Brian Rathsam, Vice President
We are excited to announce that Brian Rathsam has recently become a shareholder and Vice President in the firm. He has served as a project architect since 2008. Rathsam received a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Drury University in Springfield, Missouri and has been with the firm since June 2000. He will provide principal leadership in the execution of the firm’s architectural services as well as business development.
Skyler Phelps, Senior Vice President
Skyler Phelps has recently become a Senior Vice President in the firm. He has been a shareholder since 2008 and a Vice President since 2004. Phelps received a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Drury University in Springfield, Missouri and has been with the firm since September 1998. He will continue to provide principal leadership in the execution of the firm’s architectural services and core operations as well as business development.
Jordan Elliott, Project Designer
Jordan Elliott has joined the firm as a Project Designer. Elliott received a master’s degree of architectural design from Kansas State University and has 5 years of experience designing municipal, commercial, and high-end residential projects. He will provide technical design and support for several religious and commercial projects for the firm. Welcome to the team, Jordan!
Fellowship of Grace, known as FOG, has a history of meeting in several locations before arriving at their final permanent home in Parkville, Missouri. Schools and strip centers only name a few, but then an opportunity to merge with and acquire a small Baptist church located at a highly prominent corner in Parkville, Missouri became a reality. The church was able to sell a portion of their property to a developer, which helped fund the expansion and improvements. The existing church building was in fair disrepair and needed updating to become a relevant tool for the ministries at FOG. This project included a campus master plan and that next phase included a lobby/entry addition that would serve the existing building and future Sanctuary. The children’s ministry area was also expanded and renovated.
On October 27, 2019, Skyler Phelps, Board Chair of Sheffield Place, was recognized by Blue KC and KCFX/Chiefs Radio Network as the Here For Good Hero for the Chiefs home game against the Green Bay Packers.
Sheffield Place opened its doors in February 1991 as a community response to the growing population of homeless mothers and their children in the Kansas City area. To date, Sheffield Place has assisted more than 1,200 families in making the difficult journey from homelessness to self-sufficiency. Empowering the families to heal from the severe, chronic and continuous trauma they have experienced is the first step in the process of self-sufficiency.
Sheffield Place was the beneficiary of the Henry W. Bloch Memorial Golf Tournament organized by volunteers at H&R Block at WinterStone Golf Course. We were honored to be apart of it!
Fellowship Greenwood completes construction. Check out the latest drone video from Pearce Construction.
Community Church - located in Batesville, Indianna is making construction progress on their renovation of an old downtown building. Mantel Teter has been honored to work at both church campus locations! Edwards-Rigdon Construction is serving as the general contractor.
Mill Creek Church Photography - located in Shawnee, Kansas, has completed construction for the renovation of most of the existing lobby space where the buildings connect. The renovation also included new staff office spaces and a new student ministry venue. “This new space will provide relevant ministry tools for children, students and staff.” commented Brian Rathsam, the Project Architect. Pearce Construction served as the general contractor.
Lifesong Church opened its doors in 2006, first meeting in the Blackstone Valley Cinema de Lux, located in Millbury, Mass. As it grew, church leaders were looking to establish a more permanent location and presence in their community and reached out to architectural firm Mantel Teter in Kansas City, Mo., to help them transition to a permanent space.
The Pantone Color Institute recently announced its 2019 Color of the Year, with Living Coral taking the honor.
“It is a guide that forecasts the popular colors in design,” says Amy Wax, an international color consultant. “The Color of the Year can also serve as inspiration to see what colors would be great to tie into décor and focal pieces of a church.”
Numerous factors are considered when selecting the Color of the Year. The goal is to capture “what’s in the year” and offer insights on how prevalent colors are shifting.
“We travel globally and research extensively as we pick up cues that emerge in seemingly disparate industries that can signal a direction for a given color family,” Pantone explains on its website. “As we cull through this information and find commonalities in color, we also give a lot of thought to how people select paint colors and which colors are most applicable for their needs while remaining mindful of the color trends of years past.”
First Presbyterian Church - located in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, has completed construction of an exterior renovation project. The church returned to their design and construction team of Kansas City, Missouri based architect Mantel Teter and Olathe, Kansas based contractor Harmon Construction. This project adds an entry covered unloading canopy at the main entrance. The church is still planning to renovate several interior spaces as well. "Our team is privileged to partner once again with this church as they renovate their existing buildings." stated Brian Rathsam, Project Architect for the project.
Christ Community Church - located at multiple campuses in Kansas and Missouri, recently selected Kansas City, Missouri based architect Mantel Teter to design renovations to their recently acquired building in downtown Crossroads District of Kansas City, Missouri. Straub Construction is serving as the general contractor. “This church continues to thrive and find places to plant their footprint into different cultural areas of our metro; the result is magnificent for the Kingdom!” notes Skyler Phelps, the Project Architect.
Grace Church - located in Overland Park, Kansas, recently acquired property in Olathe, Kansas for another campus location. Having served this church at their main campus, they returned to their design and construction team, Kansas City, Missouri based architect Mantel Teter and Whiting-Turner Contracting to design and build a first phase facility. "We’re honored to be back with Grace Church, helping them expand their reach in this community." stated David Evans, Principal for the project.
Southpoint Church of Christ - located in south Kansas City, Missouri, recently selected Kansas City, Missouri based architect Mantel Teter to lead them through a metrics analysis, discovery and design process to update their campus master plan and add facilities. Immediate facility needs include a new Sanctuary, additional space for lobby and gathering, and NextGen ministry spaces to balance with the new Sanctuary capacity. "Our team is excited to partner with this new church and develop an updated master plan and design new facilities to help them impact the Kingdom." stated Brian Rathsam, Project Architect for the project.
LifePoint Church - located in Smyrna, Tennessee, has begun construction of renovations to their existing facilities. Immediate facility needs include consolidation of staff offices, better configured children’s ministry space and student ministry space, and improving overall security and wayfinding/connection throughout the facility. "We’re honored and excited to see the transformations of their existing space happen; they will become great tools for ministry." stated David Evans, Principal for the project. Dow Smith Company is serve as the general contractor.
Image: Schaumburg Photography
Grace Community Church - located in Smithville, Missouri, recently completed construction for their new kid’s classroom expansion, while also renovating the lobby and kid’s check-in of the existing building. “The entire team is excited to witness the great things this new space will do for the church’s ministries.” commented Skyler Phelps, the Project Architect. Pearce Construction served as the general contractor.
Fair Haven Baptist Church - located in Shelbyville, Tennessee, recently selected the design-build team of Smyrna, Tennessee based contractor Dow Smith Company and Kansas City, Missouri based architect Mantel Teter to update their campus master plan. Immediate facility needs include better configured children’s ministry space and student ministry space, while improving security and wayfinding and connection throughout the facility. "Shelbyville is an area positioned for expansive growth & we’re honored to help this church position their facilities to be ready." stated David Evans, Principal for the project.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a large architecture firm, a medium-sized design studio or a small integrator, the secret to success will always come back to generating new business. And for those companies that work on worship spaces predominantly, it’s important to have a way to attract new church clients.
A big part of the process is providing solid Request for Proposals and Request for Qualifications, but even if a company makes the shortlist of those being considered, it’s no guarantee that it’s going to be chosen.
David Evans, AIA, president of Mantel Teter, Kansas City, Mo., says it’s important to rely on past clients to help bring in new ones.
“Pastors talk to pastors and the experience they have with our firm is a big deal when they speak to other pastors,” he says. “For those new church clients, hearing a success story…or not, carries a ton of credibility. Taking care of and staying top of mind with our past church clients we’ve found is the best way to find new church clients.”
Existing big box space before demolition.
Abundant Life - located in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, has begun design for their second campus location in Blue Springs, MO. The church returned to their design and construction team of Kansas City, Missouri based architect Mantel Teter and general contractor Pearce Construction. The project will upfit an existing big box space & transform it into a church campus. "Our team is honored to partner once again with Abundant Life as they expand their footprint for the Kingdom. We love the concept of adaptive reuse and giving new life to existing buildings." stated Skyler Phelps, Vice President and Principal for the project.
