Here’s another schematic church design that illustrates how to support a vision for ministry with creative church building solutions. In this post, we’re looking specifically at how one church addressed its vision to attract local youth.
The Church Vision of Grove City Church of the Nazarene
This church building example comes from Grove City Church of the Nazarene in Ohio whose church building is located directly across from a public high school. So, their vision for ministry in the community naturally includes reaching out to young people who are seeking a fun and safe place to hang out after school. They want to draw youth in and get them accustomed to thinking of church as a cool place to be.
The Schematic Church Design Solution for Weekdays and Weekends
As you can see from this schematic design, we worked with Grove City church leaders to draft a creative solution to a space problem they were having. They had a thriving children’s church program on Sundays and wanted a stage that could incorporate elaborate sets. They also wanted to attract youth from the high school to come hang out during the week, both after school and after ballgames in the evenings. So, we created a two-sided multi-use room that could use the same seating area for two types of events.
On the left, we built a stage for children’s church that could accommodate those elaborate sets and allow them to stay up week after week. This permitted the kids to experience a consistent and engaging ministry with no weekly setup and tear down for the adults. On the right side, we built a second stage designed for youth performances with mood lighting and band equipment that also didn’t need to be taken down every weekend either. An arcade was also added (orange arrow in the schematic and pictured left).
The Continued Evolution of Grove City’s Church Building
This multi-use configuration worked well for quite a while. Over time, as the church continued to grow, it built a new space for the children’s ministries and this multi-use room was reconfigured to serve the growing Christian school and the youth ministries. The children’s church platform on the left was torn down and the space was converted into bleachers. The arcade has also been updated (right).
These changes were made to keep the church building current and relevant for teens. It also means that the kids who once attended children’s church in this space still find it to meet their needs a dozen years later.
Any church design should be revisited periodically and updated to meet your church’s vision for ministry. Modern and attractive church building spaces will draw people in for the church to minister to. This is one of the underlying themes that drive many of our free i3 webinar presentations. We know that any church building must be periodically reviewed and possibly remodeled to make sure it is still able to support your evolving church vision for ministry in your community. Sign up for our next i3 webinar and join us to learn more.