Company Profile
As published in Worship Facilities, May/Jun 2010
Church architectural design experience married with financial consulting? It may sound too good to be true, but it’s business as usual for Lawson Group Architects (LGA) in Sarasota, Fla.
Principal Don Lawson took time from his busy schedule to talk with Worship Facilities Magazine about how these two ingredients have helped LGA act as a one-stop-service provider for nearly 15 years for “virtually everything churches need to establish and implement their plan—all aspects of visioning, master planning, designing and construction of a facility.”
WFM: What do you enjoy most about designing churches? What sets churches apart from other commercial buildings?
Lawson: For me, the most gratification I get is the service that we can provide in helping churches realize their vision goals. I told a church two weeks ago that ‘your campus and church will be a reflection of your ministry. My job is to interpret that vision and make it your facility.’
Each building takes on the personality and ministry vision of that congregation. The design is the easy part. The hard part of church architecture is the process of understanding and discerning what the church needs, having them prayerfully seek God’s will, getting the entire congregation involved, and helping them face financial issues. That can be overwhelming.
That coaching process has been very gratifying. The financial side is very important. I have held the hand of pastors as they’re signing their mortgage. They say, ‘We weren’t taught this in seminary.’
WFM: Tell us about your background. How did you get into finance?
Lawson: My family background is contractors and builders since the Civil War. There have been things that have happened during my career where I see God’s plan unfolding. I ask, ‘Why was I put here and what talents do I have to offer?’ Through the years God has opened up doors and given me education—it turned into a passion. There’s nothing more exciting than knowing that I’m doing what I was put here to do. God’s plan began unfolding when I got older and when I was prepared.
Nine-and-a-half years ago my wife and I, along with seven other business leader, started the Bank of Commerce, a community bank in Florida. At the time we didn’t realize that it would become such an important and valuable part of our church practice. I didn’t even draw the correlation, but it didn’t take long before I realized this tremendous insight—that the money and lending side was invaluable to churches because they didn’t have those resources.
WFM: What banking wisdom can you share with churches that are trying to get a building project off the ground?
Lawson: As chairman of the bank I see that most churches don’t take the time or the opportunity to learn what banks are looking for when underwriting a loan. How a church presents itself and prepares the information it provides a bank can make a significant difference. If you package yourself you’ll be perceived a certain way, the old adage says. But churches don’t oftentimes give consideration to what a lender will look at overall in a church. It could be their background and reputation in the community, experience, or the resumes of the senior staff.
Churches [tend to] undervalue their assets and don’t give themselves enough credit for what they have. So we can help churches learn how to put that information together to enhance their credit worthiness and put themselves in the best position to secure financing under the most competitive terms.
Also, church leaders tend to go in and ask, ‘Will you loan me money?’ Instead, they should go to different banks and say, ‘I’m going to give you the opportunity to loan me money.’ I know from sitting on that side of the desk. We’ll offer more attractive terms when we know we’re competing with other lenders on a good loan.
Church leaders can put themselves in a much stronger negotiating position and save themselves tens of thousands when they do it correctly. Churches have a tendency not to negotiate, but they can go back and ask for a discount on points, reduced loan fees, lower interest rates, or to extend interest-only payments for a longer period of time. What the bank first offers is really only a starting point. Banks want to loan to churches that are a sound credit risk, and they are willing to negotiate to get a good church loan.
[With our experience, we can help churches get financing through] bond markets, private equity markets, and other sources of capital depending on what a church is trying to accomplish.
WFM: Back to the topic of architecture, what do you see as the leading design trends for churches moving forward?
Lawson: Churches are really looking at environmental responsibility and the whole idea of green design. That’s becoming a focus, like Worship Facilities’ supplement shows in your Mar/April issue.
Another trend is how [all churches and all denominations] are focusing on contemporary worship. Church is becoming more of a central focus in the overall community fabric. Whereas people used to go to church on Sunday and Wednesday night, facilities are now an everyday hub for the neighborhoods and communities in which they serve.
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