Menu
All Resources Aspen Research Projects Downloads Videos
We’ve partnered with Barna Group on a new series of research reports called Making Space: Why Church Design Matters in Ministry. In this first volume, Making Space for Inspiration, we’ve discovered key trends regarding what draws people closer to feelings of transcendence and connection to the divine, with the goal of helping leaders find value in the physical spaces they utilize.
Get Your Copy »
This resource will guide you through six ways your church lobby can help build relationships, cultivate hospitality, and inspire generosity.
Download the Free PDF »
What does it look like to design beautiful spaces that evoke a sense of transcendence and connection to the divine? In this free chapter of Making Space for Inspiration, we dive into the themes of space as a place for peace and transcendence, ministering through nature, and the church as more than a building.
Get the Free Chapter »
This resource offers ways you can make the most of your church’s site and outdoor spaces, including identifying your site’s context to the community, making the most of your patio space, creating space for large group gatherings, and more!
This PDF assessment is designed to help pastors, ministry leaders, and facility managers assess how your church’s outdoor space reflects your values and DNA, benefits people physically and emotionally, and is helping them grow in their faith. You'll come away with an idea of what’s working, what’s not, and where to focus your attention so you can make the most of your outdoor spaces.
One of our most requested resources has been updated! Before You Build helps you to identify the key questions your church should ask before beginning the church building process.
Making disciples is the highest goal for Christian schools and churches. This guide delves into the cultural forces that are complicating the discipleship journey and how to use your built space to help address them using four crucial components of design.
As churches continue to reopen, what could it look like to incorporate a cohesive phygital strategy related to physical and digital experiences? In this guide, we’ll cover trends related to ministry space and why now is the time to shift toward creating a seamless interaction between your church’s onsite and online experiences.
With this resource you'll reflect on what you’re learning during the COVID-19 crisis, and how you’ll prepare to return to your church building once the pandemic has subsided. It’s a chance to reimagine your church through the lenses of culture, leadership, ministry, and facilities.
The church lobby is critical for creating relational space for a congregation, but how do you foster in-person interactions in the midst of COVID? How will people enter and exit safely? What about space for connection? Is it the end of coffee and doughnuts? This resource guides you through 10 things to consider as you rethink your lobby area for COVID.
Intentionally building a program for individuals with special needs helps those of varying abilities grow fully in their faith and gives their families an opportunity to worship knowing their loved ones are being well cared for. This resource offers six tips that will help you integrate a special needs ministry at your church.
Feeling discouraged or overwhelmed in this challenging season of children's ministry? Orange Kids Specialist, Missy Purcell, gives a fresh perspective and tips on where to go from here.
In this executive summary of the complete More Than Multisite research report, Barna Group and Cornerstone Knowledge Network (CKN) partnered to study the current culture and methods of planting and growing congregations, specifically exploring such key questions.
Orange Kids Specialist, Missy Purcell, gives four quick tips on how to relaunch your children’s ministry safely.
In this video, Aspen’s Ministry Space Strategist, Greg Snider, will show you how your church can take pointers from brands such as Southwest, Amazon, and NBC to develop a better strategy for both your physical and digital ministry space.
View Video »
This video from the Aspen Relaunch Church Ministry Webinar series features KidMin expert, Missy Purcell. Missy addresses the challenges and opportunities for engaging children and their parents in this season of COVID-19. She shares practical ideas for how to reconfigure Children's Ministry spaces for social distancing and safe programming and offers KidMin leaders insights to confidently lead in these uncertain times.
This video features special guests, Jeff Boriss, Creative Arts Catalyst, and Eric Bramlett, Creative Arts Director, at Community Christian Church in Naperville, Illinois. Jeff and Eric share their expertise in worship ministry and unpack key questions to help churches reimagine their worship ministry in our COVID-19 reality.
Relaunching your church within our COVID-19 reality will require vision and an ability to navigate long-term, strategic change while implementing short-term solutions for gathering together as a church.In this resource, we’ve created an expanded series of leadership questions for senior pastors and key ministry leaders.
In this video, from the Aspen Relaunch Church webinar series, special guest Brian Dodd, applies his leadership wisdom to the daunting challenge of shepherding our congregations back into our church buildings in the midst of COVID-19.
This guide is designed to help pastors and ministry leaders reimagine the future of your church’s key ministry programs, including worship, kids’ ministry, outreach, and discipleship. A robust series of questions will help you wrestle through what you’ve learned in the pandemic, and how you’ll move toward a new vision of the future.
In this video, Jim Herrington applies his leadership wisdom to help pastors navigate change and make wise leadership decisions. Aspen hosts Evan McBroom and Marian Liautaud unpack the key questions every church leader should be asking to thrive in this next season of ministry.
This guide is designed to help you facilitate a Relaunch Church meeting with your ministry leadership team, including an agenda you can use (and customize). This resource will provide you with a turnkey way to gather with your key leaders and collaborate on a strategy for relaunching your church for a new season of ministry in the midst of COVID-19.
Use this assessment to drill down into what's working well, what's not working, and what's missing in your ministry's culture, leadership, ministry, and facility in light of the COVID-19 climate.
In this resource, we’ll debunk three common myths about your church building, and share three truths about how facilities can lead to accelerated growth and improved stewardship of your church’s most valuable asset—your building.
Best practices for multiplying churches
In this free downloadable resource, we'll help you discover a better way to select the best building partner for your church project.
Though large churches and multisites face more complex security challenges, every church has to confront the reality that evil exists and is sometimes perpetrated at churches, no matter the size or location. In this resource, we’ll look at doable ways to deter the most common—and the most feared—security threats at churches.
Jim Tomberlin, founder and senior consultant of MultiSite Solutions, clarifies what church mergers are and how they can be used for the good of the Kingdom.
Jim Tomberlin, founder of Multisite Solutions, shares his experience consulting churches in developing and implementing multi-campus strategies.
A resource loaded with visual examples to make the principles of a Third Place come alive, plus practical ways to create connecting space in your church.
Inside today's methods and models for launching new congregations.
Download Your Free Chapter »
In this video, David Kinnaman, president of Barna Group, looks to Acts 16 for insights on how the church can reach and serve communities in transformative ways.
Dave Ferguson, Lead and Founding Pastor of Chicago's Community Christian Church, and co-founder of Exponential and NewThing Network, shares the keys to thinking strategically about using your church's most valuable assets for community impact.
In this video resource, Barna’s head of research, Brooke Hempell, gives leaders a clear picture of how multisite churches can love their neighbors well.
In this video, Greg Snider, Senior Project Developer at Aspen Group, shares how churches can leverage their facilities to make an impact in their local community.
In this panel discussion, Dave Ferguson, Lead and Founding Pastor of Community Christian Church, Tom Elenbaas, Lead Pastor of Harbor Churches, and Mark Jobe, Lead Pastor of New Life Community Church discuss how they are strategically building their churches for community impact.
In this video, you'll learn how senior pastors Tom Elenbaas, Steve Poe, and Mark Jobe applied visionary leadership to expand their church’s footprint within their geographic areas, and the one skill every pastor must develop if they wish to grow.
Mark Jobe, Lead and Founding Pastor of New Life Community Church, and President of Moody Bible Institute, presents a compelling vision for how to redeem sacred space for the good of our communities.
Every church has something to say, but is your church saying what it means to say? Evan McBroom, founder and partner of Fishhook, helps church leaders consider how they discover the context for powerful and effective communications.
In her signature, scripture-centered style, Julie Bullock, Senior Generosity Strategist at Generis, shares how to inspire and disciple your congregation to give generously.
Featuring Mark Jobe, Founder and Lead Pastor of New Life Community Church
In this video resource, Mark Jobe, Founder and Lead Pastor of New Life Community Church, shares his story of how he focused on what he had, to turn his church of 18 into a growing, thriving body of Christ.
This downloadable executive summary provides a quick top line view of the Aspen Group and Barna research, Making Space for Millennials.
A Blueprint for Your Culture, Ministry, Leadership and Facilities
Free Download »
There is much to be learned by exploring how others tell their stories.
In this talk, Roxanne Stone, VP of publishing at Barna Group, summarizes recent research on Millennials, including findings from the Barna/CKN Making Space for Millennials research.
In his opening keynote at the 2015 Alignment Conference, Ed Bahler, CEO of Aspen Group, explores how the church can use story to engage and transform the hearts of those who are seeking a more meaningful life.
Every space tells a story. Does your church building tell the right one?
In this engaging video, Clint Jenkin, former vice president of research for Barna Group, and Aspen lead architect Derek DeGroot share some initial findings and practical solutions for making room for Millennials in the church.
In her high-energy style, Julie Bullock provides fresh insights and inspiration for how to increase generosity in churches, especially among young adults.
In this video, Drew Dyck, author of Generation Ex-Christian and Yawning at Tigers, proposes a different approach, one that rejects both trendiness and compromise.
Download the NewThing Toolbox to receive tips, tools, and training from some of today's most respected church leaders.
Access The Toolbox »
