March 26, 2001
___Sprung comes from the name of the family-owned company that manufactures these high-tech tents, but they do virtually spring to life in a matter of days in all sorts of locations. ___The structures are made of an incredibly strong synthetic membrane stretched tightly over a skeleton of aluminum beams. Insulation is placed between an outer membrane and an inner membrane, creating an insulation factor of R-28. ___Typically, Sprung buildings are white, but they do come in other colors and patterns as well. The appearance of the completed building has been compared to a hard-shell circus tent, a giant marshmallow or a big bubble. ___Although the company that manufactures these space-age structures has been around for more than 100 years, its structure division is less than 30 years old. Churches have begun using the pre-fab buildings only in the last decade. ___Lawton Searcy was pastor of the third church in the United States to use a Sprung
___The young church had purchased property in Baton Rouge, La., but did not intend to build for up to 18 months. The landlord of the facility they were leasing at the time, however, gave them a 30-day notice to get out. ___"We needed a worship space for 300 people immediately," Search recalled. "I thought about a tent, and the only person I knew who had a tent was Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church in California." ___Searcy called Warren, who told him about Sprung buildings as a better alternative to a tent. Saddleback was using a Sprung building to accommodate its rapid growth. ___Other than Saddleback and a Catholic church in California, no other U.S. church was using the unique manufactured buildings, Searcy said. However, he learned the structures had been used in an Olympic village, in Operation Desert Storm and in the arctic. ___"Finally, we decided if it's good enough for the Olympic village, we're going to take a shot at it," he explained. "We ordered the building, and six weeks later we held our first
___Just as important, he said, his young church put up the Sprung building for 30 percent to 40 percent of the cost of a traditional building. ___The second Sunday Church of the Highlands occupied its Sprung building, teams of leaders from other churches began trekking to Baton Rouge to investigate, Searcy said. ___Sometime this year, the number of churches using Sprung structures will surpass the 100 mark, said Searcy, who now is a consultant for Sprung Instant Structures, based in Canada. ___Churches using Sprung buildings fall into two general categories, Searcy said. ___The first group is new churches that need an immediate facility but have limited funds or can't get a traditional building erected fast enough to meet their needs. ___The second group is large churches that are growing so rapidly they don't have time to build an adequate traditional building without impeding growth. ___Leaders of some United Methodist conferences are considering purchasing Sprung buildings as a part of their church-starting strategy, he said. Because the buildings are portable, they could be moved from location to location to help launch churches until they secure permanent facilities. ___"It's fast. It's flexible. You can resell the building or relocate it. It doesn't interfere with your master plan," Searcy said. "It can keep churches growing until they can build what they want to build." ___That's exactly what happened at Southcliff Baptist Church in Fort Worth, where the congregation has worshipped in a 70-by-120-foot Sprung building for more than 18 months. ___Southcliff will move in to a new permanent worship center Easter Sunday--one that was built on the same spot as the old worship center. In the meantime, the 700-seat Sprung worship center erected on a church parking lot has helped the church not miss a beat during construction. ___"We've had a great experience with it," said Joshua Whitehead, minister of evangelism and outreach and overseer of church facilities. ___Southcliff bought the temporary building for $187,500--about $22 per square foot. The church spent quite a bit more, however, to put carpet on the floor, build a stage, install heating and air conditioning and install theatrical lighting and sound equipment. ___Now that the new worship center is nearly complete, Southcliff is seeking to sell the Sprung building. Whitehead said he does not yet know what the resale value will be or how easy or hard it will be to sell the structure. ___Cost and flexibility are major selling points of the Sprung buildings, Searcy said, noting the inside of the domes can be finished any way a church desires. Some churches put up drywall framing inside to create traditional rooms. Others use the structure as is, only moving in chairs and other furniture. ___Because the structures have no corners, the acoustics are exceptional for concerts, he said. And the covering is fire-resistant and wind-resistant. The Sprung building he erected in Baton Rouge survived a tornado, he said. ___Total cost of erecting a Sprung structure depends on how the building is finished out and equipped, Searcy said. But for an average church application, the total cost per square foot averages between $25 and $55, he said. ___That compares to between $40 and $60 per square foot for construction of a metal building or $70 to $130 per square foot for construction of a permanent traditional worship center, according to Keith Crouch, director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas church facilities office. ___Crouch said his staff has worked with several churches using Sprung buildings and has seen applications where the temporary building met specific needs. ___As with any church construction project, however, he advises caution and careful deliberation about all options. Whether a Sprung building is appropriate for a church will depend upon factors such as a church's mission strategy, location, community expectations and long-term goals, he said. ___"Some places it will work, and some places it won't," he said. ___ __ The Baptist Standard
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