I had a chance to catch up with Bryan Miles from Cogun, a firm that works with churches that are expanding, renovating, or launching churches and multi-site campuses. Here’s what Brian had to say about building projects in regards to today’s economic conditions:

TONY: Do you encourage churches to expand now in the middle of a recession?

BRYAN: Let’s get this first fact out of the way fast. We did not catch God by surprise with this “Great Recession.” And, at Cogun, we believe that God is not done with the Church in the United States.  We think that the demand for church expansion will continue as our churches get more savvy on space needs because we are working with healthy churches growing at light-speed now.

TONY: Shouldn’t churches hold off on building projects until the economy is more stable?

BRYAN: Not necessarily. Industry economists believe we have seen the bottom in terms of inflation and pricing. The economists are predicting upward movement in demand and pricing in 2011 and beyond. And, are you ready for higher interest rates? Money is cheap now, however, everything that we are reading is indicating that finance interest rates appear to be trending upward.

TONY: Can a church launch a building program that is “too late?”

BRYAN: From our experience, typical church growth patterns suggest that if you have hit the wall in terms of capacity (or are about to), you will likely experience a drop and a longer period of struggle to reach that place again. Each subsequent peak will take even longer. Eventually, attendees come to realize you either lack the vision, organizational infrastructure or requisite faith. We know churches that have waited too long.

TONY: What advice do you have for church leaders who want to expand, but are hesitant to launch a building program right now?

BRYAN: Casting vision takes action. Getting off the sidelines now as a leader of your church and moving forward with your building/renovating effort could prove to be a smart business move, almost as smart as trusting God with the outcome! Both will take faith and action!

Bryan and the team at Cogun track growth patterns and economic trends in order to provide churches with the most reliable information. You can check out some of their resources.

If you think a new building or a facility renovation is in your future, I’d love to connect you with the Cogun team. Please take a moment to complete this brief contact form, and I’ll have someone follow up with you and begin the conversation.

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Cogun is my newest strategic partner for TonyMorganLive.com. Though they are obviously paying me to help get the word out, I chose to share their story because I believe in their team and the churches they’ve helped.

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