Strategic Dimensions

Yesterday I had the opportunity to spend a good chunk of my day with the guys at Strategic Dimensions. S.D. is a consulting firm that has worked extensively with churches to help them prepare for growth and think through the options available to them for meeting that growth. Their sister company, Acoustic Dimensions, has consulted and lead the design of an astronomical number of venues across the country (and world)... including major sporting venues for every major sport, church buildings for North Point, Willow, you name it... it is seriously mind blowing!

Yesterday they began the process of helping us think through some next steps for us as we try to keep up with the growth we've been experiencing since we moved into our new facility just one year ago. For the record, we're already at capacity in several key areas, and so S.D. is going to help us consider ways to maximize our current space while planning for alternative ways to grow. Yesterday we analyzed our current state, some demand drivers (picture left), and looked at a few trends and projections based on our growth history.... fascinating! The whole process will take several weeks and I'm already itching for the next meeting to begin.

Over the next few posts I'm going to lay out some of my biggest observations and learnings from the process with the guys at S.D., including their observations about how churches are growing and the leading current trends for churches seeking to meet the needs of those around them.

For now I'll leave you with one striking trend they've noticed over the past four years. In '04 they received inquiries from 50 churches looking to build 3000+ seat auditoriums. Four years later in '08 they received 2. In fact, they received more hits from churches outside the U.S. seeking to build 3000+ auditoriums than those inside...

I'll talk about what's leading that change, what churches are looking at and why in my next post.