In our previous issue, we discussed the importance of using an interior designer, their role in the design process, and how they can help transform the interior of the church. Now we will talk about the role of the client and what they can do to help facilitate a smooth and successful project.

When embarking on a renovation or new construction project, the church often appoints several individuals to a building committee to oversee the overall project. Though not necessary, a separate “interiors committee” may also be formed. It is important that this group get involved early in the process. Selecting the appropriate individuals to participate is as crucial as selecting the right designer for the project. Our experience has shown that the smaller the interiors committee, the more effective and efficient the design process. Churches, especially, seem to have difficulty narrowing down their selection due to the number of ministries they may have. They may feel it necessary to have a representative from each ministry which, in some cases, could be upwards of ten people! Ten people with ten differing opinions will only result in a long and exhausting process, which is often detrimental to the project. Continue Reading »

The group at Ni River Community Church is committed to “loving people where they are”. The church began with a congregation of about 60 people. They had their first public meeting in February of 1999 at a local high school and continue to meet there today with their growing family. God has given them a unique vision for their future and blessed them with ground to build a permanent home through Tri-Cord, a local development organization.

Their new site will be gradually expanded in stages, beginning with their ministry center. Plans are to build a structure that has a centrally-located fellowship mall with a café, Bookstore and stage to foster interaction between the people who come to worship. Eventually, this building will be turned into a multi-purpose youth center when a dedicated worship facility is built on their site.

God calls each of His churches to a unique ministry. Such is the case at Ni River as they feel the call to reach out to the autistic children in their area. Continue Reading »

When designing a room, it is important to consider the impact color has, both psychologically and physiologically, on the people using the space. When selecting colors for a particular room, keep the affects of the four basic color groups in mind.

Red is a color that arouses emotion. It also induces hunger, making a café or restaurant an ideal place to use it. One must remember, however, that too much red can make a person irritable. Continue Reading »

Abitibi Paper Retriever is the global leader in the manufacturing and recycling of newsprint, but it is also a company that offers a free program to churches, schools, and non-profit organizations.  They provide a 7-cubic-yard recycling bin (the same size as a small dumpster) for your group to dump all kinds of paper products into.  Abitibi will empty your bin regularly, weigh how many pounds of paper you’ve recycled and, on the 15th of each month, cut a check to you.  They pay you for every pound of paper you’ve recycled - no strings attached.  Churches have been known to use this cash to fund their church maintenance, pay for a missions trip, or to support a charity.  The benefit of this program is two-fold… not only do you keep mounds of paper out of landfills, but you also get to see tangible results through the monthly payment.  This could be a great way for members of a church to dispose of all their paper, junk mail, catalogs, and other paper products they would otherwise simply throw away.

Once again, I’m off to the WFX Conference to give the Multi-purpose & Expandable Worship Center workshop. I’ll have a bit more time to share than last fall, which is good because we have a ton of information on the topic. The presentation also now has an increased emphasis on the Green aspect of multi-purpose worship centers. And a final enhancement for now is that the prototype multi-purpose Worship Center design for New City is nearing completion of construction, so I’ll have some updated photos to share. (When I give this workshop again in the fall, New City will be completed and we should have some great photos showing the transformation of the space!)

While I’ve written for the blog and our Newsletter previously about multi-purpose worship centers, I have not written much on expandable worship centers. As I thought about it, I realized that we are doing many more expandable ones than multi-purpose. Dedicated worship centers tend to cost 30% to 40% more than equivalent seating capacities in multi-purpose. Recognizing that a church puts a lot of money into a dedicated Worship Center, we use this concept to enable the church to keep growing with much greater economy, as well as much less disruption to on-going operations. The basic concept is that you push out the walls to add more seating. (In actuality, it is the other way around - construct the additional seating and then remove interior wall.) We have about a half-dozen of these already constructed and another dozen or so currently in the design phase. Interested in knowing more about this concept? After the workshop, I’ll post the presentation on our ChurchArchitects.com website.