We applaud your due diligence and understand this is a very important decision for your church. We would be glad to formally present the Aspen Group mission and process to your team. We would caution you, though, that a 60 – 90 minute presentation to a large group is not an effective way to select a builder. We encourage you to visit our past projects, talk to our past clients, and meet with our Project Developer in a more casual setting, where you can discover what sets Aspen apart – our passion for ministry!

Of course! They will need to follow our subcontractor approval process, though. To make sure only qualified, reliable companies build your church, we require every subcontractor we work with the fill out a questionnaire, provide financial information, and references. We have found some of our best, long term partners through the churches we worked with.

We have found that many churches look first to church members employed in trades such as carpentry, electrical, or other such fields. Another common area is the financial or business field. While these members are very knowledgeable in the construction world, without a passion for ministry they will make decisions based on dollars instead of what’s best for your ministry.

Our Project Developers can help you think through the best members of your “Vision Team,” but in general you cannot go wrong with a group of individuals sold out for Christ, your mission, and your project.

If there are qualified trades people in your church that want to donate labor or materials to your project we would love to partner with them as a subcontractor – in fact many of the companies on our current subcontractor list were discovered that way.

As for volunteers, it really is exciting to see your people stepping up to serve during a building project. Although it is very tempting to put them to work on the building, you have a much larger task at hand – one for which your congregants are actually more qualified! While the masons, carpenters, electricians and other trades people build your new facility, your members can be building your church. By helping your people discover their gifts and passions you can place them on an eternally rewarding, life long path of service to the Church.

Of course, if you’d prefer to have your people swing a hammer, we can find some carpenters to canvass your neighborhood, inviting people to come to your church. And when the project is done, it will be the carpenters, not your worn out volunteers, that will be most excited about the new facility!

Absolutely! Our passion for learning has put Aspen Group at the forefront of these issues. We share what we learn at periodic Pastors Luncheons and Cornerstone Conferences. Another excellent resource is edbahler.com. Ed is Aspen Group’s president and his blog explores the intersection of culture, leadership, ministry and facilities.

We believe strongly that the best construction projects are those where an integrated, collaborative team comes together up front to partner on behalf of the church. We have structured our total package of visioning, feasibility, architecture and construction to provide a seamless process. The end result is a church that is prepared for the process and a facility that truly fits your ministry. Merely building a facility without doing the essential upfront planning would be a disservice to your church. 

Now. Laying the groundwork for a successful project starts well in advance of drawing plans. Don’t wait until you are out of space to begin. Many times churches need to work through internal issues of leadership, vision and strategic planning before they are ready to build. That’s what our Visioning process is all about and the time it takes to go through that quadrant varies widely.

Aspen is at home in the Midwest with offices in Chicago and Indianapolis.