Portable to Permanent

This is the one of the most critical decision that you will make in the life of your church plant.  When do we buy a building.  When do we stop doing portable church and begin having a "real" church? Below are some thoughts this discussion has generated for me...also are some lessons we learned from our own journey- moving from portable to permanent.

What a building won’t do for you.

1. It won’t make you a real church.

Truth be told...buildings are really just a shell.  There is no life in the building itself.  Think about the early church.  The early church was alive and for the earliest lifespan of the church the church gathered in homes.  Having a permanent home can help in practical ways but it is never the thing that makes you a "real" church.  As a church planter you have to guard your heart from thinking we finally arrived when you get a building.

2. It won’t solve all your problems - 

If you have a problem before you move into a permanent situation you will still have problems in your new building.  If things are bad with children's ministry they will still be bad with a permanent building.  Same goes across all the ministries of the church.  Be careful in thinking that have a building will solve all your problems.  It won't.

One thing a permanent building can do for you is it creates great momentum.  The momentum that is created from moving into a permanent building can be likened to a large wave and surfing.  Big waves can be great and produce a lot of fun for those who are ready to ride the wave...but to those that aren't ready, it can turn deadly.  Before you make a move into a permanent situation you have to ask yourself, "Are we ready to ride the wave?"

6 Signs you are ready to ride the wave:

• You have a constant growth rate
• People’s lives are being transformed
• You have a growing voice in the community
• You have a healthy culture
• You have financial margin
• You have healthy systems and structures

3 Problems buildings create:

• Buildings attract church people
• Who is putting the biggest pressure on you getting a building?  Christians or those who came to Christ in your church? Church people have a way of smelling church buildings.  This can be a blessing but it can also become a challenge to the vision and mission of your church.

• Buildings have an unquenchable thirst
• Building will drink your budget over and over again and never apologize for it.  For instance...the first year in our building we had to spend $50,000 to replace old AC units.  It would have been great to use that money in something else but you have to have AC in Arizona.
• Secondly, you have to think about getting rid of the portable set-up to make the building look permanent.  The signage you used at a school or a theater isn't going to be adequate in a permanent situation.  People's expectations are different now.

• Buildings challenge your vision and mission
• For instance...now that you have a mortgage and financial drain because of the building...it becomes easy to modify the vision or the mission because of it.  Buildings can also produce a false sense of security and as a result it is easy to let off the gas pedal. Never forget that the same creativity you once used in a portable situation you will still need to rely on in a permanent situation.