One of the activities that a church facility needs to facilitate is creating an active sense of community.
It is true that buildings are basically what we call brick and mortar, however we must also recognize that they have character and thus communicate a message about the inhabitants and often facilitate very specific activities.
Church attendance is often driven by our desire as humans to connect.
We primarily go to church to connect with God, but there is also a huge element of human/social connection that brings people thru the doors.
For a church one of the activities that a building should facilitate is creating a sense of community.
So how can brick and mortar help create a sense of community?
Church Seating Areas
When you show up early or stay later after a service you may want to have an extended conversation with someone you haven’t seen lately, or perhaps with someone who is personally struggling with a loss or tough situation in their life.
To connect on such a deep and personal level can be difficult if you are standing in a crowded lobby. In that lobby setting there are fears of being overheard and also the constant distraction and interruptions as people walk by and wave or stop and say hi.
There is something about a seating area that is off to the side that communicates, do not interrupt.
It’s almost like you put up a do not disturb sign. In reality these areas often are where deep ministry takes place. People are more open if they feel safe from being overheard or interrupted.
Community is about Gathering Space
There is something exciting about a crowd.
The noise, the closeness and sometimes what feels like chaos gives off a strong energy of “something is happening here”. A lobby is great place to be seen and to see people and make a quick connection.
Church attendance is often driven by our desire as humans to connect.
We primarily go to church to connect with God, but there is also a huge element of human/social connection that brings people thru the doors.
For a church one of the activities that a building should facilitate is creating a sense of community.
So how can brick and mortar help create a sense of community?
Church Seating Areas
When you show up early or stay later after a service you may want to have an extended conversation with someone you haven’t seen lately, or perhaps with someone who is personally struggling with a loss or tough situation in their life.
To connect on such a deep and personal level can be difficult if you are standing in a crowded lobby. In that lobby setting there are fears of being overheard and also the constant distraction and interruptions as people walk by and wave or stop and say hi.
There is something about a seating area that is off to the side that communicates, do not interrupt.
It’s almost like you put up a do not disturb sign. In reality these areas often are where deep ministry takes place. People are more open if they feel safe from being overheard or interrupted.
Community is about Gathering Space
There is something exciting about a crowd.
The noise, the closeness and sometimes what feels like chaos gives off a strong energy of “something is happening here”. A lobby is great place to be seen and to see people and make a quick connection.
This might be as simple as doing some of the above. Moving or creating new coffee stations, creating seating areas, adding tabletops can all give clues to where people should go and connect with each other.
Another way to help in traffic flow is to have key people that set an example or politely encourage people to move to s specific location.
If someone is lingering in front of the coffee station having an extend conversation blocking the area often someone simply coming up and saying excuse me as they walk towards the coffee station with give a social cue that the people in conversation need to move.
Your facility can most definitely facilitate community.
Your challenge is to do the work and figure out what you can do to help make this happen.
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