Useful Survey

If you’d like help measuring what visitors think of your church’s facilities, you might turn to a simple scorecard.  Robert Grant, Director of the South Carolina Baptist Convention’s Church Administration Office, has posted just such a document, Making a Lasting First Impression (Does Your Church Meet the Challenge?) to his group’s web page.

How Can Be Good Neighbors?

In most of the places we work, churches are not allowed – at least not on the same terms that apply to commercial or residential projects.  They are considered use permitted “on review” or “by special exception.”  The original purpose of this kind of distinction was to allow churches greater flexibility than other uses, but it’s having an unintended consequence in an environment increasingly hostile to their presence.

Adaptive reuse

When my oldest son was about six years old, I built a “treehouse” in the wooded part of our backyard.  It was a simple, sturdy structure, and survived 14 years and hundreds of kids.  Our children are growing up, so we decided to dismantle the thing this summer.  Reid did the work with the help of his younger brother, but instead of tossing out the old wood, he turned it into a bookcase for his college bedroom.  In his design, adjustable shelves are organized behind decorative columns fashioned from the old decking and railings.

The project is a blessing on a number of different levels: