General Consultation

A General Consultation outlines and interprets the steps that are essential to initiate and successfully carry out a building project. It provides a time schedule and helps the congregation define their financial capacity. It also provides a general overview of Church Extension services to the congregation. A General Consultation is provided at no cost to the congregation and is required prior to initiating Church Extension services.

What Is It?

The General Consultation is the place for congregational leaders to begin when thinking about the various aspects of a building project for their church. During this initial gathering with a Church Extension consultant, church leaders begin to examine the essential questions that lead to a successful remodeling, building or relocation project.

It is a time for church leaders to share with the consultant:

• the hopes and dreams for the ministry of the congregation,
• the understanding of the direction that God is leading them at this time in their history, and
• the initial thinking about the building and facility needs of the congregation.

It is a time for essential "first steps" to be taken. These include
identification of

• the financial capacity of the congregation for a major project,
• a basic time schedule for completing a project, and
• the next and various steps which the congregation is advised to take in order to prepare their facility to reach their ministry goals.

Who Should Attend?

Participants are:

• Representative leaders of the church (persons with responsibility for property, finances, and ministry), and
• Staff representative from Church Extension

When Should This Consultation Take Place?

The earlier in the building process the better!

The General Consultation is most helpful when scheduled

• As soon as the official board believe that a building program may be needed, and
• Prior to the creation of the necessary organization; generally, several consultations occur during a building program.

How Much Will It Cost? An initial General Consultation is provided without fee to congregations of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

How Do We Schedule A Consultation?

To arrange a General Consultation:

• The local church board takes formal action inviting Church Extension to send a representative for consultation
• An officer of the local church board fills out the "Request for General Consultation" form and "General Consultation Information Sheet" and submits them to Church Extension

A consultant from Church Extension will contact the congregation to schedule the consultation. Visits normally take place within 90 days after the request is received.

The service form is available as an Adobe Acrobat viewing file. If you do not already have the Adobe Acrobat Reader on your computer, click here get it. If you already have Acrobat Reader, simply download the file or click on the link to view it. Acrobat files such as this will maintain the original layout design when you print or view it.

Click here for the Service Request Form