Should We Renovate This Year or Wait? A Decision Framework for Church Leaders

A church renovation is a big decision. Church construction on any level requires careful planning. You want to ask the right questions as you set the stage, including one critical component: timing.

Is 2026 the right year to finally start that improvement on your church building? Or should you wait? Do you have the funding? Do you have the vision? What’s the right move right now?

If your team is hesitating over hitting the start button on a church renovation this year, here’s a quick decision framework you can use to get some clarity around the project.

Consider All of the Components of a Project

It’s easy to get focused on a single area during a major project. Maybe that’s your budget. Maybe it’s about design and functionality. Maybe you’re like NorthPoint church in Johnston, Iowa, and you’re going back and forth about whether to add on or build a new building.

Whatever area you’re zoomed in on, if you want to make the right decision, it starts with stepping back. Get your head out of the details, pray about the big picture, and look at the different components involved.

One of the most common of these is that, when you want to renovate your building, you’re typically managing momentum. Your church is growing, ministry is thriving, and you just want to find ways to accommodate those positive changes.

That’s a great thing, but it’s not the only thing. The other side of the momentum coin is opportunity. Is there a good opportunity in front of you right now? Just as importantly, if you were to wait, is there any guarantee that something better might come along?

At Ministry Solutions Group, we’ve found church leaders often like to wait for a better opportunity — and that’s a good thing, if you can see the value in waiting.

If you can’t, though, don’t let the hope of something possibly getting better hold you back. Our team has found that, despite the spike in construction prices in recent years, building costs aren’t decreasing. At a minimum, they’re static.

It doesn’t appear there’s going to be a huge market correction in the cost of goods anytime in the near future, either. In fact, every day you wait, it’s more likely to cost you more dollars in the long run. A project that costs $200 per sq ft today might be $220 or $250 per sq ft in a couple of years.

The takeaway here isn’t to build as soon as possible. Instead, you want to consider things like momentum and opportunity, and not focus on one over the other.

The Lie of the Crossroads of Renovation Decision-Making

Along with seeing the multi-faceted aspect of renovation timelines, it’s important to be aware of a blind spot that catches a lot of church decision-makers: the fallacy of the “renovation crossroads.”

A member of our team recently referred to the natural desire of pastors and church leaders to want to hit the ideal intersection where financial resources and momentum cross. This is the “renovation crossroads.”

You know what else he said? That reality rarely exists.

Many leaders want to accumulate financial resources and then precisely time how they spend it with momentum and growth. The truth is that the two don’t really cooperate.

You can’t start a 1,000-person worship center when you have 200 attendees, and then say that you’re going to fill it when it’s done. Instead, you need to use discernment to react to current momentum and real-world steward resources regardless of whether they’re aligned to your ideal vision or not.

Using Discernment in Church Construction Decisions

There’s a wisdom in the timing. In fact, the Bible talks a lot not just about making Godly decisions, but the timing of those decisions.

In 1 Chronicles 12, the 200 chiefs of the men of Issachar are praised specifically because they “had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do.”

Ecclesiastes chapter 3 starts with a long list of time-based comparisons that kicks off with the line: “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.”

It’s important to use Godly discernment and Biblical wisdom when you decide on the timing for a renovation. This doesn’t just mean close your eyes, pray a prayer, and dive in.

What is God calling you to do right now to support his long-term vision for your ministry? You might be surprised by the answer.

The first step might not be building anything. Instead, you might need to spend more time evaluating. That means investing time, not money, in the short-term

Stewarding resources is also a really important factor here. A lot of the biggest churches in America are seen as “rich,” when in reality, they’re willing to self-restrict spending, even as they seek to carry out vision.

It’s tempting to overstretch your resources and pray for a miracle. But when you do that, God literally has to dump everything in your lap. More often than not, that doesn’t make a leader visionary. It forces them into a single path with no options.

In our experience, it takes just as much faith to have financial resources and then discern where and when to invest them. Exercise that faith as part of the decision-making process.

So, What’s the First Step?

If you’re confused about whether or not to start your church renovations, it’s a reasonable place to be. There are a lot of things to consider, and you don’t want to restrict yourself through poor decision-making. Instead, you want to consider everything, from momentum to resources, opportunities, and timelines.

Stop looking for unrealistic crossroads, too. Instead, look for ways to clarify your goals. If you know what you’re trying to accomplish, you might find you have more options than you realize.

For instance, extra services, activated spaces, and new campuses overlap in the needs they address. If you’re considering one, the other two might be good alternatives.

If you’re looking for clarity with your 2026 church renovation plans, our team can help. We’ve walked alongside many of the fastest-growing churches in America as they’ve made major financial and space-related decisions. We can bring that expertise and experience into your decision framework and help you build a Clear Path Forward that helps you make the right decision at the right time for your ministry’s God-given vision.