Church Design

Aspen Group Blog

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

Blog Feature

Culture | Ministry | Physical Space

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

By: Benjamin Windle
May 25, 2022

Do you remember the first time you shook someone’s hand after Covid restrictions were lifted? The moment for me was when I had someone visit my house, and even though restrictions had eased, we had this awkward social moment of not knowing if we should shake hands, or just say hello. It was kind of funny because we didn’t quite know what to do with our hands. For the first time in my life, I went many months without the normal day-to-day interpersonal experiences of shaking hands, hugging, or even sitting in a chair next to someone. It presents us a fascinating learning moment.

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Church Design | Culture | Events | Church Construction

Equipping Church Planters: Why Aspen Partners With NewThing

By: Marian V. Liautaud
January 28, 2020

Since 2014, Aspen Group has supported and partnered with NewThing, a dynamic and growing movement for church planters. NewThing helps leaders, churches, and church planters plant healthy reproducing churches to achieve the Jesus Mission in Acts 1:8, to be his witnesses “in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

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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.

Blog Feature

Culture | Church Construction

Giving Thanks for All Things

By: Brad Eisenmann
November 27, 2019

“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.

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Blog Feature

Church Design | Culture | Great Outdoors

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

By: Derek DeGroot
August 21, 2019

In today’s world, we are constantly connected. Whether it’s Wi-Fi on planes and trains, or Bluetooth-enabled cars, or even waterproof devices that allow us to check e-mails in the shower, people are wired—and weary. Based on an Aspen/Barna study, the next generation is looking for a place to rest from their highly plugged in, fragmented lives. The church may be the perfect place for them to find it.

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Blog Feature

Church Design | Culture | Millennials | church building

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

By: Marian V. Liautaud
April 23, 2019

When footage of an inferno engulfing Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris flashed across our news feeds, it felt as if the world collectively gasped. How could this iconic cathedral be at risk of total destruction? What would Paris be without Notre Dame to anchor her? One day later, the fire barely extinguished, $300 million was donated to restore the nearly devastated 800-plus-year-old building. Before the end of the week, donations had reached $1 billion and counting.

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Blog Feature

Culture | Leadership | Ministry

8 Key Leadership Tasks for Navigating Change at Church

By: Kurt Andre
January 31, 2019

In my article, “A Formula for Navigating Change at Church,” I share a tried and true pattern to help leaders discern if their church has the right components to effectively guide their congregation through change. Once church leaders have processed how the Change Formula applies in their environment, leaders often ask, “What can I do to take my church through change? What are the needed skills and competencies I should be focused on?”

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Blog Feature

Culture | Millennials | Physical Space

Four Things Millennials Wish the Church Would Be

By: Derek DeGroot
January 15, 2019

The mass exodus of Millennials (those born between 1984-2002) from the Christian faith has caused many leaders to wring their hands about the future of the church. Some have answered Millennials’ criticisms that the church is irrelevant and boring by trying to be trendy and hip. But an Aspen/Barna study—Making Space for Millennials—reveals that Millennials may be looking for just the opposite.

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Church Design | Project Profiles | Culture | Events | Church Construction | Managing Facilities

Building a Story at Community Christian Church–Yellow Box

By: Marian V. Liautaud
September 26, 2018

A church building is more than a place of worship. It’s more than a multipurpose space or classrooms. The building is the body language of the church. Everything about the space communicates who the church is.

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Blog Feature

Church Design | Culture

Is Your Church Bringing Kingdom Culture to Your Community?

By: Mark Jobe
August 31, 2018

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

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Blog Feature

Church Design | Culture | children's ministry space

Church Design Through a Mother's Eyes

By: Rosie Mitchell
May 08, 2018

When I first started working on architecture projects for churches, I began to see ministry space with a more critical eye. I became aware of traffic flow, aesthetics, and details of how church buildings were laid out. But it wasn’t until my first child was born that I began to see ministry space through a new lens—a mother’s eyes.

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