Pre-contract considerations 1. A sure foundation “Our Father…” Whilst every building needs a foundation, the sure foundation for a project will be ongoing fervent prayerful support. Prayer is essential for every work that we commit to in God’s name and under God’s hand.
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2. Communication or Stakeholder engagement - “Tell me, what are we doing again?” It is possible that two or three people in a fellowship will have known about the need for the works in a building project for some time and they can describe its benefits in countless ways. Indeed, they may be becoming slightly frustrated at the slow speed of the project. However, for those who are not so aware or well informed, but who are as important to a project as those with leading roles, it can be difficult to grasp the overall concept, benefits and the need for the expense. For this reason, time needs to be taken at an early stage to engage with everyone within a fellowship and explain what is happening and why. It is important as well to encourage feedback and to work out a way of capturing this, so that leaders can reflect on what people have said, as a project is brought into firm focus, and they can show that they have heard people’s ideas and suggestions. Perhaps most important of all is to appoint someone within the fellowship as the one person who will communicate between the project team and the fellowship. This should be consistent throughout the life of the project and should be an arrangement that is insisted upon and respected by all. We say this because in our experience many projects are undermined by inaccurate explanations and wrong information and this can lead to bad feelings, delays and in Continues on page 11
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