Is renovating your church stressing you out? There’s a lot that goes into remodeling or renovating a church since it’s a place to worship God and also a gathering place used by hundreds or thousands of different people with their own different ideas and opinions.

These are our 5 Tips for a Smooth Church Renovation or Remodeling Project.

1. Get buy in on the renovation, remodeling, or new construction. – Take time to discuss the pros and cons with your leadership, church staff, and congregation. This will ensure that remodeling isn’t just your idea and that will help the process go much smoother.

2. Schedule your remodel or renovation project in the “off season”. – All churches have a season when a larger-than-normal portion of the congregation are not attending due to a variety of reasons. In our experience that is most often in late-spring or during summer vacation times. As school starts and the holidays get closer typically attendance becomes more stout. By planning your remodel during a time when fewer people are in attendance you’ll be able to avoid some frustration that comes with the necessary mess of a remodeling or renovation.

3. Integrate the remodeling, construction, or renovation of your church into your primary missions. – We love this idea from Dr. Chris Hefner, Senior Pastor of Wilkesboro Baptist Church in North Carolina. During their recent remodel the church decided to donate a portion of raised remodeling funds to local, national, and international mission funds. For every $100,000 tithed to remodel the church, they would donate $10,000.

They also allowed members of the congregation to write prayers on the subflooring and held a dedication ceremony for the finished remodel where they baptized multiple people. Whatever it is that is your church’s mission, make sure that it stays a primary objective during the renovation, remodeling, or construction process.

4. Don’t go it alone. – Make sure you work with a company experienced in church remodeling and construction and seek out help among your church staff and congregation. You may find there are plenty of those in your church willing to take on various tasks during your remodel that will take away much of the associated stress and keep the leader of your church focused on ministry. By working with an experienced company that has been through all of the tribulations you may face you’ll be ensuring that nothing interferes with your work for the Lord.

5. Write a detailed remodeling / construction plan. – It’s best to be prepared for large projects like this. Once you’ve settled on what you’re remodeling, renovating, or building, when you’d like to do your project, what church remodeling company you’ll be working with, and what church staff/members will be helping – get everything written down into a plan.

In your plan make sure to include a few backup plans including things such as flexible temporary furniture or even a temporary location. During one recent sanctuary remodel the congregation met for Sunday service in the church’s gymnasium, which had been built a few years earlier, for a few weeks until the project was completed. If you don’t have any flexible furniture like folding chairs and tables there should be companies in your city that rent these out for weddings and parties. We encourage you to at the very least get pricing and weigh your options as you prepare for your remodeling project.

6. Celebrate the completed project. – Celebrating your church’s newly remodeled sanctuary, new construction, new addition, etc… can really help your congregation move past the messiness and stress of the past several weeks and into the future together. Your celebration event can include a dedication, prayer service, choir performance, potluck, and other things to bring your members and staff together in the new space.