Senior Pastor Duane Johnson sits in the back of the darkened sanctuary at Grace Baptist Church in Santa Maria, California. As he enjoys these peaceful moments alone, he reflects on God’s blessing in the provision of the new church building, which was completed in December 2004.

Built at the heart of a developing residential area, Grace Baptist Church is a 36,000-square-foot church that hosts a steady flow of traffic like many of today’s growing churches. The sanctuary seats more than 600 worshippers. The gymnasium is used for AWANA, youth and family activities. The 12 classrooms provide ample space for Sunday School and weekly activities, and the office suite gives the staff and volunteers plenty of room for administration.

The Team Approach
Grace Baptist Church utilized Building God’s Way, a nationwide program providing cost savings, ministry focus and support from start to finish. The church gained an advantage by using an architectural team specializing in affordable church design, a general contractor involved in the process from the beginning and factory-direct pricing on products through Building God’s Way Supply. Calling the program a modified “design-build” approach, Pastor Johnson notes that other pastors visit the church and can’t believe the quality of the building – and the construction price.

Pastor Johnson says the church could not have afforded the building project without the Building God’s Way program.

“Our costs came out just under $100 a square foot,” he said. “In southern California right now with the building boom, the costs are just unreal. I had a church actually call me from a nearby town that had gone with another architect locally, and he had told them that their cost was going to be about $215 a square foot.”

Building God’s Way is an integrated delivery system centered on Biblical principles of stewardship, relationships and outreach. This foundation leads to a team approach where the architect, engineers, general contractor and even subcontractors are dedicated to the success of the building project.

“There was always a good working relationship,” said Johnson.

He would often make phone calls to the project subcontractors, thanking them and complementing their work.

“Phone calls like that must mean an awful lot to people in the construction industry, because they don’t get anything but complaints and gripes,” he said.

Johnson said the team approach and the BGW emphasis on outreach is valuable in creating a pleasant jobsite atmosphere. Grace Baptist even gained church members and conducted outreach ministry through the construction workers.

The team approach also allows the architects, engineers and contractor to contribute by sharing ideas for efficiencies early on. This results in below market construction costs – with savings drawn from product selections, value engineering on major systems and reduced construction timeframe.

“We wanted something that was functional and affordable, and nobody else seemed to emphasize that except Building God’s Way,” said Johnson.

Design Affordability: Building God’s Way
“The Building God’s Way foundational concept of ministry during design and construction along with its emphasis on significant cost savings applies to all aspects of building programs,” said architect partner Don Mahoney. “Our approach is to reduce the estimated cost of the method that the church elects to utilize through lower upfront building costs, lower maintenance costs and consideration to life-cycle cost. This implies the cost of materials and systems over the life of the building. The BGW system for affordable design and our partnerships with national suppliers and regional builders ensure these cost savings on new construction.”

The building shell is a long-span steel frame with no bearing walls, which leads to design flexibility for interior modifications or future expansion. The fade-resistant, standing seam roof is integrated with the steel frame to ensure weather-tight performance. The church saved initial construction dollars and will continue to save with reduced ongoing expenses for maintenance and utilities. The mechanical system, kitchen units, flooring, lighting and plumbing were all reviewed by the BGW team and selected to offer the best value, savings and life cycle for Grace Baptist Church.

The team approach allowed the decision makers at Grace Baptist Church to evaluate the price impact of each decision made during the design process. The final construction price for Grace Baptist Church was ultimately driven by their vision for the facility. The vision was first determined with the design team during an onsite planning meeting. This intensive, two-day design meeting permitted the building committee to outline their priorities and the many ministries to be accommodated within the building. At the end of this planning meeting, the committee had a preliminary layout along with suggested exterior treatments to share with the members.

Design Decisions
“Good church planning begins with a solid understanding of each church’s ministries by the building committee and the design professional,” said Mahoney. “We begin with the philosophy that space is ultimately a tool to meet the needs of these ministries. It is also important to work with someone that you believe is your trusted advisor through what can be a difficult and complicated process.”

The church placed particular emphasis on the sanctuary design – seating, lighting, acoustics and audio/visual – during the architectural design process. Grace Baptist determined a traditional sanctuary would not meet their expectations for acoustic quality. The contemporary interior atmosphere of the sanctuary is enhanced by modest incandescent lighting and ceiling clouds. Hardwood pews present a traditional feel with the sloped floor ensuring visibility from all angles. The large stage incorporates two large screens that allow easy viewing of projected images.

The ceiling clouds, suspended individually from the structural framing, were custom designed to absorb and diffuse sound within the sanctuary. Each cloud contains acoustic woven fiberglass material on the leading edge (facing the platform). The trailing edge is composed of conventional wallboard that finishes the underlying steel stud framing.

Grace Baptist also focused on creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere upon entering the church. The large foyer spans the width of the building, enhancing fellowship on Sunday mornings. Adjacent is the Crossroads Café where visitors are welcomed and members mingle over cups of coffee.

The full-size basketball court transforms into a multi-purpose space for large social events. The gym has already housed a local ministry fundraising event, dinner theater and mission presentations. The adjoining kitchen makes it easy to serve meals during the events.

Classroom space includes special designs to accommodate student ministries and music rehearsals. Because of the church’s growing number of young families, the nursery design is an important element in welcoming the church’s newest and smallest members.

The administration wing includes a reception area, conference room, six staff offices and a large work room for producing materials for various ministries. Centrally located restrooms are easily accessed from either the foyer or the gymnasium.

Looking Forward
With the new member count reaching 200 since moving into the new facility, Grace Baptist Church is looking forward to the next steps in their ministry growth. As a service to their local community, church members are considering preschool licensing. Because of the vision planning incorporated during the early planning phases, the facility design already encompasses adequate and properly designed space. The church is also considering a capital campaign to raise funds for a youth building annex. Again, long-term planning and the Building God’s Way system of flexibility will allow this building addition to be completed in an efficient and affordable manner.