RAY BOWMAN   FOUNDER

After thirty years as an architect, designing various kinds of buildings including church buildings, Ray Bowman left his architectural firm in 1980 to begin a ministry of consulting with churches.  (Read the story in chapter 13 of The More-with-Less Church.) Over the next few years, Ray used his architectural expertise to help churches avoid unnecessary building.  Learning from each church he worked with, within a few years Ray had learned how to help most churches make their buildings work well for a congregation two to three times the size for which it had been originally designed.  By applying Ray's approach, growing churches were able to get out of debt and stay out of debt, even through major building programs. Ray's wife, Sally, partnered with him in this ministry, bringing crucial gifts to the team that complemented Ray's.  Ray's articles have appeared in more than 40 periodicals including Leadership, Your Church, Ministries Today, and Clergy Journal.  He is coauthor with Eddy Hall of The More-with-Less Church and When Not to Build.

Now retired, Ray continues to mentor the other members of the consulting team he founded and to collaborate with them on consultations.  He and his wife Sally live in Olathe, Kansas.