In recent years the church lobby and welcome area has adopted a new identity. Where formerly a church lobby was merely an area to greet incoming congregants and hand out materials such as welcome packets and church bulletins, modern day church lobbies have expanded to include things like lounge areas, coffee shops, bookstores, information centers and more. With increased time spent in church because of various services, events, and programs to be involved in, many churches have incorporated outside elements that individuals might have previously sought out beyond the walls of the church before or after services. Elements like food and beverages, social areas for sitting and conversing, and stores for purchasing books, videos and service recordings. All of these additions are included to create a more inviting experience when attending church and to create an atmosphere that encourages people to stay longer and get involved.

Things like book sales, video sales, food and drink sales and the like also help with church economy, raising funds for various needs throughout the church. Often one will find that these services exist to benefit charities and missions locally and worldwide. While purchasing a coffee at a store outside of the church will benefit the store, congregants can be inspired by the fact that buying a coffee in the church will benefit a greater cause; whether that be church growth, humanitarian efforts, or both.

These newer church lobby and welcome area additions only enhance the initial purpose of the space which exists to welcome guests and church members and connect them to the ministry. It is important to know the goals of the area and to be well prepared with the materials you need and with the church furniture you will need to help in creating that welcoming atmosphere. Welcome centers or stands for handing out bulletins and information are vital to nearly every lobby. Depending on how large the space and the people the church is reaching out to, things like café tables and chairs, couches, flower tables and end tables are all important furniture pieces to include when designing the space.

The ultimate goal of the church lobby area is to make people feel welcome as they enter into the church which makes them more receptive to experiencing the love of God through His people, through worship, and through the proclamation of the Gospel. Above the coffee shops, the bookstores, and the church décor, the love and acceptance freely given by Christians to those entering the church is the element that leaves the biggest impression and will keep people coming back.

When building a new church or updating an existing one, make sure your furniture choices put your church’s needs first. With your church’s requirements in mind, look at what is trending to help make a wise decision with your décor. According to data supplied from sales statistics from top church furniture manufacturer, Church Furniture Store, trends have changed in recent years in what churches are choosing for their sanctuaries.

Wood Stain

Wood pulpits have been far more popular for several decades than acrylic and metal podiums. The interest in hand-crafted, American podiums has skyrocketed even more in recent years. Several years ago, acrylics and metal podiums had the spotlight, but just like most trends, they are sure to make a comeback in years to come.

Although the overall stain color preference has not changed drastically since 2014, there are some new favorites that have emerged. Light and medium stains are still very popular, but darker stains that resemble a walnut color are suddenly more popular than they were just four years ago. Reds are also gaining a lot of popularity for wood staining.

Fabric Color

Something as simple as fabric color can have drastic changes in popularity over a short period. From just 2015 to 2018, one of the most popular fabric colors for CFS customers, burgundy, fell from most popular to moderately popular. But in 2018, the most widely chosen fabric color is a charcoal gray, which was one of the least popular colors just three years earlier in 2015.

Purple fabrics that were very popular in 2015 have not been as popular in 2018. However, fabrics that contain one single shade of purple are better liked than colors with various shades of purple woven throughout. But only a few years earlier, that multi-color purple fabric was one of the most popular colors chosen by CFS customers.

2015’s second most trendy fabric color was espresso, which is a combination of dark brown, black and light brown threads that combine to form a dark brown from a distance. Often, consumers like fabrics that have multiple colors woven into a pattern so that it is easier to coordinate other colors in the room, such as carpet.

When it comes to choosing colors of fabric and furniture for the church, one wrong color choice can mean having to revisit the project. Making sure you have it right the first time can help you to be a good steward of the money that God has given to the church.

Pulpits and podiums can be found in a variety of styles and materials, but wood and acrylic seem to be the most popular options today. Both materials can make very stylish pieces, but they both also have their own unique set of benefits and disadvantages. Keep reading to see which type of podium might best suit the needs of your church.

Acrylic podiums give a more contemporary feel to the sanctuary with its glass-like look. Acrylic is a great alternative to glass products, which aren’t nearly as durable and tough. But don’t let its strength fool you – acrylics can be easy to scratch. Fortunately, more shallow scratches can be easily removed with many common products on the market. Just make sure not to use ammonia or acetone on acrylic, which can damage the surface.

As opposed to many other materials that are similar in looks, acrylics will not yellow in sunlight. Some plastics and even glass will change color when overly exposed to UV radiation. Acrylic is a thermoplastic made from natural gas.

Wood furniture also has its own unique advantages and disadvantages. Wood has an unmistakable beauty and individuality that other furniture materials just don’t possess. Different species of wood vary in wood grain, color, and texture.

The type of wood used for creating furniture can also vary in its ability to hold stain. Certain species of porous woods, such as oak, tend to hold stain better while woods that aren’t as porous typically do not hold stain as well. If you would like to have a painted product, the type of wood you use can affect that as well. Maple is a favorite when it comes to painted wood furniture.

Because wood is a living thing, it can react to its environment, and precautions should be taken. Any drop or rise in temperature can cause wood to expand or contract. Additionally, moisture or humidity can take a toll on wood furniture. Wood can take on moisture and swell if not produced properly. Although wood stain can enhance the beauty of your product, it’s unlikely that it will offer long-term protection. Choosing a piece of wood furniture that has been sealed with a protective layer of lacquer or polyurethane is your best bet to keep your furniture protected against moisture.

However, it’s also wise to take measures to prevent damage to your wood furniture. Try to keep the piece in a room that maintains a consistent, comfortable temperature in a low-humidity environment. Also try to keep your wood furniture away from direct sunlight to help prevent fading.

Just like acrylic pieces, wood furniture can scratch. Scratches in wood can lead to water damage if moisture is allowed to settle in.                                                                                                                                                                              

Both acrylic and wood pulpits can be a beautiful addition to a church sanctuary, as long as the owner takes proper care of the piece. If both of these materials interest you, perhaps a combination of wood and acrylic would better suit your style. Wood pulpits are available with acrylic centers that can sometimes feature a church logo, crosses, or anything else you would like to display on your pulpit.

It is easy to get lost in color schemes, spec sheets, dimensions and details when working at designing a church and how it will look. The typical western church today has a parking lot, a main entrance, a lobby, a sanctuary and multiple other side areas for Sunday school rooms, offices and fellowship areas. Some are built for twenty five people while others for twenty five hundred people, but all should be designed for the same purpose – to inspire people to congregate together in worship and in fellowship. When people feel welcomed into a place they are more likely to stay and involve themselves in a church. What makes someone feel welcomed and comfortable can be a variety of things depending on age, location, culture and preferences; but warm greetings, acceptance and love are inviting to everyone.

Aside from personable interactions with people, there are other things to consider when creating a welcoming environment for people in a building. From the parking lot to the sanctuary seating, there are dozens of opportunities to encourage fellowship and worship; such as a welcome center area at the entrance offering information, perhaps a refreshments table or coffee shop, as well as bookstores and seating areas for in between or before services. Inspiring an attitude of worship is also an important aspect of church decoration. Things like wall crosses hanging on the wall and pictures featuring Scripture and Christian heritage are among some of the many great ideas for reminding visitors the great purpose in joining together for worship.

Once inside the sanctuary people will typically see the stage in the front and center of the room and the sanctuary seating facing the stage. Depending on the church visited, there could be traditional altar furniture like a pulpit, minister chairs and a communion table, and the typically wood crafted furniture pallet extends out into the congregation seating with wood pews. Or there could be a full range of instruments on the stage and contemporary interlocking chairs for seating. These types of design options are based predominantly on culture and preferences and whether regularly visiting congregants lean more towards traditional services or contemporary ones. Regardless of the style, the atmosphere should lead people towards unity together and in offering up gratitude to God for all He has done, and this is done through teaching, preaching, music, communion and fellowship. The pieces of church furniture in most sanctuaries are there to aid in all of those things mentioned above  and to help facilitate a time of worship.

So, can church design and decoration inspire worship? Absolutely! That is their purpose and will continue to be into the future as the church continues to grow. 

My pastor posed this question several weeks ago, and it has floundered in my head since. He was referencing the lack of fire, lack of passion that many Christians have for their faith. Although in recent years, some of our Christian freedoms have been questioned and taken away, we are still free to worship as Christians in America. Of the roughly 173 million Christian Americans, how many of us are “on fire for God”? Are you? Am I? Are we not on fire for Him because our right to practice Christianity has not been, for the most part, greatly threatened in America? Most churches are open Sunday morning, Sunday evening, Wednesday evening and at other specific times throughout the week for prayer, Bible study, and other events. Are we taking advantage of these opportunities?

If something is freely given to us, and is available 100% of the time, are we less likely to appreciate it? I think of people who are born into wealthy or moderately well-off families and who are given their every need and desire without having to perform much, if any, work. Is it more difficult for these people to appreciate the blessings they have been given? In much the same way, as American Christians, do we appreciate the opportunities we have to worship God and to spread the Good News to those around us?

Paul, as did Jesus’ original disciples, likely left behind a comfortable home to follow Jesus and to spread His message for years at a time. How difficult do you think it was for him to leave his position and his home to follow Jesus? The Bible does not tell us if Paul was ever married, but surely he had other family members and friends that he loved. But he, like so many other disciples, left his comforts for a life of faith. These disciples put all of their faith in God to provide for them as they ministered on the street, in the marketplace and to crowds in various places. Paul would find odd jobs in each town he visited to help pay for what he needed. Matthew 6:31 says “Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?” What would happen if we put all of our faith in God? What would happen if we only listened to Him and obeyed Him, and our life was spent listening to his direction for us and we trusted completely in Him?

This morning I read an article on ChristianHeadlines.com about four Iranian Christians who are about to be sentenced to 10 years in prison for “promoting Zionist Christianity”. The pastor of the Church of Iran and three of its members all face the same fate for spreading God’s Word (read the article HERE >). Ten years in prison might not sound as bad as some potential alternatives, but you have to remember that prison in the Middle East is nothing like American prison. There are numerous reports of the horrific conditions in these prisons and the torment that is faced daily.

If you look beyond the mainstream media, you will find stories of many Christians who are serving sentences in horrific conditions for their faith. I can’t help but think of Paul and the brutality he must have faced when in prison for his Christian beliefs. He, and so many others throughout history, have risked everything, including their own lives, to get God’s Word out and to try to lead just one more soul to salvation.

We have every opportunity to do this, in a free country. It should be second nature to us to tell someone about Jesus. Every opportunity to learn more about His Word and to praise Him should be taken. Are we doing this? Why aren’t we? As nonsensical as it might sound, is it possible that as a nation, we might be lukewarm because we have less to lose?

Can fabric on a chair make a difference? When people think of fabric for a chair the first thought that usually comes to mind is the color, pattern, and overall look it will give a room. While all of these factors are important in making a chair purchase decision, there are other things to consider when buying church chairs for your sanctuary. Church seating endures a lot of traffic. Sunday morning services, Sunday night services, Wednesday night services, and all the various gatherings throughout the week can prove to be a challenge for chairs and fabric. Add to that the potential for spills and messes, punctures and tears, fading and wear.

Many fabrics will not hold up to that amount of stress and a church will find themselves replacing their church chairs or seating far sooner than they had anticipated. What is the solution? Church chairs covered with polyolefin fabric. This fabric is used in high traffic seating for a variety of reasons. Polyolefin fabric is strong, stain and puncture resistant, and tested for durability. So, what exactly is polyolefin fabric?

Polyolefin was developed in 1961 and originally used for outdoor equipment such as backpacks and mountain climbing clothing. “Polyolefin fibers are those fibers produced from polymers formed by chain growth polymerization of olefins (alkenes) and which contain greater than 85% polymerized ethylene, propylene, or other olefin units. The fibers are unaffected by solvents at room temperature and are swollen by aromatic and chlorinated hydrocarbons only at elevated temperatures,” (See more at: http://www.textileschool.com/articles/90/polyolefin-fibres-manmade-artificial-fibres#sthash.f292dQXd.dpuf). The fabric is resistant to color fading because the color is grafted in during the fiber forming stage rather than dyed afterwards. Its composition is closer in properties to a plastic than the typical fabric which makes it lightweight, stain resistant, fast drying, and resistant to things like mildew and chemicals.

Polyolefin, despite all of these features, is also a comfortable fabric. Stretched over quality foam, this fabric still provides a comfortable seating experience and promises a chair that will hold up against your varied church traffic. We believe that when buying a church chair, it should be built to last. That is why we recommend polyolefin fabric when choosing a quality church chair.

There is a lot of chatter about whether carpet is more beneficial than other types of flooring in the church, especially since hardwood floors have made such a comeback in residential design. But for many pastors and church planters, carpet is still a favorite, especially when it comes to sanctuary flooring, and for good reason.

One of the primary reasons to choose carpeting for your sanctuary is acoustics. Sanctuaries are usually large, open spaces in which the congregation faces a staging area, where the preacher speaks and where the choir or worship band performs. Carpet enhances the acoustics in large rooms. If you have ever been in a gymnasium, you have most likely noticed the issue with echoing. Carpet helps to eliminate that hollow, reverberating sound in sanctuaries. Sound waves from the source reflect off of surfaces, causing what we perceive as a repeating sound. Carpet helps to absorb that sound and prevents the sound waves from reflecting off of the floor’s surface.

Not only does carpet help to absorb sound, it also helps to absorb shock when you walk across it and stand on it. Even if the carpet does not have much padding or any padding at all, it is still softer than a hardwood floor – and your body can tell the difference.

Carpet can be aesthetically pleasing when cared for properly. Carpet is available in a multitude of colors, designs and styles and can even be made to match existing chair or pew fabric. When cleaned regularly and properly, carpet can look new for years.

When it comes to preventing falls, carpet can be crucial. On rainy days or during the winter months when snow or sleet might be on the ground, non-carpeted floors can quickly become a disaster. Even a small amount of moisture on a slick floor can be a fall risk for those walking into the church.

Talk to your church furniture resource about whether they offer carpet for your church in addition to church furniture. Be sure to ask about what options they have available to match existing furnishings, or find out what they offer that matches new items your church might be interested in.