Church Design
Then vs. Now

By Jerry Halcomb, AIA

© Gaylord Opryland™ Resort & Convention Center, Nashville

One day while sitting in one of the atriums of Nashville's Opryland Hotel drinking coffee, having a meal and watching a music, light and water show, I asked myself, Why couldn't the church of tomorrow look like this?

At this grand hotel, guest rooms on all sides form the atriums. Worship, education and training centers, housing, recreation and shopping could surround the atriums at a church. Members could worship, learn, shop, play, and even live there!

All of this made me think back to my first churchgoing experiences. As Baptist deacon's kid in Oklahoma, they began almost at birth. Every time the doors were open, I was there, including (at the very least) Sunday mornings, Sunday nights and Wednesday evenings. The agendas for worship services were printed on handout bulletins and very seldom varied. The Word was preached from behind a large pulpit and enhanced with music from the hymnbooks in the pew-back racks. The baptistery was positioned central and immediately behind the choir. (Sometimes during baptismal services, the curtain was left open to expose a painting of the Jordan River.) Everyone went to Sunday school before worship and to Training Union on Sunday evenings. In a small Southern Baptist church, that's just the way it was.

As time passed, I noticed that many of church buildings were designed similarly to my church. Sanctuary entries were located immediately off of the main street, and education wings were situated at the back of the church where the most parking was available. The foyers hardly ever get used, I thought. Why isn't more thought given to circulation of people and functional design?

A new era begins

In the early 1950's, it seems some church leaders started thinking the same way. A few determined that their churches would host more than just Sunday and Wednesday events; they would be "everyday places." Families could get involved in activities at the church, so gyms, bowling alleys, cafés and Christian schools were incorporated. These forward-thinking pastors might have been ahead of their time then, but they were certainly on par with what we see today.

When it comes to the future of design, the main thing to keep in mind is that your facilities are tools to reach and minister to people. To be effective, you must be open to cutting-edge design that mirrors your members' everyday experiences going to the mall, the movies and even to school. Some of our church clients got an early start.

In the early '80s, First Baptist Church in Orlando, Fla., relocated to a 150-acre site. The new, cutting-edge facility included a large projection screen placed behind motorized, stained-glass panels above the baptistery. This screen could be removed to allow for a scrim or an open space to support large drama productions. Other special design elements included a three-section lift for the 80-piece orchestra and a "thrust," or very large baptistery--a big departure from the "baptistery windows" of the time. Over the years, moving stained-glass design was incorporated into several other projects, and today I-Mag screens are commonplace in auditorium design.

Even the parking lots at FBC were "alive" with music--another trend that has carried through to other church projects since.

More recently, Trinity Fellowship Church in Amarillo, Texas, decided to build a new, 3,500-seat worship/ event center. With its movable risers on "air-casters" and fly loft, TFC's new space will sometime feel like a worship facility. Other times, it will be ideally suited to host almost any community event.

In Tennessee's Brentwood Baptist Church, you'll find one of the largest deaf ministries in the country. In fact, this might be one of the only facilities designed as such and features a floor designed to transmit sound by vibration.

The lobby/atrium at Brentwood Baptist Church in Brentwood, Tenn., is busy as usual

Children's facility design has also changed quite a bit over the years. Flannel boards are a thing of the past. Today, churches are thinking "outside the box." For instance, Grace Fellowship in Tulsa, Okla., incorporated a carousel and an international "Main Street" (a la Disneyland) into its facility.

And as predicted, atriums are now popular multi-use spaces at Brentwood Baptist and other churches nationwide. From wedding receptions to power lunches, these spaces are ideal for a multitude of events.

What will the prototypical church of the future look like? My crystal ball is in the shop, but 31 years of designing for worship, education, recreation, hospitality and ministry has taught me this: churches are not what they used to be, nor what they will be tomorrow.

Jerry Halcomb is the founding principal of HHArchitects in Dallas, Texas. In addition to his corporate and business responsibilities as the firm's CEO, he is a hands-on principal-in-charge and is consistently involved in the planning, programming and design direction of projects. To learn more, call (972) 404-1034 or visit www.hharchitects.com.