Our Services
unlocking the value that is already there.
We believe every church property has potential.
Our services are designed to help you discover that potential and leverage it for the common good in your unique context. Whether that’s through placemaking, new development or redevelopment, we will be with you in every step of the visioning, design and implementation process.
Our consulting packages are custom-designed to fit each individual congregation and may include any of the following services:
Placemaking Strategy
Placemaking is a creative approach to property stewardship that transforms spaces to pass by into welcoming places to be through collaborative, hands-on projects. Our placemaking strategies are designed to be small-scale and incremental, so your church can easily start implementing exciting changes to your property.
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Sees exterior projects that make your property more welcoming as an exciting way to build connections with neighbors
Has a limited budget, but wants to pursue invitational exterior property improvements
Hopes to infuse some fun energy with your congregation through interactive, community-focused projects
Real estate coaching
Real estate coaching involves guiding your church through the process of buying, selling, or developing a property. We also help churches establish creative real estate partnerships that enable them to use their property in new ways.
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Wants to optimize underutilized or excess land, but is not sure how best to do this
Lacks the knowledge and expertise to know where to begin in the property development process (buying, selling, developing, partnering)
Needs help identifying missionally-aligned real estate partners and options for your property
Property Analysis
The Property Analysis process helps your church identify the best path forward for your church, whether that’s placemaking, buying, selling, developing or a creative combination. We look at the physical, social, and political landscape. We also take into account practical issues such as zoning, nearby land uses, new development and city plans that may have implications for your property’s future.
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Wants to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that exist with your property in light of your overall mission and property goals
Needs to clearly understand the best property-stewardship options in relation to your context and resources
Desires guidance in developing a strategic plan for discerning the feasibility of potential projects
Congregational Listening
Congregational Listening can be accomplished through a series of listening and ideation sessions, congregational surveys and idea boards. Through these processes we help your church discover the ideas that inspire and motivate your congregation, ascertain their feelings about the property, and assess their appetite for change, levels of risk and investment.
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Needs support leading your congregation through a property discernment process
Wants a clear picture of your congregation’s thoughts and feelings concerning property development(s)
Seeks a strategy for identifying existing and latent assets (monetary, physical, and relational) that could support a project
Neighborhood Connecting
Through a series of exercises, we will help your church gain a better understanding of your community by looking at its history, current dynamics and local stakeholders. Building upon this, we also guide your church in identifying ways to viably “seek the welfare” of your neighborhood.
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Wants to better understand who is in your neighborhood
Needs guidance on creative strategies to identify and consider community needs and desires
Is looking for neighborhood missional partnership opportunities
How to get started
Book a Discovery Call
This is a free 30-minute consultation to talk with Sara Joy about your property, your neighborhood, and your specific challenges.
Schedule an Exploratory Workshop
Depending on what we learn in the Discovery Call, we’ll schedule a deeper dive Exploratory Workshop with your team to clarify your priorities and challenges. From this session, we will generate a customized summary and proposal outlining which of our services we believe best fit the needs and capacity of your church.
Review Your Custom Proposal
After we’ve developed your customized proposal, we will schedule a short call to review it together and discuss any questions you may have before signing off.
“When Trinity City Church purchased a new building, we asked Sara Joy from Proximity Project to help us develop a plan to use the property for the common good of our city. She not only gave us the framework to cast a vision for this plan, but she also gave us tangible examples and steps to take in order to accomplish it.”
Case Studies
ready to get started?
If you’re ready to start reimagining your church property, then we’re ready to help.