Church clients can be tricky. They are fabulous because they know their missions and have great ideas on how to get there. They’re not so fabulous because designers oftentimes have to deal with church committees made up of many different personalities and backgrounds (and little understanding of architectural or AVL system design) when bringing church projects to fruition.
Here are five tips that will help AVL designers/architects keep church clients on task when implementing projects – and avoid design project gridlock. The experts who provided these tips are:
- church architect Aubrey Garrison III (Chairman of the Board at LIVE Design Group);
- AVL systems designer/integrator Craig Janssen (Managing Director with Idibri);
- AVL systems designer/integrator Duke DeJong (President of Integration with Vantage Pro).
#1: Don’t Speak In Tongues
It is vital to use plain, common language with a church client to minimize misunderstandings and ensure that everyone is on the same page. This applies to everything from broad project descriptions to the minutest of technical details.
“We have focussed for years on communicating in layman's language to our church clients,” says Garrison. "This is because architects tend to talk in a design and construction language that is unfamiliar to ministers, church staff, and lay members of church project committees,” he explains. The same is true for AVL designers: They need to avoid buzzwords and use plain speech, to ensure that church committee members know what they’re talking about.
#2: Define the Vision Upfront
Once everyone is speaking the same language, it is time to ensure that everyone shares the same vision of the project in clear, concrete terms. This requires reaching agreement on what the building project is meant to achieve, what it should basically look like, and how it is to function.
To maximize project success, the client needs to define this vision upfront--likely with the help and guidance of architects and AVL designers.
“Developing a clear, actionable and – most importantly -- unified definition of what project success looks like is typically very hard for not only committees, but also for AVL designers who are trying to tease this information out of the committees,” Janssen admits. “But if you can’t get this sorted in the very first committee meetings, then the project will be a hotbed for personality dominance – the loudest voice wins – and competing goals which will lead to frustration for everyone.”
“Developing a clear, actionable and – most importantly -- unified definition of what project success looks like is typically very hard for not only committees, but also for AVL designers who are trying to tease this information out of the committees...." Craig Janssen, Managing Director, Idibri, Dallas, TX
The good news is that advanced presentation aids can help move the vision definition process along. For instance, “with Virtual Reality, architects can put the church client inside a 3D model of the church and let them see their project in a way that is vastly different than just looking at flat floor plans or a sketch of the church’s exterior,” says Garrison.
#3: Balance Dreams With Budgets
“Churches’ project needs and wishes almost always outstrips their available budgets,” says Janssen. “However, constrained budgets will always force the church to make the hard decisions of what is most important to them; whether they truly need ‘state of the art’, and what they are willing to compromise on.”
He adds, “Deciding what’s important in a project is generally not too hard. It’s deciding what compromises to accept that generates conflict within the decision-makers.”
To enable this balancing act, architects and AVL designers should walk their church clients through the prioritization process, and develop compromise options for their clients to choose from. (They should also encourage the church to choose a contractor as soon as possible, so that budget decisions can be made realistically.)
[Design professionals] should encourage the church to choose a contractor as soon as possible, so that budget decisions can be made realistically.
In developing options, designers should select robust equipment that is likely to be vendor-supported for the next 15-20 years, rather than dwelling upon the cheapest option that is already obsolete.
“Many churches have the misunderstanding that good stewardship is about buying cheap,” says DeJong. “This couldn't be further from the truth: Good stewardship is about being efficient and effective. This means you need to get the right gear that will get you where you want to go. Equipping yourself well, the first time, is the key to being a good steward.”
“Many churches have the misunderstanding that good stewardship is about buying cheap. This couldn't be further from the truth.” Duke DeJong, President of Integration, Vantage Pro, Smithville, MO
#4: Get a Final Church Decision-Maker
To avoid gridlock, the client must put someone in charge who is willing and able to make final decisions. Otherwise, the project can be delayed whenever disagreements occur among church members – and they will disagree from time to time.
“There must be a clear, final decision-maker who can keep things moving and ensure decisions get made. Otherwise the process can get paralyzed.” Aubrey Garrison III, Chairman of the Board, Live Design Group, Birmingham, AL
“The biggest challenge we see when working with large groups of decision-makers is having too many cooks in the kitchen,” Garrison observes. “There must be a clear, final decision-maker who can keep things moving and ensure decisions get made. Otherwise the process can get paralyzed.”
#5: Tackle Issues Promptly and Honestly
Even with the best of intentions, things can go wrong during church projects. When issues arise, designers should deal with them head-on, and do so using honest, open language with their clients.
"Deal with things quickly, honestly, and with grace and kindness, before they can become ugly monsters.” Duke DeJong, President of Integration, Vantage Pro, Smithville, MO
“One of the most important things to remember at all times is communication is critical,” says DeJong. “Not dealing with hard topics, whether a design topic or a people issue, will only create more and more tension as it is left undealt with. Deal with things quickly, honestly, and with grace and kindness, before they can become ugly monsters.”
[Editor's note: originally published in June 2021.]
