If all the churches of North America would fully use existing space before adding more space and would move from debt financing to provision financing, total spending on church construction could be cut by more than half, and many billions of dollars every year would be saved.

elimination of spending for unnecessary buildings will not in itself make much difference in the church’s effectiveness.

they were able to eventually pay cash for a major building program and then eliminate all the interest expense

Second, by applying the principle of provision,

the number of square feet needed per person had been cut by at least 40 percent,

First, by applying the principle of use,

Ministry and Building at the Same Time

about the same time their $1.2 million building program was getting underway, the church was offered the use of a building in an adjacent low-income neighborhood. Because the church had so planned their building program that it would take no funds away from ministry, they were financially ready to say yes to this opportunity

The church continued to set aside the same percentage of income for the building fund.