When renovating, how much importance should a church place on updating its architecture to remain relevant?
Siebenlist: We believe that church architecture is relevant only when it is done in truth. In other words, the most effective church design is one that truly represents the church body within. Each church is unique, and one of the most effective tools in outreach is a design that communicates the character and purpose of its members. Couchenour: Church leaders will often go to other churches to see what they did. That only works if that other church is called to do what you do. If it’s reaching unchurched people in the community, then I would look at places where unchurched people in the community hang out. With my church, we went into the community to places people go to hang out. What is this telling us about places people like to hang out in our community? Then we asked, “How can we translate this into what we do with our building renovation?” We want to make our building as familiar and comfortable as possible to people who are unchurched in the community.
