An Overview of our Church Foundation Workshops

This short article is an overview of the Church Foundation Workshops that our practice offers with Rev Dr Andrew Ball.

Understanding Redemptive Purpose

We believe that in any given era, the local church is purposed to understand God’s heart to restore the human spirit to live in freedom and hope. With this in mind, we intend to encourage your church community to discover its sense of redemptive purpose; that is your unique fingerprint that enables you to design facilities that will serve your community and your mission into the future.

It used to be taught within church growth principles: ‘if we build it they will come’. This mantra no longer has currency in a post-Christian secular world where community connections and spaces look very different. For churches to flourish, we believe they need a theological understanding of redemption that aligns with their own unique purpose or mission.

This conversation pre-determines how you will ultimately design facilities that serve God and serve others. It includes a reminder to see the role of the church in God’s mission and to understand the important difference between a faith community and its facilities.

The first facilitation helps you understand the theology and practical application of your redemptive purpose.

Innovative Contextual Design

It is important to us, that your future facilities are designed and crafted with care and with an innovative impetus which enables your church to operate with purpose and intention to serve and love your community. We have learnt that how you audit your location creates important information and insight that enables you to contextually engage in mission.

Our desire for you is to develop a suite of church facilities that operate 24/7 within your context. These assets would be community orientated, valued, appreciated and welcomed as contextual assets that enhances the city’s welfare as a blessing. We want your local community to love who you are as you serve in facilities that are innovative and contextual.

The project process helps you consider how your local community might be the focus of your mission. We have learnt that missional practice requires churches to embrace those not yet engaged in the Kingdom of God, to experience His love and grace. This is a substantial mindset shift that should underpin facility design based on data from your local community. Our second workshop facilitates your learning with respect to ‘auditing’ your local community to assess real needs as a critical contextual information to enhance your innovative design ideas. We also want you to understand the importance of digital technology as a medium for future growth.

Placemaking as an Ecosystem

At Ever Architects, we believe that your future facilities are akin to a God-breathed ecosystem designed to help people discover faith in Jesus. Most importantly, we hold a sacred view that we need each other to stimulate safe spaces to grow, learn, express our gifts and encourage one another.

The early church was more akin to an organic community that shared resources and empowered others to pursue their dreams through tangible support and realistic spiritual care. Your future facilities are a place that is made to reflect the heartbeat of God. As you navigate these spaces, we understand that facility graphics, signs, visuals and signposts are critical visuals that reinforce the more subtle and important values implicit in tending to an ecosystem.

We love revitalising older church facilities and take delight in your dreams for future green-field churches, where your facility placemaking is clear and compelling. Throughout our design process we also offer important insights and ideas to help you create places that enhance wellbeing and remind the soul of the sacred.

Our final workshop is facilitated to help you explore placemaking as an ecosystem that you will tend and care for going forward.

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Most church projects start with a relaxed coffee. Get in touch and we’ll make it happen.

If you have any questions, comments or issues requiring clarification, please reach out.