencies and teach you how to win their support for your project. This class will identify and explain the roles and responsibilities of various government agencies (and departments within those agencies) that are involved in the development of new church facilities.

The agencies you need to know include the:

1. Planning and Zoning Department,
2. Planning Commission,
3. City Council,
4. Building Department,
5. Department of Public Works, and
6. Fire Department.

Attachment: A detailed flow chart showing how your zoning, use permits, building permits and occupancy permits are all typically processed through your local government.