Churches usually approach an architect when there’s a practical issue to sort out, whether that’s adding more space, better storage or new toilets. But a renovation or new development can also be a rare opportunity to unlock potential, wrapping walls around your church’s vision.

Beyond the short-term issues that need fixing, can our buildings change the way we think about mission?

Who is your church building for?

Architecture is really all about people. I spend my working days connecting with clients, getting alongside people, listening to what’s most important to them and then exploring together what the future could look like.

Most Christian organisations also love to focus on people rather than buildings. Many UK churches are already deeply committed to social action and meeting practical needs around them, engaged in initiatives like food banks, CAP courses, mother and toddler groups, and more.

It’s wonderful to be met with plenty of exciting ideas for how a new church building could serve the local community. The key question is: are we responding to problems we think we should be solving, or real needs that people are facing?

As the famous quote by William Temple (former Archbishop of Canterbury) goes: “The Church is the only society on earth that exists for the benefit of non-members.” Have we checked with non-members to see if our nice ideas actually fit their needs?

Community, community, community
The transformative power of engaging with the wider community became really clear in a project we worked on in High Wycombe. The church’s location covered wealthy areas as well as some very deprived areas, and a community consultant was involved to work closely with local residents, key workers, agencies and decision makers. This included comprehensive bespoke questionnaires to get a detailed understanding of what worked well, what was missing, and how the church could help.

When everything was brought together, some of the results were surprising. One of the main themes that emerged was a need for community spaces – the village hall and pubs had closed, and there was a lack of meeting spaces for local groups and businesses as well as for gathering socially.

In response, the church began running a café. We went on to configure the ground floor of the new building around this café space. Small meeting rooms were already important for the regular activities of the church, but we made sure these spaces could be used for a range of different purposes, from business meetings to medical appointments.

Serving the community is a brilliant mission in itself, but there were two other positive outcomes from this inclusive approach:

1. The size of the Sunday congregation mushroomed after the introduction of the café.
2. New funding channels opened up with the local authority, because of the depth of research showing that the building proposals would help meet key needs in the community.

Understanding church buildings as kingdom assets
Moving on from formal pew-lined Sunday spaces, traditional church buildings continue to change and adapt as we find new ways of meeting together.

Imagine arriving at a church sometime during the week and finding it locked and dark. Perhaps you’d think: that’s a pity, the space isn’t being used. To borrow the idea of the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30), we could think of it a little like the buried talent that’s not being put to work. Moving on to another place, you might find a church that’s quiet but open to visitors as a space to sit and pray. This second church building is being put to some use beyond Sunday services.

So what could it look like to open up church buildings even further, inviting thriving activity and social engagement throughout the week?

Perhaps there’s a gap or lack of services in your local area which your church is perfectly positioned to meet if the right people can partner together. (The more unexpected, the better… I dream of putting a dental practice in a church one day!)

Meeting people at their point of need with empathy and creativity can be church life at its very best. Buildings become a valuable kingdom asset, maximising the impact of the gospel around them.

Asking questions at the start of a church building project
Before embarking on architectural plans for a new church space, there are some important questions to ask:

•  What’s the heart of your church mission?
• Who are you seeking to serve?
• What’s the long-term vision or wider plan?
• What would you like to be known for?
• How do people use the building, and interact with each other?
• What’s missing in your local area?
• What would people change if they had the chance?

The plan for the church building at High Wycombe changed massively because the church stopped to ask ‘What can we do for you?’ The project unfolded in a way that demonstrated the gospel at the same time as adapting the building.

How we approach church building projects at Leap Architects
The outcome for High Wycombe completely convinced us that being community-focused was the right way to go, but their process took three to four years to complete. Many of our church clients don’t have this much time to pause on a project! We wanted to enable churches to gather the same sort of information, but within a manageable three- to four-month timescale.

The result is our masterplan approach, which draws together all the community engagement methods we’ve found helpful for shaping a church building project (as well as taking into account the physical elements of a site, planning constraints and practical needs.) It means we can design sustainable buildings that support the mission and vision of the local church.

Bringing people together and listening to a diversity of voices is one of the things we really love to do as an architectural practice. If you’re embarking on a building project and would like support to navigate this process, you can find out more about our masterplan approach here.