Church Design

Many of us initially thought—hoped might be a better word—that COVID-19 would be a mere interruption, quickly resolved. I recently came across an email I sent to our staff in late March in which it was clear that the prospect of the pandemic stretching to Memorial Day was daunting, even scary. I daresay that today most of us are convinced it will be with us well into 2021. Far more than an interruption, COVID has disrupted our lives, our businesses, and our churches. And disruption means breaking apart and separating—you don’t go back to “normal” after a disruption.

In March 2020 when COVID-19 hit the U.S., church leaders faced the unexpected and overwhelming challenge of closing their doors. In a previous blog post, I touched on the three stages of crisis management that disaster response expert and founder of Forge Leadership Consultancy, Simon Barrington, noted:

In this era of church building closures to promote social distancing, congregations are learning anew what it means to be the Church. Reports of churches providing front-line assistance to support medical relief, food distribution, and other social services during this COVID-19 crisis has, in many ways, highlighted what is true: the Church never was the building; it is and always has been about the people.

There’s nothing like Christmas to highlight the importance of place—a place to worship, to connect, and to grow together. As this year comes to a close, we’re grateful to have worked alongside many churches this year to create this sense of place—facilities that help people connect with God, especially at Christmas.

“Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” — Ephesians 5:20 ESV We here at Aspen Group have many, many things to be grateful for—not just now in this Thanksgiving season but throughout the year. God has been good to us in 2019, connecting us with churches that are creating some amazing ministry opportunities in their communities.

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” Psalm 107:1  At Aspen Group, we have much to be thankful for this year. In 2018, we completed several new church design-build-furnish projects, and we launched many new ones in South Carolina, North Carolina, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Texas. It’s a privilege to partner with churches as they embark on a building project to expand and enhance their ministry impact. If you’d enjoy following our progress on these projects, be sure to subscribe to our blog and monthly newsletter.  

“I will praise God’s name in song and glorify Him with thanksgiving” (Psalm 69:30). At Aspen Group, we have much to be thankful this year. We’re grateful to be fulfilling our mission—creating space for ministry impact—with a variety of churches in Illinois, Indiana, North Carolina, Georgia, Wisconsin, Ohio, Michigan, and beyond.

I feel a deep sense of gratitude as we celebrate Thanksgiving. This year has been full of new growth on so many fronts.

It has been more than a decade since Aspen Group established its original mission statement, which focused on providing ministry-focused design and construction services while managing risk and providing a great client experience. While this mission clearly articulated what we do at Aspen, it didn’t fully convey the compelling why that drives us.