Re-evaluating Church Space

These 8 manifestations are affecting churches and their operations all across the country. Which ones are you coming across in your own design work?

by

People are reconnecting with church life in different ways today. During the height of the pandemic and even now, many worshippers are attending online—some joining faraway churches with no geographic constraints. Brand new worshippers, too, are engaging with church experiences online, reflecting yet another manifestation of digital attendance.

Even as many churches have reopened for physical attendance, strong digital presences have remained “must-haves” in the church world, according to Dave Milam, vice president of Visioneering Studios in Irvine, California. Other developments are on Milam's radar, too. "Alhough I haven't necessarily noticed a hard, quick shift in a new direction as churches have reopened, I have seen a noticeable uptick in several areas.”

1-Ruthless evaluation of facilities

Church staffing experts warned us that 2020 would unleash a tsunami of church staffing resumes into the job search pool, notes Milam. “And as a result, 2021 has been a year of transition for thousands of churches across America. The leadership deck is being shuffled. As a result, church leaders will be evaluating their buildings with a fresh and critical perspective in the coming year. And as new leadership takes the reins, facility updates are always soon to follow.”

2-Maximizing reach online

“Our most urgent requests center around the increased importance of broadcast, side-by-side with in-person gatherings,” says Tim Corder, director of strategic accounts for systems integrator Diversified. “Pre-pandemic, broadcast was optional to many churches and certainly did not receive the same priority as in-person gatherings. The pandemic dramatically changed all of that, and it is now expected that a church’s in-person experience will offer as much quality as an online broadcast.”

This has led a number of Diversified's clients to prioritize building and/or creating studios or intimate shooting environments that are purpose-built for capturing content for online audiences, Corder reports. “It’s remarkable how many pastors began pre-recording messages during the pandemic and are now continuing this practice, as the pre-recording process allows them to better tailor their words to remote audiences."

"We're starting to see more churches create glassed-in online studios attached to church lobbies and late night-style ‘sound stages’ as a strategy to keep the Church's digital presence front and center.” 

Dave Milam, Vice President of Strategic Design, Visioneering Studios

3-Use of the sound stage + live studio audiences

“In a matter of days, churches across the nation stacked their auditorium seats and transformed their worship centers into full-scale sound stages,” says Milam. “Overnight, the Church expanded its digital presence and the need for dedicated studio space was born."

Resolved to sustain the power of the online connection, church leaders are scrambling to find high-profile and visible dedicated studio space to house their online campuses. “It just wouldn't make sense to tuck away that expensive camera gear in some back closet that once stored the mop bucket," Milam muses. "We're starting to see more churches create glassed-in online studios attached to church lobbies and late night-style 'sound stages' as a strategy to keep the Church's digital presence front and center.”

"A stack of hard drives that everyone works from is no longer accessible with the amount of content being created, the speed of turnaround that is required, and the decentralized physical locations of team members.”

Tim Corder, Director of Strategic Accounts, Diversified

These trends have also increased the importance of capture equipment such as high-quality cameras and audio processing chains, positioning content both live to air and during pre-recording, Corder adds. “There is also a greater need than ever before for scalable media workflow systems that allow media teams both large and small to catalog, access, and archive content both on-premises and in the cloud. A stack of hard drives that everyone works from is no longer accessible with the amount of content being created, the speed of turnaround that is required, and the decentralized physical locations of team members.”

4-Networked society ➵ hybrid church

The way churches operated pre-COVID is clearly no longer a reality. "We are continuing to look for new strategies enabling churches to reconnect with their congregations and designing projects with future-planning capabilities," says Jacqueline Block, GFF Church Works Studio director and associate principal.  

It may be more common for many churches to record a sermon to share on YouTube or to send an invitation via Zoom, and then giving attendees and guests the option of attending a smaller-scale church service in-person. “The growth of the hybrid church model is an approach which offers the best of both worlds," Block notes, "merging an online presence with in-person gatherings. When marrying the digital experience with a physical one, people can experience human interaction with the convenience and flexibility of attending in-person or online.” 

Churches are buying laptops for those who can’t attend, such as the housebound, allowing them to experience a whole new way to communicate.

The hybrid model can also attract new worshippers, Block adds. Individuals who aren't able to attend in person can participate in services online. Prayer groups can now experience fresh attendees. Churches are buying laptops for those who can’t attend, such as the housebound, allowing them to experience a whole new way to communicate.

5-Commercial development and the Church

“Sensing the market volatility, church leaders across the country are beginning to seriously explore how to increase non-tithe revenue, and are planning ways to leverage their assets to stabilize cash flow,” says Milam. “At Visioneering Studios, we have even started helping churches who are hoping to convert their unused property into cash-generating retail and community space. Serving as the church's designer, builder, and retail developer has allowed our team to help create some engaging new community and mixed-use development space. And with intentional design, these environments could be a game-changer for the local church.”

"We have even started helping churches who are hoping to convert their unused property into cash-generating retail and community space."

Dave Milam, Vice President of Strategic Design, Visioneering Studios

6-Cleaner play environments

One of the most seismic church design changes will be with the transformation of kids' play environments, notes Milam. “For years, three-story playscapes with colorful tube slides and ball pits were the dream of every child's pastor across the country. But those days are over. We're starting to see unique and creative play environments that are easier to keep clean and sanitize. Moms and dads will now cautiously restrain their children from those colorful COVID-infected Petri dish playscapes—even post-COVID.”

7-Theaters and gyms closing

The final two quarters of 2021 will likely bring an apocalypse of small business closings, notes Milam. “And now, church plants looking for available buildings or campuses to expand will have several options. Local theaters and workout facilities have been among the hardest hit and will be some of the first to go.”

8-Student ministry revival

Twenty-five years ago, the student ministry was the only place you'd hear the modern worship sound, Milam notes. 

But once the cage-free drums reached the main stage, student ministries no longer maintained the modern worship monopoly—and the need for dedicated student ministry space waned. Student ministers across the country began searching for a new identity as the ministry model fundamentally changed.

In a scramble to reclaim the next generation, churches are seeing a renaissance of dedicated student ministry space, Milam finds. Leaders are looking for relational connections that include outdoor development complete with garage doors, nine square, and the Gaga Ball.

“Many of our church clients are requesting engaging outdoor spaces as a way to connect to their local community," Block says of the hybrid movement overall. "From outdoor amphitheaters, sports courts, spaces for movie night on the lawn, to dog parks, people want engagement and are looking for a community connection."

[Editor's note: This piece was originally published in Cover Stories summer 2021.]

Subscribe for Email Updates

Almost every day, we put out a story on the creative use of technology in churches. Stay up-to-date by subscribing here and get the latest ideas and solutions in your inbox.