Managing Church Building Projects: Perspectives from My 25 Years of Volunteer Work

For twenty-five years I have been involved in extensive infrastructural projects for churches as a volunteer project manager. These were multi-million-dollar projects that delivered the wealth of experience set down in this book. They have opened my eyes to project strategies that work, and those that do not work. The book is a vital tool for church operators and organizational leaders alike. Church and communal projects do not only pose engineering challenges, but are predominantly a hearts-and-minds issue. The book covers how a church project should be conceived, planned, and executed. It thrashes issues such as the part-time status of building committee members, the use of uncompleted facilities in concurrent operations, contractor selection, managing stakeholder expectations, and the technical and spiritual qualifications of project officials. It outlines viable options for funding church projects and strategies for preserving church infrastructural investments.

A Christian and civil engineer, Chris Ekpekurede is a public speaker and motivator. He was chief engineer in a subsidiary of the Royal Volker Stevin of Holland, and the head of corporate civil engineering for Shell Petroleum Development Company. He is a Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, Nigerian Institution of Civil Engineers, and the Institute of Human and Natural Resources. He is the author of Getting to Maximum and Take Your Service to Maximum. His fourth book, Laughing Over Serious Matters, is in the offing. An expert in church projects, he says, "The quality of our worship also shows in how we manage church projects." P