Aspen Group Blog

Knowledge to navigate the intersection of church culture, leadership, ministry, and facilities.

Making Space Podcast Season One Recap

How Your Church Lobby Can Help Build Hospitality and Create Space for Connection

Making Space for Millennials Executive Summary

Making Space for Millennials Executive Summary

Discover the impact Millennials' values, allegiances, and assumptions will have on your church.

Aspen Group Announces Transition in Senior Leadership

Church Lobbies: Creating a Place of Welcome Where People Can Take the Next Step

Announcing a new Barna/Aspen Collaboration, Making Space for Inspiration!

Saying “Welcome Home” with a Church Lobby Design Refresh

Church Lobby Renovation: Creating Space to Build Relationships

Christ Chapel’s South Campus: A Right-Sized Facility Rooted in Family

Making Space—A Forthcoming Aspen/Barna Research Project

The Orchard Vernon Hills: A Full Sunday Experience on the First Floor

How ‘Touch Starvation’ Presents the Local Church with an Opportunity

How Our Construction Teams Stay Connected, Supported, and Safe on the Job Site

4 Ways Your Church Lobby Can Help Build a Culture of Radical Hospitality

5 Simple Ways to Get Your Church Facility Ready for Easter

Chapelstreet North Aurora—An Adaptable Design for a Compact Space

3 Ways to Maximize Your Church’s Outdoor Space

4 Questions to Consider When Assessing Your Church’s Outdoor Space

Designing for Emotional Wellbeing: The Power of Both/And

Two Ways Design Can Impact Emotional Wellbeing

Designing a Church Food Pantry that Models the Love of Jesus

How Collaboration Powers Innovation and Creates Ministry Impact

Aspen's Top 5 Videos of 2021

3 Questions to Ask Before Embarking on a Church Building Project

Barna’s “Making Space” Podcast Series Recap

Navigating Diverse Cultural Differences—From the Church Architect’s Desk

Loneliness, the Digital Age, and Church Design–From the Church Architect's Desk

Fostering Meaningful Relationships in a Digital Age and the Role Physical Space Plays–From the Church Architect's Desk

The Theology of Physical Space–From the Church Architect’s Desk

Derwin Gray on How Physical Space Impacts Prayer–From the Church Architect’s Desk

Kicking off the Barna podcast series "Making Space"—From the Church Architect's Desk

2021 Design Week Recap

Designing Church Spaces That Support Those with Special Needs

3 Shifts in Kid’s Ministry Design

5 Ways This Church Designed Their Space for Discipleship

What IKEA Can Teach Us About Church Design

How a Culture of Collaboration and Learning Supports our Design-Build-Furnish Approach

Design-Build-Furnish vs a Design-Bid Approach

Aspen’s Integrated Design-Build-Furnish Approach

Before and After—How Fresh Design Brings a More Inviting Environment to a Traditional Church Facility

4 Ways Your Church Can Help Younger Generations Grow

Gaining Ministry Momentum in the Construction Zone

5 Things Parents Look for in a Church Facility

Oxford Bible Fellowship: Fueling Ministry on a College Campus

Making Space for Gen Z Disciples

Ministry in the Dust: A Unique Approach that Impacts Ministry and Lives

5 Things Every Church Needs to Know About Signage

‘A Scared World Needs a Fearless Church’: Leading Bravely in Uncertain Times

Can Good Church Design Help Lower Anxiety?

How Your Church Facility Can Help Build Disciples

Benet Academy Design-Build Project Provides Fresh Solutions to Connect a New Generation of Students

Making Space to Form the Next Generation in Higher Education

Built to Be a Beacon: How One Urban Church Offers Hope—and a Home—to Its Community

How One Church Redesigned with Men in Mind

6 Tips to Thank Your Congregation for Their Annual Giving

3 Urgent Issues Facing the Church, and Design Solutions to Address Them

3 Ways the Classic City Conference Will Help You Recalibrate for 2021

How to Push Through the Wall of Grief, Pain, and Disappointment As You Run the COVID Marathon

Biophilic Design: 7 Ways to Bring the Outdoors into Your Church

Designing Churches to Shape Culture and Solve Problems

5 Interior Design Trends to Integrate into Your Church Now

A Clinical Approach to Your Church Building Project

The 5 Steps of Leadership Development

Small Church Focus: 7 Tips to Keep Your Ministry Practical, Personal, and Sustainable

Pastor Appreciation Month: How to Fight Discouragement and Find Focus

Portable + Permanent: A Both/And Solution for Multiplying Your Church

Adaptive Reuse Pros and Cons: Could Your New Church Be An Old Grocery Store?

3 Tips for Raising Church Building Project Funds During COVID

Church Merger: 3 Churches Become One in a Converted Grocery Store

10 Principles to Recalibrate Church

5 Keys for Leading Change in Your Church

4 Tips for Maximizing Online Worship During COVID

What Pastors Need to Navigate COVID-19 at Church

What the Church Can Learn from Amazon, Disney, and J.Crew During COVID-19

How to Design Spaces that Serve as a Respite for the Community

Aspen Group Expands Southeast Presence with Launch of Florida Studio

The Great Collaboration: The Missing Piece in Church Expansion

How to Design Your Church with Safety in Mind

3 Myths About Church Facilities that May Be Keeping You from Multiplying

How to Avoid Losing Your Pastor After a Church Building Project

Equipping Church Planters: Why Aspen Partners With NewThing

Strategies for Community Impact: How 3 Pastors and Their Churches Are Making a Difference

How to Prevent a Shooting and Other Security Risks at Your Church

4 Tips for Designing Children's Ministry Space

Top 5 Church Building Topics in 2019

Building a Church Home for Christmas

3 Questions to Ask Before Choosing a Church Building Partner

How to Hang Your Church Christmas Decorations With Care

Giving Thanks for All Things

5 Truths for Building Generous Givers in Your Church

Should Your Church Build a Gym?

How to Create Intimacy in an 1,100-Seat Auditorium

5 Steps for Building New Leaders in Your Church

How Many Parking Spots Does Your Church Need?

If Your Church Were Gone, Would Anyone Notice?

3 Reasons Why Your Church May Be Ready for a Makeover

When Your Community Changes: How One Rural Church Renovated in Response to Development

When a Hurricane Is Heading Your Church’s Way

Church Mergers: The Unintended Consequence of the Multisite Movement

Rest for the Weary: 4 Ways Your Church Can Be a Place of Respite

How Better Sightlines from the Pastor to the People Makes for Better Preaching

When Your Church Is Portable: 5 Ways to Create Effective Ministry Space

Design Challenge: How to Improve Traffic Flow and Security in Kids’ Ministry Space

What to Do If Your Church Is Becoming a Museum

Should My Church Merge? 4 Questions to Help You Decide

4 Keys to Building a Dad-Friendly Church

When Your Church Is in the Path of a Deadly Storm

How to Build Your Church for Community Impact

How to Create a Healthy Church Culture

10 Red Flags Your Church Communications May Need Help

4 Ways to Make Space for Moms at Church

What Notre Dame’s Fire Reveals About Our Love for Church Buildings

Making Space for Easter's Impact

How to Create Safe, Secure Children’s Ministry Space

3 Ways Churches Can Attract Top Talent

How to Lead Leaders: 13 Core Principles for Managing Players (and Pastors)

Celebrating 5 Types of Givers in Your Church: How to Inspire Transformational Generosity, Part 2

Ham or Eggs?: How to Inspire Transformational Generosity, Part 1

Building a Church In and For The Community

5 Tips for Launching New Churches

How to Make Your Church Relevant Within Your Local Community

8 Key Leadership Tasks for Navigating Change at Church

Will the New Tax Changes Affect Giving at Your Church?

Four Things Millennials Wish the Church Would Be

10 Really Big Questions About Future Church Attendance (and Some Hunches)

Our Top 5 Reads for Leaders Who Want to Maximize Their Ministry Impact

Making Space for God with Us

4 Tips for Increasing Your Church’s Community Impact

A Formula for Navigating Change at Church

Giving Thanks for God’s Goodness

How to Rapidly Reproduce the Church

Thank You to Our Alignment Partners!

Pastors: If You Want to Build Momentum, Stop Flying Solo

Building a Story at Community Christian Church–Yellow Box

Discover Your Church’s Growth Engines and Barriers

Is Your Church Really Impacting Your Community?

Is Your Church Bringing Kingdom Culture to Your Community?

How We Fill Our Leader Pipeline

How 3 Multisite Churches Are Building for Community Impact

Why Beautiful Church Design May Be the Best Way to Serve Your Community

Building for Community Impact: Community Christian Church Plainfield

Is It Time to Launch Your Next Church?

Reaching Out and Building Up for Future Generations: Orland Park Christian Reformed Church

10 Ways to Maximize Your Church Lobby

6 Ways to Create a Dad-Friendly Environment at Your Church

The Power of “Proxemics”: Creating 4 Zones for Connection at Church

6 Coaching Questions to Develop New Leaders in Your Church

3 Purposeful Ways Churches Can Make Room for Millennials

Church Design Through a Mother's Eyes

Keys to Successful Church Restarts, Part 2

Keys to Successful Church Restarts, Part 1

3 Keys for Discovering Your Church's DNA

Easter Blessings from Aspen Group

Pastors: 15 Ways to Convert Easter Visitors Into Return Attendees

Conquering the Challenges of the 21st Century Church

How to Communicate the Launch of a New Church, Part 2

How to Communicate the Launch of a New Church, Part 1

Multiplying Impact with a Building Addition: West Bridge Church

4 Keys to Site Selection for Multisite Churches

Could Your Next Multisite Campus Be Online?

Millennials Need a Bigger God, Not a Hipper Pastor

Building Better Churches AND Better Careers

Mentoring New Leaders Like Jesus

5 Storage Tips for Churches

Merry Christmas from Aspen Group

Best of Aspen 2017 Resources

How to Empower Leaders at Church

How to Cool the “Thermostat Wars” at Church

Best Practices for the Church Multisite Model

Protecting Your Church From Fire

Thank You to Our 2017 Alignment Conference Partners

Grateful to Be Creating Space for Ministry Impact

10 Trends of the Multisite Church Movement

The No. 1 Challenge for Every Pastor

“God’s Got This”: The Testimony of Thrive Christian Church

Launching Your Next Church: A Recap of Aspen’s 2017 Alignment Conference

How to Think Strategically (and Spiritually) About Church Expansion: An Aspen Podcast with Thrive Christian Church

Why You Need a Church Communications Team

How to Respond to Your Church Planting Call: An Aspen Podcast Featuring Patrick O'Connell

3 Key Reasons Why Churches Launch New Sites

A Message From Mark Jobe, Alignment Conference Main Session Speaker

Taking New Ground for the Kingdom: An Aspen Podcast Featuring Dave Travis

Creating a Leadership Path for Ministry Growth

Is Your Church Ready for Multisite?: An Aspen Podcast Featuring Jim Tomberlin

Taking Flight: A Podcast Interview for Church Planters with Mark Jobe

Responding to Your Vision of Church Expansion: An Aspen Podcast

7 Trends in Church Audio, Video, and Lighting

3 Ways to Spot a Great Leader

Out of Your Cave, and Into Your Call

The Orchard Evangelical Free Church: A Remodel that Bears Fruit

4 Reasons Why Multisite is Moving Rural

3 Ways to "Honor Our Fathers" at Church

Christ The Rock Community Church: Rediscovering Community

Addressing Top Communications Challenges for Multisite Churches

Pastors: How to Fill Your Ministry Pipeline with New Leaders

Announcing Aspen’s 2017 Alignment Conference: Launching Your Next Church

4 Trends in Church Architecture and Interiors

5 Models for Church Expansion

Fueling Church Growth with Strategic Renovations

4 Keys for Building a Church to Grow

A Model for Creating a Pipeline of Leaders