Celebrating construction stages raises awareness

Just as congregations bathe their decisions in prayer before undertaking construction projects, they should not forget to worship God and celebrate His answers and blessings at various stages during the building process, church building experts say.
   
When Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, Georgiana, completed its youth fellowship hall in April 2003, the church held a communitywide reception with various musical guests to introduce the new building to the community.
   
“We just wanted everybody in the community to see our new building and recognize the builders and committee that helped put it together,” said Pastor Jerry Doss. “It was very successful with about 200 people attending.”
   
He added that it is beneficial for church leaders to do anything they can to let the community know what’s going on.
   
“It helped us get to know some of the people that we didn’t know in the community and let them know what we had to offer,” he said.
   
Although the completion of a new building may be the most obvious time to praise God, celebrations should not be limited to the conclusion of a project. 
   
In “Planning and Building Church Facilities,” Gwenn McCormick offers the following special promotion suggestions to churches “to focus congregational and community attention on the proposed project.”
   
–Site dedication
   
“The purchase of a site for a new work or for relocation can be magnified with a site dedication,” McCormick wrote. “This can signal the commitment of the church to begin a building project.”
   
–Plans presentation
   
McCormick noted that the church should make the larger community aware of the major facts of the project. 
   
–Awarding construction contract
   
This promotion could be as simple as preparing a news release with information about the selected contractor and basic facts about the proposed building, according to McCormick.
   
–Ground breaking
   
“This can be a significant time to emphasize the church’s heritage and to further unite the congregation for the building project,” McCormick wrote. “Find ways to involve the congregation meaningfully in this celebration.”
   
After totally losing its facilities to a gas fire in 2000, First Baptist Church, Arley, was forced to use temporary space for about two years.
   
In May 2002, the church held a ground-breaking ceremony for a new auditorium where the oldest and youngest church members were recognized.
   
“We were all excited to have a new auditorium,” said Jerrell Rogers, minister of music. “About 150 church members participated. I think it helped unite us behind the auditorium. We had been talking about it a long time and it was finally happening.”
   
The church moved into its new auditorium in June 2003.
   
–Laying the cornerstone
   
During this ceremony, mementos can be preserved in a sealed receptacle to emphasize the connection between the past and future of the church, McCormick noted.
   
–Bolt and beam day
   
“One church used the erection of a major beam as a time to focus attention on the new construction,” McCormick wrote. “The beam was described in detail and its importance to the structure emphasized.”
   
–Steeple raising
   
–Anniversaries
   
“Any significant anniversary in the life of the church can be utilized to mark and promote important aspects of the building program,” McCormick wrote. “Lessons of fidelity and commitment can be drawn from the church’s history and application can be made to the present challenge.”
   
–Homecoming
   
According to McCormick, when these events occur during a building project, significant fund-raising campaigns are usually successful.
   
–Departure day
   
McCormick urges church leaders to make sure that the last services in the old church facility are times of praise and dedication.
   
“Don’t focus on the past,” he wrote. “Call the congregation to new achievements and new victories.”
   
After their last worship service in the old facility, more than 1,500 members of Valleydale Baptist Church, Birmingham, paraded one mile down the road to its new facility.
   
“Our crossover Sunday was our effort to link the past with the future,” said Pastor Calvin Kelly.
   
“As we literally marched one mile down the road from our old campus we tried to symbolically demonstrate appreciation for God’s blessings in the past and His servants who went before us. Yet at the same time we pictured a new day for Valleydale as we looked forward to the future,” he said.
   
–Moving day
   
–Open house
   
“This is a time to reach out to the community and invite them to see the new facilities,” said McCormick. “Schedule this for a Sunday afternoon so other congregations can participate.”
   
–Dedication
   
This ceremony can be a one-day event or span over a week or month with several emphasis days, according to McCormick.
   
–Note burning
   
Gary Swafford, director of church planting and building services at the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions, recommends that churches remember to praise God through celebration once payments are complete on the building.
   
“In Nehemiah 6, when the wall was complete they called the choir together and they worshiped and celebrated,” Swafford explained. “Celebration of completing the payments, marking milestones and giving honor to the Lord for leading the congregation to complete the task is very important.”
   
Because emphasis on paying off the mortgage can lead to decreased giving, McCormick suggests that churches hosting this type of ceremony “guard against this by holding up a goal and a dream for the church to continue to pursue.”
   
No matter how a church decides to observe the completion of a building project, some sort of celebration should occur, Swafford added.
   
“The completion of a building marks the beginning of a ministry,” he said. “While we celebrate and dedicate the building to the Lord, we should commit ourselves to the new and expanded ministry opportunity that the building makes possible.”