“ Any design for man should serve the whole man: body, mind and soul.”
“Any Christian approach to architecture would reject the harshness of functionalism, and insist that only by surrounding man with meaning can his spiritual nature begin to be enhanced.” Madeleine L’Engle
Back in 2001, Pastor Tanis asked me to design a church which could hold 500 people, to serve not only the regular congregation, but also many more people when festivals happen and many churches gather together in one place. He saw a temple that lifts the spirits of Haitian people when they worship the LORD. There is a reason for each element of the church, sometimes more than one —- functional, structural and spiritual.
Let me explain the meaning of each one:
The entrance draws people from three sides under the everlasting wings of its sweeping roof. Once in, we are called to be imitators of Christ who (1)calls, (2)saves and (3)serves us. This entrance also serves a structural function as a huge buttress to brace the main building against gravity and hurricane forces.
This is an “inside out” building, so what happens on the inside can be turned outside with the help of the circular porch and semi-circular alcove or apse at the front of the building. The porch shelters a well and a baptistry and the baptistry is carved out of the main sanctuary in a semi-circle: it can be viewed from under the porch or from within the sanctuary. Therefore, congregants being baptized can line up under the porch and be viewed from inside or outside. The preacher and a band and singers can present to the courtyard or the street in front of the semi-circular apse upstairs on the porch. These features also provide structural bracing for the main volume of the church.
The sanctuary is oriented to a podium on the long side of the sanctuary with seating surrounding on three sides allowing for intimate connection with the podium. The mezzanine also offers seating oriented to the podium on three sides. The mezzanine also structurally braces the major walls of the church. This seating arrangement allows crowds small or large to feel a comfortable fit in the space.
Finally, the prayer room, considered by many to be the most important room of the church, tops the sweeping roof of the entrance and reminds one of a bell tower.
I consider that all we do is for the LORD and is worship. The design and execution of Iglesia Bautista Cristo para las Naciones was an act of worship from start to finish.
The church and school in San Pedro de Macoris have come to be the way God would have it: first through the trust and prayers of Tanis Derolus, then of many, many people and their trust, prayers, funds and efforts aligned with God’s will.
