 Building (literally) the church By John H. Adams The Presbyterian Layman Volume 34, Number 1 Posted January 24, 2001
Miles, an evangelical Presbyterian minister, recently left the pulpit to establish a tax-exempt charitable corporation, Covenant Builders, International, to develop a hybrid construction organization that is somewhere between a barn-raising and Habitat for Humanity. The idea is to provide, especially for small congregations, expert help, volunteers, preliminary design and considerable savings. Miles recently received the blessing of the Office of New Church Development of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Covenant Builders is in its infancy, but there’s already enough business to keep Miles on the road between his home and building sites in South Carolina and another in the Northeast. Miles, the president of Covenant Builders, is a toolbelt executive with a pickup truck. He said the idea of constructing buildings for congregations started with a self-help project that was a reaction to mortgage rates that were hovering around 20 percent in 1981. Miles, a graduate of Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Ga., had moved from South Carolina to serve a Presbyterian congregation in Lexington, Va. He had roughed up a design for his own home and got a construction loan to get it started. But he knew he had to keep costs under control when it came time for long-term financing. So, Miles said he figured he needed to contribute some sweat equity. In fact, he did most of the building, along with a few members of his congregation. They had a great time at the construction site. Eventually, another person provided a low-interest loan. Miles saved thousands of dollars and enjoyed the blessing of construction-site camaraderie. Having worked at Habitat for Humanity sites, Miles mulled over the idea of doing construction as a ministry, first for the mission field. He designed a transportable module that could be used for mission schools, hospitals or churches. But, he said, that project didn’t produce enough interest to give up preaching. Word soon got around, however, that Miles could build a church more than one way. And in 1998, he was asked to help a congregation build a 3,500-square foot building. He did everything on that job – nailing and sawing and rarely leaving the construction site when anyone else was there. By 1999, there were enough requests to keep Miles busy, so he resigned from the pulpit and got the Presbytery of the Peaks to approve his call as a non-profit contractor. Miles no longer does it all. He calls himself the facilitator and helps a congregation cut through the red tape of getting building permits and meeting code requirements. He recruits volunteers, and a consulting architect provides plans. Besides Miles, the only employee of Covenant Builders is Sterling Funderburk, a licensed contractor. “Our calling is to serve our Lord Jesus Christ,” Miles said. Covenant Builders is in Lexington, Va. The telephone number is (540) 464-3333. |
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