Since taking over as director of his church, Samuel had faced a lot of unexpected challenges. His previous career as a lawyer had given him the skills to help deal with some of the congregant concerns and during the negotiation process of recruiting a new pastor. After more and more church members started to approach him with concerns about the appearance of the church building, Samuel realized that the church was probably due for a major face life. Designing and decorating these kinds of renovations, however, were well out of his area of expertise. In order to start to get together an idea of what kind of budget these updates would entail, Samuel started some major research.
First, Samuel educated himself on the history of church design. He learned that many churches, especially cathedrals, have a cruciform ground pattern. His church was built in this way as well, though Samuel had never realized how steeped in history this design was. He also learned that two of the easiest ways to majorly upgrade his church would be by using getting new church pews and a new church steeple. Church pews, which became a feature in churches following the protestant reformation and the introduction of the sermon as a main part of a worship service, are one of the items that truly help a church to feel like a church. Samuel knew that the pews in their building were quite old and were not very comfortable, especially for older members.
Based on his research, Samuel started to look into how to buy church pews and church steeple prices. He was particularly focused on church steeple prices, as he knew that there was a fairly robust market for second hand church pews and they could likely get a great deal. When getting quotes for church steeple prices, Samuel realized he had to get a firmer grasp on the church steeple design he was envisioning. The kind of size and design he was interested in would help to inform the cost of either upgrading their existing steeple, or replacing it one that was more modern and in line with the rest of the church’s design vision.
After bringing together a group of interested church members to discuss the findings of his research, the group devised a plan to help raise the money to update the church pews and redesign the steeple. Like Samuel, they felt that updating the steeple would help to attract people to their church, and would honor the important role the building had in the community. Though the process of raising the funds for such a project would likely require a lot of work from Samuel and the members of the congregation, there was a great sense of excitement about reinvigorating a space beloved by so many.