image attribution: TFWM
More and more established churches are refurbishing and redesigning their existing facilities. The creation of state-of-the-art worship sanctuaries with media/sound production in mind is booming. Audio acoustics, projection screen placement and lighting considerations are now all part of church design. In fact, digital technology considerations are now in the forefront of design.
For example, Technologies for Worship Magazine currently features an article on the continuing multi-site expansion of The Church on the Way, originating in Van Nuys, Ca. With three campuses, this multi-lingual congregation is still growing. Having attended The Church on the Way in the early 1980's, and having received such life-changing and dynamic ministry there, I was excited to think about how many individuals these new facilities might serve.
But, in contrast, LifeWay Research has just released a newsletter with this article in it: The unchurched prefer cathedrals to contemporary designs. (You've got to subscribe to read the whole newsletter.) According to the study, by a nearly 2-to-1 ratio over any other option, unchurched Americans prefer churches that look more like a medieval cathedral than what most think of as a more contemporary church building. The assumption is that there is a desire to link to the past.
As Christians, we obviously have a strong desire to share our faith with others, but should we design our buildings with them in mind? Or, are our temples primarily for those who name themselves as believers?
Cynthia, What a joy to share some moments with you and Bob. Wow, the TCOTW, is looking pretty modern – great look and feel. We just remodeled and expanded our sanctuary too and took great consideration into lighting, larger and brighter projection and of course new seats with wider bottoms and more cush. I am praying for you guys and enjoyed checking out your blog.
Bernie
Bernie – I’m still recovering from your passion!!
As an expert in reaching those beyond the church walls, I appreciate your perspective on church design.
I was slightly surprised that unchurched persons prefer sanctuaries and cathedrals. This seems to match up pretty well with Rainer’s research in The Unchurched Next Door where they found that people would rather attend on a Sunday morning than on a Saturday night because it feels more like church.
This further echoes Willow Creek’s Reveal findings regarding seeker sensitivity and the need for discipleship.
I think that maybe the church has been jealous of Starbucks for too long.
I’m not saying we need to have old wooden pews and an organ in every church, but we don’t need to rival the local IMAX theater either.
P.S., I would still love to chat sometime.
Hey Cynthia – interesting study. With all the conversation around Barna-Viola of late, there seems compelling evidence that one’s own home, or a “third space” environment, might be the preferred place for the “unchurched.”
We can show up for years in a cathedral, or mega warehouse, and remain “unchurched.” Homes seem more, um, homey.. more like a place where the body can truly connect at the core.
Hope all is well with you!
Hi Ryan & John – there’s a bit more feedback on church design at this cross-post: http://digital.leadnet.org/2008/04/should-churches.html
I think too often Christians grow up in their own culture and begin to deceive themselves into thinking that they know what the world wants/thinks. Most churches have spent so much time creating an their own alternate universe of culture (AKA the Christian bubble) that we have no real idea what someone who has never been to church is searching for.
There is something to be said for walking into an old catholic church with 90 ft ceilings, filled with the colored light of stainglass images that fills a person with awe.
Hi Tim – Can we include your company website – it looks good?
Sure you can include the website. I’m not posting as a form of promotion – only to add to the conversation, but not apposed to doing both at the same time.
Hey Tim. I’ve bumped into your company before on sanctuary audio installs. Nice to see you here.
Hmm, I’m no social expert by any stretch. My take on those findings is maybe Hollywood has actually programmed our society to view a church as a big old cathedral. Most of the time when you see a minister in a movie, he’s got a collar on. I think when someone is searching and they’re not being invited by a friend/relative/co-worker they go to where they think the church is…which Hollywood has painted as an old, gothic cathedral.
I think what’s more important is that our buildings aren’t extravagant. A simple building with necessary tools in it for ministry seem a lot better for our dollar! We renovated an old warehouse and added the screens/lights package. With only 25,000sqft we take care of 2,600 plus adults and kids every weekend.
A neighboring church has a beautiful building which completely dwarfs ours. It fits the cathedral mold yet they average 1,500 more than we do weekly. Sometimes I think the focus shouldn’t necessarily be on the appearance of the building, but whether or not the people in it are actively seeking out lost people to bring.
Sorry this is a really long comment!
Derrick – yes, buildings needn’t be extravagant – some of the services I’ve attended in tents in third world countries prove that.
Your numbers comparison brings up an additional issue. Some gauge their church’s success based on the number of people attending. Others measure the depth of discipleship and value a kind of spiritual quality over quantity. Numbers of attenders and salvations & baptisms recorded present certain types of data. In-depth discipleship requires a different kind of measurement. And still separate is measuring whether or not a particular church is fulfilling it’s vision / mission / calling. A small church might excel in intimate relationships while a large church might excel in productions. Maybe the building should be connected to the assignment?
The research and findings are interesting. In one way it is surprising that the unchurched prefer a more traditional church, but in another way that is their only “image” of a church in most cases. So first thoughts of the unchurched would make sense. However, what if they sit through services for a few weeks in each. What would they prefer then?
An interesting case study to illustrate my point is several years ago Pepsi kept winning taste test over Coke. This alarmed coke so much that the invented New Coke. For those that remember, the backlash was astounding. What went wrong? The answer is that if you do a quick taste test between two drinks in this case, you will always pick the sweeter of the two. Coke found out that their drinkers don’t like sweet cola’s and that if you “spend time” with the two drinks Coke for many works better over a longer period of time.
I would like to seem more depth in this kind of research and I would also like to see how this type of research would come out if it incorporated a referenced like the Engle scale (for example).