Church Design

During my years at Aspen Group, we’ve worked with many churches that meet in schools or leased spaces. Generally, these are church plants with about 150-200 people. Typically, as they grow their ministry, they seek a more permanent location. However, due to COVID-19, many of these church plants are facing a tenuous future. Not only have they had to shut down and pause in-person worship like every other church in America, they’ve also been shut out of their buildings because the school or leased space where they meet hasn’t yet gotten a green light to reopen in the midst of COVID-19. It’s a complicated world right now and finding a new space during a pandemic can be especially challenging. How can you gather when you have been shut out of the school or leased space you’ve been using?

With Thanksgiving now behind us, churches across the country turn their attention to the Christmas season—transforming their church spaces into a wonderland of shining Christmas lights, shimmering garland, and colorful poinsettias. But setting up these delightful decorations can be fraught with danger for your church staff and volunteers. To help keep you all safe this holiday season, here are some tips on how to safely set up your Christmas decorations this season.

Ensuring you’ve got the correct number of parking spots for church attendees isn’t nearly as much fun as selecting the right fabric for all of the seats in your sanctuary. But you’ll never fill those seats if you overlook adding new spaces in your parking lot. Here’s a quick guide to determining how many parking spots your church needs.   3 Questions to Ask Before Choosing a Church Building Partner

As Sunday services go, Easter ranks as the highest attended worship service throughout the year—outpacing Christmas and Mother’s Day. You know this. You’ve seen your crowded worship spaces each year. And no doubt you and your ministry staff have already begun your sermon and lesson preparation for Holy Week. But in all your planning for the most important day on the Christian calendar, don’t forget to think beyond the pulpit.

I spent the better part of three decades in the high-rise world and thought that’s where I would spend my entire career, but then I bumped into a gentleman named Lyle Schaller. A member at my home church, he was a great influence on me. Before he passed away, Lyle would come up to me after worship on Sundays, tap me and say, "What's up this week, young man? What are you doing to advance the Kingdom? Never be afraid to use your secular gifts to do the Lord's work."

Russ Williams, facility manager at the Barrington campus of The Orchard, a growing multisite church in Chicago’s suburbs, was concerned about the high cost of utilities. Electric bills, in particular, were draining the church of dollars that could have been better spent on ministries.

It's that time of year when volunteers attempt to transform the church into a Christmas wonderland. But stringing lights and hanging garland can pose safety risks if not done properly. Here's a list of quick tips for staying safe while preparing your church--indoors and out--for Christmas. 

Your church needs to expand. Now what? Do you start excavating dirt on a brand new property, or do you lease an empty building for a while? Another option—adaptive reuse—may be more affordable and efficient than building new or renting. But what is adaptive reuse, and under what conditions is it the right solution?

As people go through their daily lives it is easy to take for granted the extent that technology helps with daily tasks—such as calling almost anyone...anywhere...at any time, typing fully-alterable documents, or keeping financial records stored in a paperless location.

Preceding Punxsutawney Phil’s prediction of another six long weeks of winter, the Chicagoland area received the fifth largest snowfall in its history, totaling an average of 19.1 inches accumulated between November 1 and January 31.