Seven Things That Will Improve Our Worship Space

When I became pastor at Fall Creek Wesleyan Church earlier this year, I knew that one of our challenges would be to make enhancements to the room we use for worship. We’re fortunate to have this beautiful facility here on some of the most visible real estate in one of the fastest growing counties in the country.

Yet the building is 10 years old and in need of some improvement. And the worship center, as we call it, was designed for multiple purposes and it is used multiple times nearly every day of the week. It needs a facelift.

When we gather on Sunday, we corporately connect ourselves to God through hearing the Word, singing, receiving sacraments, and other ancient rituals of the church. We still sing, preach, shake hands, and receive communion, and our room must be designed to accommodate that.

Yet there have been changes in our worship practices over the years, so our space will have some critical differences from both a performance hall or theater and a traditional church sanctuary.

Participation vs. Spectating

Theaters are designed to make people relax, disengage, and look on while others perform. But worship is a verb; it’s something we all do together. Our space should invite people to enter—both into the room and into the act of worship.

Dynamic vs. Static

In traditional churches, the furniture and décor were fixed. The pews were screwed down. The chancel furniture was not to be moved.

Our worship is more fluid, and our room has to be more versatile. It must accommodate various styles of worship music and musicians, both preaching and drama, the use of video, and creative responses to the Word.

Multipurpose vs. Single-Use

After Sunday morning, our worship center converts back a preschool nap room, an afterschool hangout for middle schoolers, and children’s ministry center. We need portability in nearly every structure.

With that in mind, I’m suggesting several enhancements that will increase the value of our room and help us enter into the experience of corporate worship.

1. Enhance the Lighting.

We need to improve our lighting to make the room more comfortable and allow us more versatile worship experiences.

Right now, our lights have two settings: Dim and Off. We need to boost the house lights so that we can have full light when needed, allowing people to see one another, read from their Bibles, and avoid the feeling that we’re gathered in a dingy space. We can still soften the lights to allow for a more intimate feel.

Also, our stage lighting casts harsh light on the speaker, creating dark shadows and making it nearly impossible for the speaker to see the audience—which is critical for communication. Some changes are needed there as well.

2. Brighten the Projection.

We need to improve the projection system so that everyone can see words and images clearly.

Our current projectors shine their images on a white wall, which makes for a rather dull image. We need to improve this by either replacing the projectors with flat-screen monitors or upgrading the projector and screen system.

3. Upgrade the Technical Equipment.

We need enough technical equipment so that our musicians can be freed from their mélange of mics and cords.

I’m thinking wireless.

Sound projection is also poor in some areas of the room. A bit of engineering, and maybe one or two more speakers, will allow everyone to hear well.

4. Eliminate Backlighting.

The stained-glass windows in our worship center are on the same wall as the stage, which, unfortunately, backlights the speakers making the lighting situation even worse. We could eliminate that easily—and aesthetically improve the exterior of our building—by adding light boxes to the windows so that the amount of light they transmit could be manually controlled. At night, this would allow illuminate our stained glass to the outside, beautifying our campus.

5. Add Artwork that Communicates Our Vision.

We have huge white spaces on our walls, which are canvasses for the creation of visual art. I envision a simple image and text on either end of the room that graphically communicate our hunger to be transformed by the power of God and multiply that transformation throughout our world.

6. Replace the rug.

If you’ve seen the carpet, not further explanation is necessary.

7. Reconstruct the Stage to Create a More Versatile Space.

The current platform is too large for a single speaker and too small for the several musicians and instruments that we now use in worship. Reconstructing the platform to slightly different specifications would improve its appearance and utility. Painting the brick behind the platform area will also brighten the room and cause worship leaders to be more visible.

If you could make one change to the worship room in our church (or yours), what would it be?

Continue Reading >