The ministry of churches is changing a lot these days. Churches are working hard to be a part of their communities on a regular basis rather than just on Sundays and maybe Wednesdays.

For this reason, the needs of churches are changing, which means that when churches expand or build new buildings, they are thinking about different things and planning their buildings in different ways than they might have even 10 years ago.

Bruce C. Anderson, President for Build-Masters Group LLC, says the churches that are most successful in their church building projects are those that are thinking five, 10 or 15 years down the road and really considering what the goal of their ministry is, "why specifically God's planted them where they are," and how they can best achieve their goals.

Churches need to think about who the members of their church are, what their needs are and how they can best reach those people based on what God has called them to do in the community.

Planning a church building is much more than just talking to an architect and saying that you need more space. If you're trying to attract and speak to the younger generation of people in your community, for example, you might want a gymnasium and a coffee shop as part of your church design plan, but if your congregation is full of young parents you might choose a bigger daycare center or a sanctuary with a cry room instead.

Choosing an architect with experience in church building is important because most churches really need help in finding this direction for their ministry and discovering what it is they really need.

The average architect is not used to working with clients who don't have very detailed information starting out about what their needs are and what kind of space they need. This can cause a lot of problems for both the architect and the church because the architect doesn't know the right questions to ask and the church doesn't know the right details to share to get the ideal ministry space they want and need.

Taking the time to find an architect with church design experience will make the process of designing a new church much easier and more successful for all parties involved. Doing this will ensure that you as a church are thinking about the right things and really getting the space that you need, now and for the future.