Four decades as a church architect and dozens of buildings later Bowman concedes that building and church growth do not necessarily go together. His arguments make sense to a pastor who started pastoring when Bowman started designing.
"An exciting, growing congregation builds to make room for continued growth, only to see their growth stop as soon as they build," Bowman notes. The change of focus shifts from serving people, killing church growth. Debt absorbs the energy of the church. "When building is allowed to become a church's focus, even temporarily, the church's ministries suffer and growth slows or stops," he concludes.
Three principles are suggested for having a positive building experience. First, the principle of focus. To Bow man, the church that is focused on people and their needs, both spiritual and temporal, is a growing church. Second, the principle of use. Churches make major investments in buildings for minimal use. Single-use space is the result of poor planning, and sanctuaries with fixed seating forever control the destiny of the non-growing congregation. Third, the principle of provision. Borrowing to build says subtly that God cannot be trusted to supply the church's need at the time of the need. Borrowing places the church under the lender's authority, "substituting debt for trust in God."
The book brims with other excellent pointers. The building committee should be made up of users and those who understand building processes. Planners should operate from the premise of a "ministry center." A "ministry center" uses movable seating, has carefully planned storage, has no sanctuary for the single use of worship, has low lines in scale with the people who will use it rather than for bidding vertical ones, has a foyer larger than any other part of the building, and visitor parking near the entrance of the foyer. This is just the start of a refreshing checklist!
Bowman has done well. Every page has a stimulating idea. This book is worth the reading time. It even makes me eager to lead another building pro gram!
