Frequently Asked Questions

General Living Stones

  1. What distinguishes Living Stones from all the other church consultants out there?
  2. How much does a consultation cost?
  3. Can I talk to others who have used your services?
  4. Have you worked with other churches of my denomination?
  5. What if none of the Living Stones consultation packages match our needs?
  6. What kind of church most benefits from a Living Stones consultation?

FAQs About Facility Planning

1. What distinguishes Living Stones from all the other church consultants out there?

There are two ways that, so far as we know, our services are different from those offered by any other church consulting group.

First, our approach to facility planning is unique. While some church architects who have read When Not to Build incorporate some of those concepts into their facility planning, and we are thankful for that, we are also aware that those who have not been personally trained by Ray Bowman can do only a fraction of what Living Stones consultants are able to do in this area. We typically save a church anywhere from 50% to 80% of what they would have had to spend on construction using more conventional approaches. However, much of this savings comes not from just knowledge of alternate ways to configure buildings, but from showing churches ways to do programming that use space differently. This calls upon our ministry experts' knowledge of a wide range of ministry strategies.

Second, so far as we know, we are the only church consulting team that integrates planning of four essential areas--ministries, staffing, facilities, and finances. There are many church consultants that work with each of these areas, but we do not know of any others that work with the church to develop an integrated plan that addresses all four simultaneously and that helps the churches set priorities among the competing needs. For example: "Which is more urgent for the growth of our church--hiring an associate pastor or increasing parking capacity? Providing training for small group leaders or increasing giving levels?" We work with you to develop a balanced, sequenced plan so that you are not overwhelmed by trying to address too many needs at one time.

2. How much does a consultation cost?

It depends on the consulting package you need, the size of the congregation, and the complexity of the consultation.

Costs range from as little as $800 dollars for an Introductory Consultation that requires no travel to as much as $20,000 plus travel for a comprehensive package of services.

3. Can I talk to others who have used your services?

Certainly. In fact, we encourage you to call churches we have worked with. We will try to send you the names of churches that were facing issues similar to those your church is facing.

4. Have you worked with other churches of my denomination?

Probably. We have worked with churches of about 30 denominations in the U.S. and Canada. We work with mainline churches, evangelical churches, and charismatic churches. Our consulting team is diverse in terms of denominational background, representing a wide spectrum of denominations (mainline, evangelical, and charismatic). In selecting which consultants will serve on your consulting team, we give attention to which team members are most attuned to your church culture.

5. What if none of the Living Stones consultation packages match our needs?

If your situation matches the mission and expertise of Living Stones, we will be happy to develop a proposal for a consultation process customized to your needs. This may be either a smaller or larger consultation package than what we typically offer.

6 . What kind of church most benefits from a Living Stones Consultation?

A church that is acutely aware of the need for major change. We are change agents. We help to define fora church the gap between where the church is andwhere it needs to be, then help them to develop aplan for getting from here to there.

We find that there are basically two kinds of churches that are ready for major change.

First, there is the healthy church for whom change has become a way of life. Some churches are constantly updating ministry methods, always on the lookout for new and better ways to do ministry. For such churches, most of our recommendations will not require a lot of stretching, as they are accustomed to embracing change. Such churches are usually growing and they realize they need help in planning the next stages of their growth.

Second, there is the church that has come to recognize that they must change to remove a barrier or turn around a difficult situation. Such a church may not be accustomed to change, but a crisis has made the congregation aware that major change is needed.

The kind of church we cannot help much is the church that is largely content with the status quo. If church members are happy with the way things are, they will not be willing to pay the price to implement major change. If the pastor thinks the church needs to experience major change, but the lay leaders do not, we probably can't help the church. If the lay leaders think major change is needed, but the senior pastor does not, we probably can't help the church (unless the pastor is about to leave). But when the church as a whole realizes the need for major change and is willing to do whatever it takes to maximize ministry effectiveness, that's when a consultation bears the most fruit.

It's not so much that a consultation is indicated for some kinds of churches and not for others as much as it is a matter of discerning the right time in the life cycle of each church for this kind of planning process.

As you can see, our approach is not to try to convince churches they need our services. On the contrary, the approach that seems to work best for us is for us to wait until a church is eager (or desperate) enough for help that they seek us out, and then to screen those churches to determine which ones are really ready for the work we do.