We’ve frequently shared question-and-response posts from our free i3 webinars on church design and church building. Here are some recent questions that we answered, focusing specifically on children’s spaces.
Q: How frequently should we change themes to keep them fresh and exciting, and who are good vendors to use?
You should think long-term when choosing a theme for your children’s space. This is primarily because there’s a significant investment to be made in thematic decorations for your children’s spaces. Remember that, while adults may grow tired of a theme, new groups of children will arrive in your church building each year. For them, the theme is fresh and exciting.
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t periodically freshen up the paint (and change colors) in the children’s area of your church building (children being rather hard on walls in general!) but planning to change themes on a regular basis isn’t a necessity.
We do have some recommended vendors for obtaining thematic elements in your church design. Wacky World Studios offers both wall-scapes and three-dimensional pieces with a wide range of pricing. Worlds of Wow and Think Little are two other vendors that we have used for children’s themes in church building spaces.
Question 2: How do you handle dual-purpose church building spaces?
We do frequently get questions from church leaders about how to make church building spaces appealing to children during the week and adults on Sundays, or how best to appeal to kids in a wide age range. The best way to approach this is to start with a neutral backdrop in terms of wall colors, flooring, etc. However, if you’re looking only to appeal to a variety of children, you might be able to add a bit more color to the room.
Then you want to consider bringing mobile elements into the space. You can create backdrops on wheels that you can quickly and easily bring into the space when it’s time for children to use it. You will also want to make certain the furniture you choose for each age range is easy to move and store, and that your church design includes nearby storage for furniture and backdrops when they aren’t in use.
Question 3: Should every children’s room in our church design have a theme?
This isn’t really necessary. We suggest that you focus your budget on creating an exciting and engaging theme in the corridors of your children’s spaces. If your budget allows, you might want to take some simple element of the theme into each room, and certainly keep the color scheme aligned with the theme in the corridors. But you also want to avoid too many distractions within the classrooms themselves, so that your ministry is the focal point. For that reason, we recommend bringing color into each children’s classroom, but leaving the themes out in the corridors.
We hope that these responses have been helpful in your own thinking about the best church design principles for children’s spaces. As you can see, attending our free i3 webinars gives you a great chance to get your church building questions answered. If you can’t wait for our next webinar, give us a call at 800-625-6448.