Project help available to Alabama churches
Readers of The Alabama Baptist often see photographs of church members smiling at the camera as they simultaneously lift shovels full of dirt from a new building site.
If they plan to have a smooth building process, the ground-breaking ceremony will come only after a lot of preliminary work has been done.
What steps should a church take in beginning a building program?
Gary Swafford, who heads the new work and church building services office at the Alabama State Board of Missions (SBOM), likes to talk to building committees early in the process.
“When I talk to people about church building, they are usually at the beginning stage and asking questions,” he said. “Some of them will say, ‘We’re growing; we need to build.’
Some will say, ‘Our fellowship space is too small; we’ve got to have a bigger fellowship hall.’ In other words, for some of them it’s a general growth, and some of them have a focus.”
Whatever the need, Swafford brings the focus to people.
“I ask, ‘To minister to people, and to reach more people, have you felt the Lord leading you to do this?’ I try to combine spiritual purpose with a people focus,” Swafford said. “At this stage, I like to get them to focus on people, then we’ll come to the building that will fit their purpose.
“We try to work with them until we’re ready to point them to a specialist, like an architect or an interior designer,” he said. “We’re the generalists, not the professionals.”
In the past, an architect was available to help churches draw up plans.
Although Alabama law requires that an architect be used for all church buildings in Alabama, that service is no longer available from the SBOM.
“There have been so many changes in building regulations that it is no longer feasible to provide that service,” Swafford said. “We now recommend a local architect who is aware of all the laws and building codes in an area.”
Of the 300 churches that call the SBOM for help yearly, about 120–140 will need a site visit. Swafford has a team of eight “special workers” who make the visits.
None of the special workers are on staff at the SBOM, but all have expertise and interest in the building process.
Following the initial consultation, Swafford mails an informational packet to the church, then schedules a site visit.
The visiting special worker usually conducts a space analysis to determine how effectively the present space is being used, and looks at anticipated growth.
The worker’s visit and analysis forms the basis for the building committee to work up a proposal on building needs.
At that point, according to Swafford, the church is ready to move forward with a project by calling an architect.
“Our service speeds up the process and saves the church some money, because we get them ready for the architect,” Swafford said.
“When they have done their homework and call the architect, he’s able to get on with it quickly,” he added.
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