MISSION: ACCOMPLISHED
DR. JIMMY D. PRITCHARD / SENIOR PASTOR / FIRST BAPTIST FORNEY / FORNEY, TX
Careful.
Considered.
Coordinated.
One large Texas church proves the
best church building outcomes are all
of the above
By RaeAnn Slaybaugh
When leaders at First Baptist Forney acknowledged their church
had outgrown its large, circa-2000 facility, they felt blessed … but
also challenged.
Having undergone a few previous building projects, Senior Pastor
Dr. Jimmy Pritchard and his team knew exactly what (and who) they
were looking for: the right partners.
From the architect, to the A/V/L systems integrator, to the security
& surveillance provider, the goal was the same: meld the past with
the present at First Baptist Forney — but also plan for the future.
Since completion last April on a 98,000-square-foot expansion to the
existing 129,000-square-foot church campus, everyone who visits First
Baptist Forney now enjoys a 2,000-plus-seat worship venue, full health
and workout facility for the community, two basketball courts and a
walking track, massive open area for events and gatherings, a full-service
coffee shop, and expanded children’s areas.
Yet, while the facility — and everything inside — is certainly
impressive, the church’s careful, considered and coordinated approach to
creating that space and experience is also well worth examining.
But first, we need an architect
Though the original worship space at First Baptist Forney (built in
2001) is large — with a 900-seat capacity — even more growth was
projected as the surrounding community exploded.
Senior Pastor Dr. Jimmy D. Pritchard was already hosting three
services, but it still wasn’t enough. It was clearly time to expand.
With an ideal worship seating capacity of 2,000+, not to mention
the need for expanded fellowship spaces and children’s areas, Pritchard
knew this would be a big project. With an eye toward good stewardship,
he was looking to get more out of the space. “I personally had difficulty
spending that much for a facility that we use maybe a couple of hours a
week,” he says.
Pritchard visited a nearby church’s multipurpose worship and
gymnasium facility and says he knew immediately it was what he wanted
for First Baptist Forney. Uniquely, this would be a space for Sunday
worship, but also for weeknight and adult and children’s sport ministries.
Tricky a balance as it was, this dual functionality was key; the
church already had a popular sports ministry. It was meeting in local
school gyms, but Pritchard wanted to bring all that activity onto the
church campus.
Though he and his team vetted several different options, they
ultimately chose HH Architects [ www.hharchitects.com ] for their
massive facility expansion — the same firm that designed the
multipurpose worship space he’d visited and admired.
That bricks-and-mortar reference obviously made a big impact on
Pritchard. However, having overseen previous large-scale church building
projects, he also appreciated HH’s focus on churches, specifically.
“We’ve stepped in a few potholes in the past, so we knew ourselves
where some of them were,” he acknowledges. “But it was still important
to us to get an experienced church architect.”
Part of this appeal, of course, is familiarity with church processes and
thinking. HH has completed hundreds of church projects.
“[The church] wanted a ministry partner,” says HH Architects
President & CEO Bruce Woody. “Our extensive experience in ministry
design allows for strategic planning, thought-provoking discussions and,
ultimately, ministry spaces that exceed needs and expectations.”
Moreover, Pritchard needed to feel confident in the firm’s ability
to coordinate and consult with not only the architectural and
engineering factions, but also with the production and security
aspects. For a cohesive design, all of this would need to be synched
during design and construction. Additionally, it would enable him to
take a more hands-off approach than in previous projects, focusing
instead on spiritual leadership.
To this same end, Pritchard recognized the need for a “vision
leadership team” — which ultimately was the basis for the building
team, the finance team, and the technology team. Each team was
comprised of laypeople with professional experience in these areas.
About once a week, Pritchard met with his executive pastor to discuss
the project. Then, a few vision team leaders met with that executive
pastor every few weeks. They also served as liaisons between the church
and bank representatives, construction contractors, architects and more
for the duration of the project.
“I probably didn't have to [ get deeply involved] but four or five
times,” Pritchard says. “I leaned on [these teams] very heavily, and I was
able to just to concentrate on being the pastor.”
With the right church people in the right seats, the focus turned
to ensuring a multipurpose worship space that transitions from
recreation to worship — quickly. The resulting design achieves this
goal with beauty and innovation.
One section of the new, 2,000-seat worship center at First
Baptist Forney is permanently set up for worship, seating 700. An
electronically operated folding partition separates this area from the
gymnasium portion, which features 1,300 more pull-down seats on
bleacher-like platforms that pull out from the walls.
6 CHURCH EXECUTIVE | JULY / AUG 2020