But does more space mean better ministry?
Contact: Louise Ferrebee, Christianity Today International, 630-260-6200 ext 4246, lferrebee@christianitytoday.com
CAROL STREAM, Ill., Sept. 28 /Christian Newswire/ -- According to a survey conducted by Christianity Today International and Cornerstone Knowledge Network (CKN) earlier this year, four out of the five types of expansion projects churches undertook in recent years were done to enhance the ability to effectively minister to current members rather than the "unchurched" -- those who do not attend church yet. Launching a multi-site venue off-site is the only expansion project that respondents say effectively ministers to those who are unchurched, yet only eight percent of the churches surveyed launched one in the last three years. Nursery/children's areas and classroom space were the top two types of facilities/ministry space expansion projects.
Of the more than 1,000 church leaders who participated in the survey, which included senior pastors, executive pastors, and business administrators, three-fourths recently expanded ministry space and out of this, 34 percent did so in the last three years. Of the churches that didn't expand in the past three years, the top reasons were financial limitations and either flat, or declining, church attendance.
The goal of the Study on Ministry Space Expansion was to better understand how churches view their ministry space and to gauge their feelings about recent ministry space expansion. The study also aimed to determine why other churches have not expanded and, if they wish to expand, what elements of their ministry space they most want to expand. The study also attempted to identify correlations between the types of expansion, church growth rate, and makeup of growth.
"This study points to an important dynamic as churches expand their ministry space, which is there are many options when it comes to accommodating growth," said Jim Couchenour, director of ministry services for Cogun, Inc, a design/build firm for churches and a co-founder of CKN. "It's also exciting to see that one of the more popular expansion choices is multi-site, which happens to be one of the most effective at reaching the unchurched."
For a free copy of the executive report of the survey findings go to BuildingForMinistry.com or YourChurchResources.com.
Christianity Today International is a not-for-profit Christian media ministry founded by Billy Graham in 1956, with 9 publications and an award-winning website reaching more than 2.5-million unique visitors monthly.
