Matching Building to Worship A congregation should then examine the specific characteristics of its own group. For example, with 60 musicians in a growing congregation of 600, Preston Wood Baptist Church in Houston, Texas, decided that the central focus of its worship was music and song. Correspondingly, the congregation decided that its new worship center would include ample space for a choir and orchestra, and that it would put them close to the congregation as a reminder of unity in praise. An emphasis on congregational participation influenced Christ Community Church in Charlottesville, Virginia, to design a sanctuary that was wider than it was long. That shape will encourage greater awareness of the corporate group gathered for worship.
Congregational focus can affect decisions about acoustics, too.
Worship space can be designed to emphasize congregational involvement, or it can be designed like a lecture hall, which maximizes sound at the lectern and dampens what goes on in the audience. Churches should also think through the importance and placement of various symbols within a worship environment. Answering those questions should help clarify the reasons why you come together for worship, the importance of those gatherings, and how all of that affects your building plans. For the Love of God Establishing a budget to build a worship center is more than an economic decision. The evangelical mentality is to build for this generation for the next 30 years and put all of our money into missions.