At the recent Multi-Site Exposed conference in Seattle, I found a Sacred Space booklet from Cornerstone Knowledge Network in my packet, showing the results of a survey of unchurched people on church facilities. Here's the article that summarizes one of their surprising findings::
Unchurched prefer cathedrals to contemporary church designs
NASHVILLE, Tenn.—People who don’t go to church may be turned off by a recent trend toward more utilitarian church buildings. By a nearly 2-to-1 ratio over any other option, unchurched Americans prefer churches that look more like a medieval cathedral than what most think of as a more contemporary church building.
The findings come from a recent survey conducted by LifeWay Research for the Cornerstone Knowledge Network (CKN), a group of church-focused facilities development firms. The online survey included 1,684 unchurched adults – defined as those who had not attended a church, mosque or synagogue in the past six months except for religious holidays or special events.
Read the entire article for other insights from the survey results.
Some people have said that we're in an image-driven culture, and the cathedral were built centuries ago for an image-driven culture. But those cathedrals are sure expensive. How has your church factored in the preferences of people who don't go to church in your facilities design?
--- DJ Chuang, Leadership Community Director @ Leadership Network
Comments