2 Church Design Trends that will Gain Momentum in 2021
Building God’s Way as an architecture firm that works almost exclusively with churches and Christian schools, we would be less than honest if we did not confess to allowing our collective joy to slip away every now and again during the roller coaster ride of 2020. With 129 faith-based projects in active church design or construction stages, we have walked along this path of uncertainty with many church leaders over the past year, offering our best counsel on how to move forward with sound stewardship.
So what have we learned from 2020 that we can apply heading into 2021? While we know that the ways that churches will minister to their communities are changing perhaps in ways that will be permanent, we firmly believe (and we have seen) that faithful followers of God will not pull back on their charge to be ministers of the gospel. The church will prevail.
In addition to the immediate impacts on church facilities in the areas of occupant density, indoor air quality and high touch children’s spaces (which we recently addressed in this white paper), we believe that 2 of the key trends for church facility expansion in 2021 will be repurposed commercial buildings and financially sustainable solutions.
#1: Repurposing Commercial Buildings
Fueled by the changing spending habits of U.S. consumers and the growth of e-commerce, there has been a growing trend of retail brands closing their brick-and-mortar locations over the past 10 years. Due to the economic impact of COVID-19, this trend has been greatly accelerated in 2020. A record 9,500 stores went out of business in 2019. That seemed massive — but as many as 25,000 are estimated to have shut down permanently in 2020, according to Coresight Research.
The shift toward the use of unconventional buildings for worship has been underway for years, but with more large retail spaces becoming available than ever before, we expect this trend to become even more prevalent. As the real estate market becomes flooded with these types of properties, they will offer churches some potentially great bargains compared to ground-up construction and church design.
For example, we recently completed the conversion of a Lowes Home Improvement Center for Light of Joy Church in Riverdale, Ga. Since the property had much of the infrastructure already in place — including the building envelope, utilities and parking — the facility was remodeled for a fraction of the cost of constructing a new building on vacant land. It also offers the church design great visibility in a high-traffic area with accessibility from major roads. We have completed numerous projects in recent years that involved the similar conversion of grocery stores, commercial office buildings, industrial facilities, and even auto dealerships.
There are a number of potential challenges in remodeling these types of buildings, as zoning and building codes can dictate how the property can be used and are sometimes difficult to change with your church design process. Based on our experience, there are five keys to consider in the conversion of retail and commercial buildings for worship with church designs. Learn what they are at Commercial Repurpose.
#2: Financially Sustainable Church Buildings
We also believe that this uncertain time calls for a paradigm shift in how churches view their land and buildings. Church facilities have traditionally been among the most underused facilities in America, sitting empty throughout most of the week. We believe there are incredible opportunities for ministries to leverage these assets to both generate sustainable income for the ministry and to serve the needs of the local community — not just on Sundays, but seven days a week.
In recent years, the idea of merging for-profit business on church property has become a hallmark of BGW projects. In many cases, these financially sustainable models can not only reduce existing overhead costs, but can also become a true catalyst for ministry growth and community impact.
While there are a number of possibilities for business models in churches, child care centers have proven to be the most natural fit for many ministries. We currently have more than a dozen church projects in development that incorporate a for-profit child care business. We have partnered with two leading child care providers that are involved in the church design process from the earliest stages, providing valuable input on space requirements and business feasibility, as well as professional management solutions that can help ensure the success of the church’s new business.
Another growth area we see is in the development of unused church property and adjacent land for other revenue-generating opportunities such as mixed-use retail, multi-family housing, commercial office / shared work space, or even senior housing. Learn how your church design can leverage its existing assets more effectively to create financial sustainability during uncertain times at Utilizing Church Assets.
Don’t Go It Alone
Every church design is unique and there is no “one-size-fits-all solution”. If your ministry is interested in exploring opportunities for repurposing a commercial building or leveraging your underutilized land and facilities, we invite you to contact us. We have helped churches nationwide to develop these kinds of projects and our team of architects, contractors and developers can assist you in evaluating opportunities and avoiding the potential pitfalls.
