THE PARAGON ANGLE: The Most Important Renovation Question To Ask

[00:00:00] Let's hear from Paragon 360 and the Paragon Angle.

[00:00:03] Yes, we need to renovate the sanctuary because it looks like 1981 and smells like 73, but why?

[00:00:09] Today, we're going to talk about the single most important question to ask when doing a renovation or new construction project.

[00:00:21] Hello, I'm Donnie Bronner, owner and CEO of Paragon 360, and this is the Paragon Angle.

[00:00:26] When you start out to do a renovation or new construction project, your architect or your audio, video, lighting,

[00:00:32] integrator or design firm, they should be asking the question, why?

[00:00:37] It's that simple. The most important question is why are we doing this project?

[00:00:43] Who attends? Who's the core, right? Who's the target?

[00:00:47] Come on, I know we love everybody and everybody's the target, but who is the target? There's got to be a target.

[00:00:52] Who are we trying to reach? Let's talk about styles. Is there multi-generational impact to deal with?

[00:00:57] Does your space reflect your core values? If not, why? Does it need to?

[00:01:02] Is it designed for the church or unchurched? Many integrators may not be digging that deep into all that, but they should if they're really trying to solve the issues and meet the objectives as opposed to just trying to sell gear.

[00:01:16] This should be informing our decisions as we work through design.

[00:01:19] If we're going to spend a bunch of money, you'd better know why, because the people you need to support the project are going to want to know why.

[00:01:27] When casting vision, it's critical to ask the question, why? Why are we doing this?

[00:01:31] What are the real goals and objectives of this project? What are the ministry goals of this project?

[00:01:36] And does this design speak to why and help us achieve those goals?

[00:01:41] So yes, we need to renovate the sanctuary because it looks like 1981 and smells like 73, but why?

[00:01:48] So the project campaign should be built around that, obviously, but it should also drive the decisions that the designers and planners make.

[00:01:58] In over a thousand projects in 24 years, I have yet to find a client that can afford everything they want.

[00:02:04] Yes, even here at Prestonwood, they have a budget too.

[00:02:08] So it comes down to priorities and it comes down to being crystal clear about what we're doing and why.

[00:02:13] I promise you this, reaching people that are not there now and reaching the growing unchurched crowd,

[00:02:21] slowing the decline in the church, engaging with people at home, reaching the new core of the church, which is millennials and Gen Z.

[00:02:29] Those answers will not be found in a new PA system or because you took out the pews for seats and removed the plants or because you got rid of the Baptist page.

[00:02:36] It goes deeper than that. If we're trying to reach people that are not there now, it's going to require a big thought process.

[00:02:44] Trust me, this is easier to get it wrong than it is to get it right.

[00:02:48] The new core of your church is interested in community, gathering spaces, connection, fellowship, children, and security.

[00:02:53] So understanding how your renovation plans are going to facilitate that is going to be key.

[00:02:59] Now, it doesn't help for your architects, master planners, integrators to ask those questions if they don't know what to do with the information.

[00:03:07] Because a lot of the architects are architects, but they don't really understand the church.

[00:03:12] And churches are very complicated spaces to design and get right.

[00:03:16] Or they're AVL companies that don't really know the decisions, how their decisions impact the bigger goals of the project because they're focused on selling gear.

[00:03:25] But think through all of that when making decisions about who you want to have help you with your project.

[00:03:30] It's imperative that we get this right the first time.

[00:03:32] So if you want to motivate or inspire people to get behind the project or your new initiative, you must start by casting a compelling vision.

[00:03:40] And the why has to be at the center of that vision.

[00:03:43] Which means it should lead the design process from the very beginning.

[00:03:47] It has to be front and center.

[00:03:50] I hope this was helpful and we'll see you in the next Paragon Angle.

[00:03:54] Thank you.