Sacred Space Research - 4

Take a look at these last few questions.

These have caused the most conversation (debate) because in every case the unchurched chose the most orthodox/cathedral/traditional looking option for their preferred church design.

So what does this mean? Do we begin designing church facilities that resemble 8th century cathedrals and long, narrow seating arrangements?

First, if the design of the building was the only factor in church attendance, there would be huge numbers of people going to church in the beautiful buildings across the country. In fact, when we asked the formerly unchurched two years ago what impact building design had on their choice to attend, 3% said it had any impact at all.

I think the more orthodox/cathedral/traditional designs were chosen because they were deciding in the basis of aesthetics and didn't have a personal connection with the buildings. Those buildings also may have represented their concept of what church is supposed to look like. What do you think?

Sacred Space Research - 3

The next questions started dealing with church design more specifically. We wanted to know how important building design would be if an unchurched person considered going to church. So we asked...

If you were considering visiting or attending a church, would the design of the church building impact how much you enjoyed that visit?

Over 50% said the building design would either strongly or somewhat impact their enjoyment of the visit. It becomes more interesting when you look at the difference across different categories. For example, building design is...

More important Less Important

Women - 58% Men - 50%

Large city - 60% Small city - 50%

Liberal - 58% Very conservative - 40%

18 - 24 yr olds - 62% 70+ yr olds - 44%

Living together - 61% Div/widowed/single - 43%

Not born again - 61% Born again - 42%

What does this mean in your context? When you look at the list above what kind of people are currently in your church. More importantly, what kind of people are you called to reach?

We all know buildings are a tool, but if design is more important to people we're trying to reach, maybe we need to give more focus to aesthetics, both inside and outside the building.

The next post will be the wrap up of the research and then I'll offer some thoughts about what all this means. In the meantime, any thoughts to share?

Sacred Space Research - 2

Here are the answers to a couple open-ended questions. Keep in mind these are free-form, top-of-mind answers aggregated from over 1,600 people who do not currently attend church.


Thinking of this same place you would likely meet a friend, what about the layout or fixtures of that space makes it enjoyable? In other words, when meeting a friend, what design features of the environment contribute to making it a good place to interact?


















In what places or settings do you feel close to God?

















On the question above (Where do you feel closest to God?) the largest percentage said nowhere/NA, which makes sense I guess because they don't go to church. However, the vast majority of those who did have an opinion feel close to God in nature or the outdoors. Hmmm... I wonder if we could bring some of the outdoors inside our church buildings; maybe an Embassy Suites kind of atrium with plants and trees and....

It's also interesting that 1 out of 10 unchurched people feel close to God inside a church, cathedral or synagogue. In the next post we'll look at how design plays into their perspective on church buildings.

Sacred Space Research

We had a great Cornerstone Conference last week in Indy. We talked about underlying currents affecting church ministries today and how we can responsd to them. Dave Ferguson encouraged us to keep an eye on our "RPMS" (Relationships / Physical health / Mental growth / Spiritual development.

Joe Myers and I gave a talk on creating "irresistible environments" and Joe helped us understand the inmportance of creaing soulful spaces, not just rooms. I presented the Sacred Space research we just completed and that will be the topic of the next few posts.

We began the study by asking some non-threatening questions about where people like to get together with friends and family. Keep in mind that the answers are from over 1,600 people who do not go to church.

Here are the first few questions and their responses:

Church Design Re-Mix?

I just received a rough draft copy of research that Cornerstone Knowledge Network sponsored with Lifeway Research. Amazing! We asked over 1,600 people who don't go to church, things like where they hang out and why, where they find their "sacred space" and what they like (and don't like) about church buildings.

I can't give much of the results here because we're going to unveil them next week in Indianapolis at the Cornerstone Knowledge Network conference. But there is one thing I didn't expect: traditional church design is preferred by the unchurched much more than I realize! When we gave them pictures to choose from, the more traditional, cathedral-type photos were ranked the highest in every case.

So what does this mean for those of us who help churches that are designing buildings that engage people who don't go to church? Are we designing buildings that only represent what we think will appeal to those folks?

Given my previous blog about multi-use space, I'm wondering if there is a balance between keeping the building flexible and still appealing to the unchurched.

Multi-Use Ministry Space

This morning I gave a presentation at the Church Solutions conference in Phoenix, AZ. It dealt with multi-use ministry space – the good, the bad – and what it means to my home church New Hope Community Church in Boardman, OH.

Here are the pluses:

1. MU space is highly changeable in the short-term – one space can house different activities in the same day
2. MU space is good stewardship – you get more uses which divides the cost of the space
3. MU space is “future-proof” – as your ministry methods change (and they will), the space can morph along with those changes

Here are minuses:

1. MU space requires a high degree of management – you need to dedicate staff and budget for scheduling, set up tear down, etc.
2. MU space requires high maintenance – use high quality materials and finishes because they take more of a beating
3. MU requires much creativity – you can finish out a “big box” very creatively if you partner with someone who has the expertise for it

My pastor, Paul Dazet gave his perspective on multi-use ministry space via audio (he was scheduled to be there, but got snowed in). He talked about how we are moving from a seeker-targeted approach to an incarnational form of ministry. He said we are trying to create ownership among our people so they will use our warehouse as a way to engage and connect with the community.

I am biased toward MU ministry space; because I believe more flexible buildings keep us from being locked into a way of doing ministry that will eventually become obsolete. While there are downsides, this is the way to future-proof that obsolescence.

Books and Buildings

A book contains two stories. The first story is within the pages of the book. We read it and get absorbed in the characters and the plot. The other story is the one about the book itself. We make notes. We dog ear the pages. We remember where we were at certain points in the book. Perhaps we lend the book to someone else and then they lend it to another person.

At some point the book begins to have two distinct stories:

1. the original story inside the book

2. the story that evolves around the book itself – the people who read it, the written notes inside, the dog eared pages, whether it stays on the shelf or gets sold in a garage sale, etc.

This is true of buildings that are used for ministry. When a church builds a building, it is for the purpose of telling the gospel story. This is like the written story on the pages of the book.

After awhile the building itself begins to have its own story because of how it is used and what takes place within it. Carpets get worn. Windows get cleaned. People connect with each other and with God. Significant events such as weddings and baptisms take place.

So if you’re building a new facility, remember that in addition to the teaching and preaching that takes place, the building itself will begin to develop its own story. It will house events and connections that result from people learning and experiencing community with one another. No one can predict how that story will evolve, but it will be written. And, it can become more beautiful than we ever imagined.

Coffee Anyone?

Coffee shops and bookstores in church. Big deal right now. Many churches are designing this kind of space in their new facilities for a variety of reasons, I suppose – to have a “third place”, to connect people between Sunday School and church, to connect with the community.

So, why the polar extreme reactions to this year’s 2007 Lensvelt de Architect Interior Prize award winners, Merkx+Girod Architects, who took an abandoned church and turned it into a library and coffee shop? Some people thought it was magnificent and others thought it was an abomination. What makes the difference between the bookstore/coffee shop that many churches have now vs taking an abandoned church and converting it to the same purpose?

Maybe it’s the age-old Domus Ecclesia (house of the church) vs Domus Deo (house of God) dichotomy. If you believe the church building is where God resides, you might not want it turned into a place of business only. If you believe the church building is where the people of the church gather, the physical space becomes non-essential, spiritually speaking.

So what did Jesus mean then, when He called the temple a “den of thieves”? Was it simply because they had commerce there or were they reaping profits that were too exorbitant? Does this have anything to say about whether we should have a bookstore or coffee shop in our (functioning) churches? Maybe the numbers/letters 501C3 make the magical difference....

A Building for Postmodern Ministry

A funny thing happened at work the other day. I glanced at my watch to see it was 10:30am. A little later, I looked again and saw that the time had not changed. Forgetting my earlier check, I thought, Wow! This is incredible! Now I can get some things done that I've been putting off! I rushed home and told my wife the exciting news. After checking my head for a fever, she broke it to me gently: time had not stopped. My watch battery just died.

Something similar happens in ministry at times. Instead of realizing the "battery" has died, we assume that time stands still. Bricks and mortar have their place in traditional building design, but innovation and community now drive it.

Here are four factors I think will drive the future of design:

1) The need to belong.

2) The desire for participation.

3) The interest in experience.

4) The appetite for images.

The following futuristic postmodern prototype building was born out of these components. It represents what might just be the future of ministry space.

STOP 1: The Atrium

Entering this church is like walking into a lush, colorful botanical garden. Abundant flowering plants, herbs and trees surround a large, central waterfall. Natural illumination from skylights gently touches these earthy elements, offering visitors a sense of peace and balance.
Placed throughout the greenery, the center atrium is dotted with interactive touch-screen art galleries, computer terminal hookups and verses from the Psalms. A large, gas plasma screen to one side acts as the focal point for the "Higher Ground" coffee shop, which features comfortable tables and chairs. In this relaxed setting, worshippers meet friends, sip tea and coffee and "attend" church services and seminars.

The larger area of the atrium features computer kiosks, which provide newcomers with links to Christian websites, church information and archived reference materials. These kiosks also allow people to interact with the staff via e-mail, and hard copies of documents can be printed immediately at a central printer. The stewardship stations--designed for use by existing members--accept tithes and offerings via debit cards using instant fingerprint-access technology.

STOP 2: The Interactive Zone

Next to the atrium is the Interactive Zone. Here, visitors find three spherical pods that offer IMAX-like theater presentations of stories from the Old and New Testaments. In the center of each pod, the audience sees life like representations of elements from each story - a Roman cross, palm branches, a sling (like the one David used to slay Goliath) and much more.

STOP 3: Instructional Theaters

Leaving the Interactive Zone, visitors enter one of four instruction theaters, which vary in size. These theaters provide a variety of ministry opportunities. For worship, one can choose music ranging from a single acoustic guitarist to an alternative Christian rock band. Large screens at the front display additional musical offerings and teachings from the pastoral staff and other Christian specialists on a wide range of topics. Each seat features infrared hookups, pop-up writing tables and small computers with access to the Internet and relevant searchable databases. Throughout the week, various seminars and teachings are held in these theaters, and participants can attend in person or online. All building functions are remotely controlled from beneath these rooms, including security, lighting, video recording, projection and post-production.

STOP 4: The Worship Center

The octagonal worship center at the other end of the facility contains eight large projection screens. Since multiple congregations will probably use the same space, each screen can be programmed to display images that support the preferences and traditions of specific congregations. (For instance, more liturgical services can show an image of stained glass whereas Gen-X services might feature pictures that are constantly moving and evolving.) The worship center's flexibility supports dramatic presentations, musical concerts and a 3-D hologram projector for lifelike dramatizations.

Each seat is equipped with modem and infrared connections for interaction between the congregation and the speaker. "Smart" lights are managed from the central control room to create the right ambience for presentations, and special spray systems create mist and fog. These theatrical touches augment teaching scenarios (when the glory of God filled the Temple or Noah on his Ark, for example). In outer "living rooms," worshippers confer with members of the staff. When someone enters one of these rooms, heat sensors alert control-room personnel, who then alert staff people via radio.

STOP 5: The Children's Zone

The Children's Zone is adjacent to the atrium. A large window separates the two areas, allowing parents to monitor their children's activities. Those who are unable to stay near the zone are given special video screen monitors so they can still see their children at any time.

This zone also includes recreational area that houses video games based on biblical characters and stories. Children who answer the quizzes correctly win extra tickets. A miniature golf course lets parents and children "putt" their way through Old Testament events, such as the parting of the Red Sea.

STOP 6: The Recreational Zone

The last major stop on our tour is the Recreational Zone. Here, customized flooring allows for flexible set-up. Video cameras broadcast all events to a website where disabled family members and others can participate from home. The Recreational Zone also seats overflow crowds, using large projection screens for concerts and other major gatherings.

STOP 7: The Contact Zone

Now we come to a small but important area: The Contact Zone. It contains individual rooms that surround a central media resource room. Each room is designed and decorated to replicate living rooms in homes, where small groups can meet in an intimate setting. Floor lamps, large windows, ambient colors and comfortable furnishings add warmth. Resources are readily available for study and discussion.

LAST STOP: Administrative Offices

Administrative space is laid out in office groupings of five or six rooms apiece. A central area serves each of these multi-offices, but much support comes from remote locations via telecommuting and free-lance services. Each staff member has a miniature view of the worship area and theaters, helping them to plan upcoming presentations. This technological wonderland does not exist yet--but it might soon. Every major transition in history begins with a corresponding architectural paradigm shift. As we seek to design ministries to suit postmodern culture, we need buildings that offer effective, innovative connection points to people seeking spiritual fulfillment.

Weird? Have you seen any of this already? Do you think we're headed this direction with church facilities?