So much goes into designing church services that are inviting, inspiring, and transformative. Here at Aspen, we believe that same intentionality should also be applied to the physical spaces in which we meet and worship. That’s why we’ve partnered with Barna Group on a new series of research reports called Making Space: Why Church Design Matters in Ministry.
This series is divided into three journals:
Volume 1: Making Space for Inspiration
Volume 2: Making Space for Community
Volume 3: Making Space for Formation
Volume 1: Making Space for Inspiration, available now in print, sets the foundation to better understand the characteristics of certain spaces and how people commonly interact with them. Just as a visitor might journey through your church building, we start with an overview of the feelings and perceptions people might bring with them into a space, and what the Church can learn from this.
Get your copy of Making Space for Inspiration!
Through our research, we’ve discovered key trends regarding what draws people closer to feelings of transcendence and connection to the divine. It delves into the way church and other spaces form and shape us as we experience Jesus and engage with others in community. It incorporates the concepts of transcendence, comfort, a sense of home, how we bring our emotions into a space, and what it means for a space to be personal.
Make sure to also check out season one of the companion podcast series, Making Space, hosted by Benjamin Windle and Jay Kim. They sit down with various leaders and thinkers to unpack the Making Space research and discuss how nature affects our spiritual lives, the value of historic buildings in our digital era, what the church can learn from the design of retail spaces, and more. Make sure to listen and subscribe!
Making Space for Inspiration will help you explore how the church building and the land it sits on can contribute to the Christian spiritual and cultural formation that pastors desire to instill in their congregations today. It’ll help leaders find value in the physical spaces they utilize and make space count spiritually, no matter the ministry goal or budget. Get your copy today!