Monday, May 21, 2018

Hey Fletch … I’m an XP and we just raised $10 million for a new building. Now what?

DRF—The simplicity of the question has profound implications. It reminds me of the movie “The Candidate.” Though Bill McKay (played by Robert Redford) has no hope of winning a Senate race, he succeeds. A final shot is McKay getting into a car and saying, “What do we do now?” McKay had a plan on running for the Senate but not for being a Senator.

Raising funds for a new building is the first part of the plan. It is like winning the Senate seat. Now you need to consider the master plan for your campus, define the exact use of the building, do a Request For Proposal (RFP) for an architect and builder, survive the building process and then move in.

Most Senior Pastors and Executive Pastors are ill-equipped to plan a building and oversee the contractor. To get to that step, you first need an architect who understands your vision and a builder who will construct it.

Get a a great team of advisors, consultants and an owner’s representative. For example, let’s say that you oversaw the contractor on a building project ten years ago. You are now rusty in that discipline and your experience is limited at best. Find a church member or hire someone who will work closely with the contractor. A good owner’s representative can save tens of thousands of dollars and a million headaches.

Congratulations and God’s best on your next steps.