Building Programs as Missional Opportunities

Building a building does not necessarily enhance a congregation’s ability to be in mission, but it can provide the opportunity to reexamine its missional philosophy, values, vision and strategy.

Stephen Shields in “Churches in Missional Renaissance: Facilitating the Transition to a Missional Mindset” (Click Here to download the full article) says “Considering that missional ministry generally takes place outside of the four walls of the church, it’s somewhat counterintuitive that some churches pinpoint a time during a building campaign as when they began moving toward a more missional focus.”

Shields gives examples of churches for whom a building program provided the opportunity to dedicate a percentage of the money raised towards missional goals or actually changed the nature of what was being built to focus more on the needs of the community.

A service like LCEF’s Strategic Ministry Planning (Click Here) can help a congregation do the necessary missional reexamination before moving ahead with a building. SMP’s process is based on a “House of Decisions” model. Most congregations start out with second floor concerns instead of foundational concerns (theology) and first floor concerns (missiology).


A building program can be a missional opportunity if it is based on a reexamination of your vision and values and if it results in a case statement that reflects those values.