New book helps congregations consider building challenges

Holy Places: Matching Sacred Space with Mission and Message, by Nancy DeMott, Tim Shapiro, and Brent Bill, is the kind of practical guide congregations need to help them with the challenges of renovation, remodeling, expansion, or building.

Authors Nancy DeMott, Tim Shapiro, and Brent Bill draw from the experience of the Indianapolis Center for Congregations' work during the past decade with more than 300 congregations on building issues. No matter how extensive the project, the authors encourage congregational leaders to keep mission and message at the forefront of any building project.

Holy Places offers a step-by-step process for any congregational building team. The process helps teams look at where they are now, where they want to be, and how to move to that next level. Each phase of this process - discern, decide and do - consists of a series of questions that congregations must address. The book's process assumes no particular level of prior knowledge about building issues.

With in-depth advice, illustrative examples, and detailed descriptions of how to proceed, Holy Places makes what could seem a monumental project manageable. The book includes sections on Identity, Trends and Assets, Financial Concerns, Oversight, Spiritual Discernment, Communication, Project Delivery, Clergy Involvement, and more. A glossary of terms, informational appendix section and resource list provide additional support for readers considering congregational building projects.

This book is available at www.amazon.com.

For more information, log on to www.centerforcongregations.org or call the Center for Congregation in Indianapolis at 317-237-7799, in Fort Wayne at 260-435-1880 and in South Indiana at 866-307-1880.

Last updated on 25 Apr 2008

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