In my unique role as EMI’s videographer/photographer, I see our project work from all the various angles. I capture the excitement on the faces of volunteers, the encouraging conversations between our staff and the ministry, and the gratitude of beneficiaries.
Time and again, one of my favorite moments to witness is the amazement our clients express as they work with the team on initial design. It’s a look that says, “I was not expecting this!”
I have interviewed a dozen or more ministry directors and what they most often are expecting is that an architect will sit down, ask a few questions about how much space and what types of facilities are needed.
Then they will disappear for a few months and return with some renderings. Perhaps there will be some review and minor revisions, but for the most part they will likely call it complete.
In more than a few cases, I have talked with ministry directors who have already had this exact experience. The result was a functional space, but not one that allowed the ministry to realize its full potential.
While the practical needs were considered, no one ever truly tried to get to the heart of their work. No attempt was made to understand why they do what they do.
Imagine you are that ministry director. You know you cannot do this alone, but you are not confident about moving forward, and are not even certain how to begin the conversations about design and construction.
Now imagine something different. A team of Christian design professionals arrives at your site. As meetings begin, they pray with you. They ask the right questions and seek to understand your ministry and your community. Your staff are invited in as well, to give their input and to explain key aspects of their daily work.
As discussions begin, the team is taking notes, asking more questions, and listening. Always listening.
Each day they come to you with more questions, seeking more input, and by mid-week you can see a plan taking shape. They have thought of things you will need that were only nebulous and in the back of your mind. You notice they have looked ahead to design for needs you did not even realize you had.
This is what EMI does. A team arrives armed with experience, knowledge of local culture, and listening ears.
They spend generous time getting to know the heartbeat of your work, the needs of your staff and those you serve, and the unique challenges you face. Through the course of a week, they use what they hear to design a facility that creates space for ministry, growth, and flourishing.
This is not where it ends. Even after the team has returned to their homes, EMI is still working and in communication with you. You are not left alone to manage the challenges your project might encounter.
We have built a ministry paradigm over 40 years of this 'EMI listening', and the value of that listening is distinct from the value of the actual design. But we’ve forgotten to share 'the way EMI works' with potential clients who have yet to experience it for themselves.
“This has been our approach for so long, this 'EMI way' has become so normal over the years, we yawn. We don't even talk about it,” says Latin America Regional Director Matthew Coffey.
“But we need to start talking about it. It is who we are. It is how we minister to Christian leaders around the world.
"And EMI 'how' is just as valuable as EMI 'what'."
Often even when the design is complete and the facility is constructed, the relationships between the ministry and EMI staff continue. I’ve visited so many built project sites with the architects and engineers who led the original design teams.
I always love to walk just a few paces behind as they tour the campus and talk about all God is doing in these precious spaces.
I love that my role allows me to show our generous donors, our network of volunteers, and our worldwide staff some of the great projects happening around the world.
But if we fail to show potential clients the value EMI can bring to their ministry, it is incomplete.
That value is not just in the finished product of a well-planned hospital campus or completed school. The real value is in how these come about.
It is the gospel value of a team of committed believers, holding hands across times zones and oceans, encouraging each other and working toward a world of hope.
