I toured a magnificent church building recently. Built in 1900 with a Hogwarts
look (i.e. Gothic), the windows are magnificent tributes to God, the archways are sweeping, and – from what I understand – the pews are essentially empty every Sunday. The sanctuary appears to be able to seat between 500 and 700 people with multiple balconies and nooks in addition to rows of pews in the nave.
One might say that church is dying, although the remaining members would say they AREN’T DEAD YET. They treasure the history and architecture of their once thriving church space. But estimates say it will take at least $5 million to repair and restore this building and nobody knows where that kind of money will come from. The current members don’t have it. And there’s no evidence that a millionaire has bequested his or her fortune to this church for future refurbishment.
What will it take for that congregation to thrive again?
- For the current congregation to leave – or stay with the agreement that they will even unscrew the pews from the floor and make the space totally different for a different kind of congregation? (I’m picturing sofas, carpets, small round tables, a coffee bar and space for a multitude of musical instruments where the choir loft used to be.)
- Closing the church and selling the property to a different church community?
- An infusion of money – lots and lots of money?
- A different pastor?
- Different officers?
There is so much that church could be. I can see it in my head. I can imagine it in my dreams. What will it take for this church to do something bold for the sake of the Gospel?
Do you know this church? And what would you suggest for them?
A Church for Starving Artists 
Any community that would put rugs and sofas and a coffee bar in a church like that doesn’t deserve to have it. That would be a crying shame.
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Offer itself as a home for a community musical organization or two, providing rehearsal, storage, office, and drop-dead gorgeous performance space.
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Scott – sometimes I think you don’t believe what you post, but you basically love to stir the pot. Regardless, where did you learn the idea that a worship space requires pews, etc?
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Re-read what I wrote: I didn’t say that a church requires pews, I said that in a church like this it would be a shame to take out the pews and put in sofas, etc. It would destroy the aesthetics of the worship space and impoverish a thing of great beauty. I’ve seen it done in other churches and its horrible, and destroys the sense of sacred. I guess a better question is: why in the world would taking out pews and installing sofas or the like lead to a rejuvenation of this congregation? Do you really think that sofas and a coffee bar will bring people to worship?
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I mostly agree with Scott, actually. Well–remove the pews, fine. But I love the idea of an art/music space, a community space…Broad Street Ministry has done this pretty successfully without mangling a place where we can soak in beauty in our increasingly big-box world. They have meals in there, taking a page from the early church’s communion service where everyone–poor and rich–were fed a real meal from the same table. They use the space for community theater, art gallery, tutoring, and who knows what else. Why not bring the “secular” into the “sacred” beauty and let them mingle without simply turning one into the other?
Personally, I’d love to remove the pews from our sanctuary, and put in chairs and a soft space for children and dedicated sound equipment. I don’t think that will bring more people, or revitalize the church in the way the congregation you mention needs to be revitalized (monetarily)…but I do think it would give us a new perspective on the holy in the mundane, and allow us to experience God in new ways.
Coffee bar optional. I bring my coffee to worship already, as do about half the congregation (the musicians bring up a carafe, lol), so that might be handy…right outside the door. espresso machines are loud. 🙂
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I work with such a church. We’re talking about re-shaping the worship space and re-positioning the pews. So that it isn’t “everyone look at the front” but “everyone experience one another.” And frankly, as a nursing mom for some years, I would have loved a comfy sofa to nurse and worship…
We are struggling with affordability of our physical plant, maintaining it, and keeping the purpose for which we are in the neighborhood alive and well.
It is not easy.
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