Church Design

Every church is driven primarily by the same mission: To “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit . . .” (Matthew 28:19). How a church goes about making disciples can be vastly different though. To be effective, each church needs to identify its growth engines and growth barriers—aspects of ministry that either foster or inhibit growth, whether in the number of people who attend, or in their levels of spiritual maturity.

On Tuesday, October 16, Aspen Group will host its annual Alignment Conference at Community Christian Church in Plainfield, Illinois. This year’s one-day learning experience for senior pastors, executive pastors, and key ministry leaders will focus on “Building Your Church for Community Impact.”

I believe that God has called the Church to bring Kingdom culture to its communities; to be a Church in and for the community.    

In previous posts I’ve shared a lot about the leadership path and the simple tools that we give leaders to help them through the path (The Five Steps of Leadership Development, B.L.E.S.S. and 6 Coaching Questions). Now I want to talk specifically about the leadership pipeline.

Many multisite leaders and church planters feel strongly called to a local vision to love their neighbors, be part of the restoration of a community, attract those who need relationship, and be “incarnational” in reaching their city or region. Generational shifts in the way Christians live out their faith underscore the relevance of this vision, and multisites and church plants are uniquely suited to meet some of these needs.  

When churches embark on a building project, the focus of the building committee is typically on getting the most amount of square footage at the cheapest price. Spending money on architecture and interior design often seems frivolous, a poor use of ministry resources. Churches want to spend money on missional activities, like serving the community, and every dollar that goes toward a building robs the church of resources for ministry impact. Or so the thinking goes.

Community Christian Church, a dynamic, growing faith community whose mission is “helping people find their way back to God,” launched a new multisite location—Community Christian Church Plainfield—in 2016. Recognizing the need for an innovative space where people could connect and the community could embrace its love for athletics, Community Christian Church Plainfield, the location for the upcoming Alignment Conference, embarked on a complete renovation of a former manufacturing plant with the help of Aspen Group, an integrated design-build-furnish company for churches.

Are you ready to launch your next church? What are the questions you should be asking as you consider this venture? When I was 22, I was completely overwhelmed with pastoring a small church in a tough neighborhood. It looked bleak. My salary was $8,000 a year with no insurance. The church had 18 people and no worship band. I was living in my one-room office with a mattress on the floor and mouse traps all around. I thought, "Wow, we're supposed to be this dynamic ‘change the world’ church and we're just this small, feeble group...the toothless, the broken, the homeless and those with prison sentences."

Orland Park Christian Reformed Church (OPCRC) in Orland Park, Illinois, was built in 1970, and over the past three decades, the church building has undergone three major additions (see Facility History image).

The primary purpose of a church building is to provide a place for two things to happen: an opportunity for people to encounter God, and the chance to build meaningful relationships with others. These two needs for reverent space and relational space can be met through the physical layout and design of the building. In this post, we'll look at how to maximize your lobby to create relational space.