By RaeAnn Slaybaugh
In spirit, churches have long embraced their communities, of course. But in recent years, their physical presence — their facilities — reflect a big (and growing) focus on community-friendliness.
Why are churches prioritizing this objective more than ever? And what does community-focused church design look like, anyway?
We asked a seasoned church builder/former pastor to walk us through it.
Founder and President
Master’s Plan Church Design & Construction
Church Executive: As a church building professional, what does ‘community-focused’ design mean to you?
Rodney C. James: I was at a church in Maryland yesterday for their first visioning meeting, and this was a big topic. The way I see it — and this church agrees — there are two schools of thought regarding community-focused design.
First, there’s creating community inside the church. We want our people to feel like they’re connected, like they’re a part of the body.
But there’s also a school of thought around creating spaces that are inviting and that serve the needs of the community as a whole — thinking about the outside community. This requires spaces that are welcoming not only on weekends but also comfortable, safe and inviting all week long.
Maybe it’s opening a food pantry or providing counseling programs that offer marital or financial guidance.
On the non-ministry side, it might involve hosting civic groups looking for a place to meet.
Overall, it’s about creating spaces that are intentionally accessible and available to the community.
CE: Why is it crucial for a church to be community-focused in this day and age?
James: Given all that’s happening in our world right now, people are seeking truth more than ever before. That’s creating an opportunity for the Church to be inviting, to create spaces designed for seekers and the people who are already with us.
A church building should never be a place for only ‘our’ people to meet; we must be intentional about creating spaces where people feel comfortable stepping through the doors whether or not they’re church members. It can be as simple as providing a place to sit down and have a conversation, because your church is always open, and the lobby is always available. Or maybe your church has a great outdoor space where anyone can meet. Our spaces should say, ‘Hey, we have an open-door policy. We want your groups to come and use our facility.’ It’s a real need in our communities.
CE: Has the term ‘community-focused church design’ evolved over the years?
James: If you look at the way churches were designed two, three decades ago versus how they’re designed today, we’re so much more intentional about being open, being visible. Related to that, outdoor space is the new front door.
Maybe it’s informal outdoor seating, or the café extends into an outdoor space and is available outside of Sunday mornings. Church designs are using much more glass now, so people aren’t walking through the doors not knowing what to expect. We’re trying to lower the anxiety of taking that step.
Our church environments should say: Welcome. We’re a community, and we want you to be a part of it. You’ll find connectedness and comfort here. Outdoor space is a great opportunity to do this, since it leads everyone to the front door. We didn’t see churches creating these kinds of spaces 30 years ago.
CE: For a church design to be truly community-focused, what elements must it include?
James: A clearly defined entry, and an open lobby or gathering space that offers an atmosphere of transparency. Wayfinding is important, too; we want easy-to-navigate facilities. When someone walks through the front door for the very first time, where do they take their kids? Where is the worship center? The restrooms?
All of this came up in my conversation yesterday with the leaders of the Maryland church I mentioned: They’ve created a lobby space with high-top tables and TVs on the wall broadcasting the service. In effect, this has created an entire community. In conversations with the hospitality team, they’ve discovered that a lot of these people made the transition from watching online to, now, watching in the lobby. Maybe the next step they’ll take is inside the worship center.
Another key is to find a need in the community and create a space to meet that need. Maybe it’s providing homeschooling spaces? We have a number of church clients whose children’s ministry rooms are used by these groups once or twice a week.
CE: Obviously, it’s easier to incorporate these elements into a new-build project. But what can existing churches do?
James: Again, outdoor spaces are always an option. Ideally, these would be at or near the front door — or otherwise highly visible — to show the community that your church has created places for them to gather. The Church needs to adopt the design approach behind city parks and revitalized downtown areas: What can we do to create community and be inviting to the public?
If you’ve got the land, then sports fields and pickleball courts are easy to do and don’t require remodeling of your facilities.
Beyond this, focus on the front door. Your lobby should disarm visitors and make them feel comfortable. Wood doors and small (or no) windows don’t communicate that.
Dress up your classrooms and invite businesspeople to have meetings there. Invite civic groups to meet at your facility. Every one of those opportunities is likely to bring people through the door who might never walk in any other way.
CE: Are there lesser-considered benefits of taking a community-focused design approach, aside from outreach and discipling?
James: I think we need to remember that God has entrusted us with some great facilities. And many go unused except on the weekends and Wednesdays. As good stewards, we’ve got to be intentional about looking through the eyes of the community and saying, Where can we meet a need?
When we begin to do that and start to open our doors in this way, the community can begin to appreciate what the Church is doing in the way of serving without expecting anything in return. If we’re good stewards with the God’s resources, it will bear fruit.
I just think that doing the right thing is always the best thing. It means extending an open hand and just loving and serving people, with the realization that in the end, it’s a building. The lobby is not a ‘sacred space’ — it’s a place where broken people can come and find acceptance and belonging. Then, we leave it up to the Lord to change their hearts and bring them to a place of belief.
It all takes effort, right? It means we need people there to open the doors, and we’ll have to clean the buildings after they’re used, but that’s our investment in our communities.
It takes a team with the mentality of serving people who are like us. We’re all broken and imperfect; let’s leave it in the Lord’s hands and see what He does.
A WARM RECEPTION
LIVING STONES CHURCH (Crown Point, Ind.)
“The Living Stones facility is used seven days a week, and I’d say 50% of it, maybe 60%, is ministry-based. The other 30% or 40% is groups from within the community.
The church allows homeschool groups to meet in their facility multiple days a week. And they’re a voting place, a polling place. So, people from the community regularly come through the doors.
“They just hosted a major quasi-ministry event called Flashpoint LIVE. People from all over the community stood in line for hours to be part of it.
“In fact, I got a call from Pastor Ron [Johnson, Jr.] after the Flashpoint event. He said, ‘I just want to tell you that we had so many comments on our facility. The other thing is that we hit it out of the park in terms of hospitality. It blew people away that they could come to a church and be served like this, be treated like this.’
“So, I think that’s a great win, because [Living Stones] was designed to be more than just church on the weekend.”
— Rodney C. James
GRACED WITH HOSPITALITY
GRACE COMMUNITY CHURCH (Bartlesville, Okla.)
“Grace Community Church is another example of community-friendly design. We expanded their facility to accommodate many events and activities, and even for just socializing during the week.
“Three months after we built a new gathering space there — connected to the children’s ministry, the student ministry, the worship center, classroom and kitchen — Pastor Rod Macllvaine called me. He said, ‘The thing that you told me was going to happen has happened: we have people in our lobby almost every day of the week now. Moms gather with their kids. Homeschool groups and other small groups meet up. A handful of men sit and drink coffee together in the mornings. Sometimes it’s church members bringing other people, but we’ve also had businessmen hold meetings here.’
“So, this church really has become known in the community as a place where people can come throughout the week.”
— Rodney C. James
