Helping a Church’s Vision Take Shape

Chris Davenport has a degree in architectural engineering, and by the time he joined the team at CDF Capital, he’d already racked up more than a decade of experience in design and construction management.

“I built projects as far west as El Paso, Texas and as far east as Raleigh, North Carolina,” Chris said. “I built office buildings, movie theaters, high-end banks, call-centers for telecom companies. My last project was the art museum at Duke University.”

But for the last 14 years with CDF Capital, as Senior Director of Construction & Planning, Chris has focused on one type of building: churches.

“I help churches dream, turn that dream into a concept, and then work with an architect to put it on paper.”

Building for a Mission

Churches spend a lot of time refining their mission and making sure their ministries align with who God has called them to be. But whether they are designing a building from scratch or fixing their existing space, churches don’t always know how to connect their vision to the space they occupy.

“Ministers don’t go to Bible college to learn how to build buildings,” Chris said. “And most churches don’t have someone with that background. We provide expertise, and if they don't have somebody on board that understands church construction, we’re able to fill in the gaps.”

When a church starts to realize that they do not have enough room or that their building is not going to work anymore, pastors, elders, and staff have a lot of big decisions to make—and time is of the essence.

“I help churches dream, turn that dream into a concept, and then work with an architect to put it on paper.”—Chris Davenport

Without a design background or construction expertise, it is hard for churches to fully optimize the space for what they want to do and become—and it is also easy for churches to overlook the common problems other churches have made during this process.

“I make sure that churches focus on mission and vision and let mission and vision drive the design and use of the space,” Chris said. “If they’re a community-centered church, we want to make sure that the facilities reflect that with spaces the community can actually use. If they want their atmosphere to be a more intimate church, we take that into account. Multigenerational churches need to give equal space, time, and focus to all the generations represented in the church.”

 

Chris Davenport center (standing) and pictured from left to right CDF Capital Team Members: Mark Briggs, Daron Rogers, Ryan Engen, Chris Davenport, Steve Carr, Brad Dupray, Jim Nash, and Dirk Scates.

 

Chris’s role allows him to see the whole process, guiding churches to design the buildings that best represent their visions.

“I’m fortunate that I get to physically see my work,” Chris said. “I have the privilege of walking alongside churches from the time they start dreaming to the time they open their doors. We work hard to make sure that a ministry is healthy before we get too far along in the process. If a church isn’t healthy, we focus on getting them healthy first.”

Equally important to the church during this process is staying within their budget. Church projects are divided up into two opportunities: the first opportunity is to save money, the second is to not waste money.

The time to save money in a healthy stewardship manner is during the design phase. CDF Capital works with the church to be wise with their funds and design what is mission and vision focused, prioritizing wants versus needs. After construction has started, we are there to help them not waste money. This is done through on-site visits, change order control, and holding the contractor accountable to the contract—not taking advantage of the church. Both opportunities contribute to the success of a project.

But even healthy churches can make poor building decisions. After looking at hundreds of church designs, Chris has seen what a church’s design says about their focus.

What a Building Says

The choices a church makes during the construction phase can have a huge impact on its ability to grow for years to come.

“Too many churches are in survival mode,” Chris said. “They’re not willing to take the risks necessary to grow. They’re afraid of making someone upset or losing someone, so they get complacent.”

This complacency shows up in the way churches design their buildings.

“A complacent design is when a church is designing based on the numbers they have now,” Chris said. “A lot of times when churches realize their building is too small, they design a new one that looks like what they already have, but on a bigger scale. They’ll have narrow hallways because they haven’t thought about traffic flow. They’ll have rooms that are single-use spaces that serve one ministry—like a room for the quilting ministry or a library. Churches devote entire rooms to things that don’t get used very often.”

The flipside of a complacent church design is a risky one. That’s when a church starts to see the potential of their space instead of reserving it all in advance and giving each ministry a separate dedicated room. These are the healthy risks churches take in order to keep their space usable for years to come.

“A complacent design is when a church is designing based on the numbers they have now.”—Chris Davenport

“A risky design is one where they’re thinking about five to ten years in the future,” Chris said. “How is this space going to be used? They may even design spaces that don’t seem to have a purpose yet, but once the church grows 15-25 percent, all of a sudden that space becomes critical.”

These are the kinds of designs that Chris enjoys working on the most.

“I don’t really get excited about building fellowship halls,” he said. “But I get very excited about developing mixed-use community space—something that I know can serve a bigger purpose and goes beyond the people who are already in the church.”

One of Chris’s favorite risk-taking churches is Life Bridge Church in Taylor, Michigan.

 

Lifebridge Church pictured above

 

“They bought a 48-lane bowling alley and converted it into a church. We converted part of it into what I think is one of the best kids’ spaces in the country. They kept six lanes of the bowling alley and let the community use it. They’re just awesome to watch, and it’s by far been one of the most exciting projects I’ve worked on.”

Chris said Life Bridge is the kind of church where you want to see what they will do next. They think strategically about how their physical space can align with their spiritual identity.

“They’re willing to do whatever it takes to reach more people,” noted Chris.

Every church wants to be intentional with the resources God gives them. At CDF Capital, we want every church we work with to be successful—that’s why Chris walks through hundreds of church buildings, highlighting ways they could do more with what they have.

“I get to show churches that there’s a lot more God can do with their buildings.”