Ministry Architects Founder Mark DeVries
After nearly three months of discussion and discernment among Church Council members and a small advisory team, the Council recommended to the congregation on May 7 that First Baptist engage a church consulting and coaching organization, Ministry Architects. The congregation will consider and vote on their proposal at a special called business meeting on Sunday, June 4.
Ministry Architects was founded in 2002 by Mark DeVries. At that time, Mark was serving as the associate pastor for youth and their families at First Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee. Early in his ministry with First Presbyterian, Mark realized his “seventy-hour plus workweeks” were producing few visible signs of a ministry “off and running”. And he knew change was needed. The results of those changes, Mark’s unique approach to ministry, is how Ministry Architects came to be. Mark is now an internationally known author and speaker on congregational ministry in the twenty-first century.
Ministry Architects help congregations become who God is calling them to be with the proper systems and processes in place to help them execute that calling well. Their company’s core values include: groundedness, responsiveness, playfulness, climate, relationships, innovation, results, theological humility, the poor, and persistence.
Ministry Architects' process begins with a deep listening assessment that involves every individual connected to the congregation. Following the listening assessment, they write a customized blueprint for the congregation with input from key church leadership and staff. Then, they come alongside the congregation for a period of 12-18 months to make sure the work gets done.
Ministry Architects has 1000+ clients that include whole churches, children’s ministries, theological institutions, non-profits, and more and more faith-based organizations every year. You can read more about them and Mark DeVries at this website: https://ministryarchitects.com/who-we-are/.