Wildesign Group Architects Inc.

We often encourage churches to resist the “If You Build It, They Will Come” mentality. While facilities can help or hinder a ministry, they should not drive the ministry—if they do, then the tail is wagging the dog. It’s true that new or enhanced spaces can attract attention and may even draw people in for a closer look. But they will not stay unless they connect with a vibrant ministry—or if the church is becoming a nice community club with some morals, good things for the kids, and nice facilities. That’s why, when we work with churches, our goal is not just to complete a renovation or building project, but for the church body to embrace the purpose of the new space—as a tool for ministry.

So, naturally, Michael Craven’s recent blog title caught my eye, “If You Build It, They Will Come, Ecclesiology.” Responding to Michael Spencer’s recent “The Coming Evangelical Collapse,” Craven suggests that:

“The new ecclesiastical premise is that the worshipping congregation exists for the lost, the person not actually in the church. Build a building, strategically located (based on the latest demographic trends/data), make it nice, and hope they come. Given this new target audience, we then make some compromises. The sermon can’t focus on doctrine and theology; that might be confusing to visitors. So we jettison expository preaching—aimed at equipping the saints—for topical preaching addressing felt needs. This changes as the felt needs change and the Body never gets anything more than lowfat milk!”

Craven clearly welcomes the lost to worship services. But he challenges this new ecclesiology that has replaced theological depth with business models and strategies. Churches can certainly benefit from those strategies, but they can evolve from helpful approaches for ministry effectiveness into the ministry itself—that’s the tail wagging the dog.

Any facility evaluation and subsequent building project must be grounded in the mission, vision, purpose, giftedness and passion of a church fulfilling its part of the Great Commission. When that happens, then the dog is wagging the tail. And finished building projects can be tools for ministry use, renewal, launching, and/or energizing—all for the glory of God.