The strategic facility plan should always precede the establishment of the first phase of design, so that the Church will know how this phase will work together with future phases. Attempting to develop this plan alone is not a good idea. The church should retain an expert architect/planner that understands churches and the nature of church growth, and is gifted in developing a cohesive design. The church should avoid the use of a design/builder to develop the master plan since their focus tends to be only on the first phase of design or what the church can presently afford.  While a church may believe that they are saving some design costs with this approach, the truth is that it is not uncommon for design costs for the design/builder to be hidden within the construction costs. Furthermore, the design will be governed entirely by current finances. While this is a critical component, the vision and future usefulness of the facility is often compromised with this approach. Using the design/build approach that does not include an all-inclusive master plan may results in several problems with (1) the placement of the building on the site, (2) the type of construction used, and (3) the use of a design that does not consider future expansion.
Building Placement - The building placement that is most economical on a new site is usually closest to the roadway. This helps to minimize the length of road and utility runs coming into the site, thereby keeping the costs down. Unfortunately, this placement has a tremendous disadvantage over time. Because of its close proximity to the road, there are greater limitations to future expansion. Often expansion can only take place in one direction and the facility cannot be encircled with parking, causing successive phases of parking to be further and further from the building and less and less user-friendly.
Type of Construction - A planner must consider a church’s future expansion when choosing the type of construction to be used. A wood-framed building may be the least expensive first phase structure, however, there are building code limitations to the size of wood-framed buildings. For expansion, a church may be faced with installing expensive fire protection devices or demolishing the initial structure. By adequately looking ahead at where they may grow over time, the church will protect their initial investment in construction.
Architectural Style - It is critical for the architectural design to consider future expansion. Many times a design/builder will use a pre-engineered, metal building for the sake of economy in the first phase. This may be fine for a stand alone building, however, there are complexities to try and expand these types of buildings over time. Because of the nature of their structural design, it is very difficult to marry future additions into these types of buildings, unless that addition is incorporated into the original design. Furthermore, with a pre-engineered metal building, a large expansion may give the church an industrial appearance. A first-phase design tends to establish the style that will be utilized over time. Therefore, it is essential to adequately consider the desired, ultimate appearance of the facility when designing the first phase.

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