BUILDING YOUR FIRST BUILDING – PART 2

Author: Pastor Jason Stoeber​

​Ok, so you have prayed about it and the church is ready…building is about to commence!
 
I am not going to deal with the construction side of things as there are many groups that are able to assist with your building project! (If you need any help in this area, reach out to us and we will see what we can do!)
 
DURING:

During the building project, the Pastor ends up wearing a lot of hats! In many cases he is not only pastoring a growing church, but also is acting as the general contractor and chief decorator! Keeping life and ministry in balance during a building project is difficult, but extremely necessary.

 

1. Keep the main thing the main thing.
It is vital to keep ministry in the forefront of all you do. Just because a church is building doesn’t mean the church should stop fulfilling the Great Commission!
Keep your preaching red-hot—don’t let tiredness or discouragement keep you from feeding the sheep every time you step behind the pulpit! (And don’t mention the building project in every message you preach…the people need a break too!)
Keep missions exciting. Keep world evangelization before the people at all times…don’t diminish it! It is easy for a church to become ‘inwardly focused’ during building projects – missions will help them look out at what is really important!
Don’t cancel standard soul winning times just to gain a few extra hours of work on the building! Again, it’s about staying ‘outwardly’ focused all the time and reaching the lost with the Gospel!
Find ways to encourage church fellowship during this time! You will be tired. Your church people will be tired. Still, be creative and enjoy some church fellowship! Satan can use this time put division and dissention in the church—staying close as a church family will help keep that to a minimum.
 
2. Expect the unexpected.
Not to sound like a broken record, but Satan can use this time very negatively in a church—it is a wise pastor that understands this and prepares for as much as he can!

Faithfulness to church services sometimes suffers—people are tired and have spent extra time working at the church. Love them. Encourage them. Pray for them.
The normal duties we all have and enjoy (hospital visits, shut-ins, etc…) can become burdensome. Grow in your walk with God. Let His strength serve through you.
Sometimes people leave during or shortly after the building project is over. Sometimes there are explanations and sometimes there are not! Often times, this is just God removing some of the ‘scaffolding’ from the new church so it can continue to grow. Pray it doesn’t happen, but don’t become defeated if/when it does.