Church, Prepare to Build!

Why are we so excited about helping more churches to build again in this country?

Firstly, because more churches probably means more people becoming Christians.

The second reason is it shows more commitment and life in the Christian community. Building churches takes significant commitment of time and money. When the church builds it shows Christians are confident they are here to stay…at least for a little bit longer! When the church is building you can be confident its people are confident, full of vision and committed. Churches preparing to build, is amazing evidence that the church is growing, in both number and maturity.

The final reason is equally important. The local church delivers huge amounts of positive social impact. This is enabled by better buildings. New and improved church buildings will enable more social impact across the UK. This positive social impact is incredibly valuable. It was graphically evidenced in the House of Good assessment that valued this positive social impact in society at £55billion annually. That is roughly £1.4million for each and every one of the 38,500 churches in the UK. At Snug we prosper people and places by design. We believe that well designed churches will do just that for their congregation and their community.

It is estimated that there are over 50,000 congregations in the UK. This means that over 10,000 of them don’t yet have a building. We are seeing a growing number of existing churches extend and churches without a permanent home exploring creating one. Snug have the privilege of working with every size, type and denomination of church community from a Grade 2* Listed 1,000 year old church in Eling to Victorian chapels and modern church that meet in shops and warehouses to Church of England Resources Churches.

We are doing what we can to help the church build. Whether it be reordering, extending, building a whole new church or exploring how to pay for it all through an enabling development and fundraising, we have put together a team of dedicated experts who are passionate about the church building well. It is an exciting time.

This is why we hosted an event in early February 2026 called Church, Prepare to Build!. It was a practical opportunity for church leaders to gather, learn and consider how to prepare to transform their buildings as well as a prophetic call to action. We are calling the church to prepare to build and supporting them to do this well.

The Church, Prepare to Build! event was attended by over 50 church leaders from 30 different churches and 6 denominations, making it a truly ecumenical event and revealing the depth and breath of activity in the churches of Britain.

The event was sponsored by Snug Architects and hosted by St Wins Church, Totton. For those who arrived early there was an opportunity to tour the award winning church refurbishment.

The event opened with a welcome from the church and a short time of sung worship, ensuring this was not just an opportunity to learn but also a time for spiritual reflection and encounter. Paul Bulkeley, design director at Snug, introduced the focus for the evening and the importance of preparing well. Then four professional experts spoke on key aspects of the early project stages that are essential to preparing well. This included, Beth Malinowski from Snug, who spoke on Engage Your Community, Paul Bulkeley on Realise Potential, Nigel Walters from ArchAngel on Navigate the Process and Jill Gentle on Fund Your Project, with a panel discussion chaired by Catherine Townsend from the National Churches Trust concluding proceedings.

At Snug we know how essential great clients are to making great buildings. This event was a small step in the right direction, allowing churches of every type and denomination to gather and discover how to ensure their project gets off to the best possible start. When church projects are well planned, well funded and committed to the right team doing a proper job the outcomes will be positive.

It was a joy to host the event at St Wins, our beautiful refurbishment of a Grade 2 Listed church in Totton and winner of the 2025 Church Architecture Awards President Award. Seeing so many churches, some of whom are clients, gathering to worship, listen and learn was very special. It was a great endorsement that we are ourselves doing business as ministry.

At Snug our mission is to help you deliver yours. If you would like to book one of our FREE 90 minute sessions for church leaders called 'Church Leaders Prepare' please give us a call on 02382 029500 or email info@snugarchitects.co.uk.