Worship Space And Hospitality

Written from a Protestant perspective with the evangelistic church in mind, the following article provides some challenging insights regarding how the very space we use for worship can aid the church's ministry of hospitality.

Winston Churchill once said that first we shape our buildings and then our buildings shape us. His observation may have been made with a view to the magnificent and ancient British parliamentary buildings, but it also applies to the church and its buildings. Once we build a building, we surrender a certain amount of leadership to it. For centuries church building concentrated on worship space. Many of the buildings we worship in each Sunday reflect this emphasis: a rectangular sanctuary with row upon row of pews facing the front, which holds the pulpit. The entire building models the concept of worship as dialogue between God and the people. The pastor and the pulpit represent God; the pews and the worshipers represent the people. But often even the notion of dialogue is muted; and the sole emphasis is on teaching in a monologue format. The sanctuary looks like an old-fashioned classroom, with the pews arranged in straight rows in front of the teacher's lectern. Planning for Hospitality How does a congregation plan a building that offers hospitality? The architecture of hospitality begins in the parking lot. Visitors won't feel welcome at a church that has barely enough parking places for its own members. So a church that wants to grow should offer plenty of parking and reserve five or six of its best spaces for visitors. At the church entrance, prominent signs should direct worshipers to the nursery, restrooms, pastor's office, and sanctuary. The narthex should be roomy, perhaps featuring an attractive visitors' center where people can find out more about the church and denomination. The nursery should be planned carefully, reflecting the church's awareness that today's parents are fussy about where they leave their children. The room or rooms should be clean, well lit, and very well-staffed. If possible, the nursery should have its own washroom facilities and changing area; it should be compartmentalized into two or three age groups. It's a good idea to have someone register the children each Sunday, paying special attention to visitors. The worship place itself should be bright— pews or chairs arranged so people can see one another. Worship, after all, is a double dialogue; the people not only talk to God, but also to each other. The pews or rows of chairs should be relatively short; few people like to sit in the middle of a long row. Well-trained ushers should make sure worshipers are evenly distributed throughout the seating area. It's also important that the space between the front row and the pulpit doesn't look like the Grand Canyon and that the platform is roomy enough to permit a variety of activities. Newer churches have begun using plexiglas pulpits in order to avoid making the pulpit a barrier between the minister and the people. A church will want to ensure that everyone can hear the sung and spoken Word and that the leader can be heard from any place on the platform. Where the acoustics are inadequate, a congregation should consider, if possible, investing in a sophisticated sound system. A blank surface or screen is also a good investment—something that will enable the church to show films, display overhead transparencies, and project the words of hymns on transparencies or slides. Choosing the Right Design It's obvious from all the discussion and changing trends that church architecture is no longer a matter of drawing a rectangle and deciding whether classrooms should go on the main floor or in the basement. Churches often go through a lengthy process of deciding who they are and what God wants them to do. Building committees travel to various locations to see what other churches are doing. Any committee that spends time examining newer trends in church architecture will discover some interesting and helpful information. For example, seating arrangements in newer churches are helped by the trend to fan-shaped sanctuaries. Each of these designs is said to promote intimacy, provide expandability, and contain cost. Another surprising trend a building committee might uncover is the move away from traditional church buildings. Many newer churches are designed to resemble commercial buildings. Some congregations who don't own a building now choose to meet in leased warehouse space, instead of in the traditional school auditorium or gymnasium. Why? Because the warehouse meeting space is more likely to attract the unchurched. Anyone who is planning to build or remodel a church building should carefully consider not only these recent trends, but also the basic nature of their congregation. A church building should fit a congregation's concept of ministry. With a little imagination and foresight a building can be a powerful tool to inspire communal worship and a welcoming atmosphere.