Northview Christian Life Church is a high-energy, non-denominational congregation that is located in Carmel, Indiana. As a "seeker" church, Northview puts a great deal of emphasis on reaching out to families with no prior church affiliation. The goal in creating any new spaces, therefore, is to make them welcoming and inviting to people who might be intimidated by traditional churches. Recently, Northview unveiled its new children's area, known as Studio 6.7, as well as a new youth area, known as North Beach, and a coffee shop/bookstore combination, known as the Capstone.

The church, which is located in Indiana's fastest-growing county, is reaching out to those who are moving into the community—mainly young families with children. Typical congregants are in their 20s, 30s and 40s. When making expansion plans, church leaders decided to develop creative, exciting areas for children and youth before expanding the worship center or other areas.

"Northview believes that the future of the church is the children," said architect Dan Ware, project manager with InterDesign architecture and interiors firm. "They wanted to develop spaces for children and youth that would be attractive and inviting, ones that would make them want to spend time in the facilities."

Originally, the church was focused on the children and youth areas, but the project expanded to include the coffee shop and bookstore, which serve as a gathering place for the community.

Studio 6.7, the children's area, is a very colorful space, with nine themed classrooms for infants through fifth grade. When church leaders began to visualize a new children's ministry space, they embraced the mission, "To Make Life-Long Impressions." They wanted the impressions the children received at the facility to be vivid and positive. They researched what other churches had done nationwide to determine what aspects of children's ministry space worked best. Then, they hired InterDesign to create the space, using those elements they wanted to include, such as a three-story circulation tower, with clerestory windows, two tubular slides into the lower level, and a circular stairway.

Classrooms feature custom-designed, full-wall murals and 11 interactive play sets. Access to lower-level first-grade through fifth-grade classroom spaces can be reached through the tubular slides with video monitors at the top and bottom. This allows parents to be sure their children have reached their destinations safely.

Each classroom, from infants through fourth and fifth grades, has a theme, such as a rainforest, fire station, construction site, television studio or sports stadium. The common area features two themed performance stages with full audio/video capabilities.

For security reasons, there is only one entrance to the space—through a series of welcome stations, where parent/child identification is monitored. Corridors are a minimum of 12-feet wide, and all classrooms are visible from the corridor.

Some people may wonder if all of the Disney World-like features are necessary in a children's ministry program. Church leaders, however, believed the fun atmosphere was important. Children are used to seeing bright colors and interactive play areas at fast-food restaurants, children's museums, and even doctor's offices. If they come to church and find boring facilities, it might seem less important or attractive to them. The goal was to create a space children would love and want to return to again and again.

The youth building, known as North Beach, is designed around a beach theme, with a large, bright-yellow foot-bridge that provides access to the main building entrance. Fluorescent orange and red palm trees flank the entrance to what looks like an airplane hangar. The industrial-looking, pre-engineered steel building features bright colors and seaside décor, with lobster pots and live palm trees. Roll-up, garage-style doors separate different break-out rooms, and a mezzanine area is equipped with numerous video games.

The interior multi-purpose space includes a full performance stage with a sound and lighting control area and a wide variety of game equipment. The exterior consists of metal panels and split-face masonry to give the space its own identity.

"Teens are more comfortable in something that is a little rough around the edges," noted Ware. "It doesn't seem like it is for adults."

The Capstone coffee shop and bookstore "rivals any Starbucks or Borders facility," according to Ware. The space is comfortable and inviting and great for visiting or reading. Located at the main entrance to the worship center, the Capstone is convenient, with direct access from the parking area. It's a place where people from the community can come into the church in a very non-threatening environment. The glass-walled area features a fully stocked Christian book and music store, along with a coffee shop, which is open seven days a week from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m.

The exterior materials for Studio 6.7 and the Capstone consist of brick veneer, limestone and EIFS (exterior finish and insulation system), which complemented or matched existing structures.

"We focused on utilizing standard materials, sometimes in an unusual, non-standard way, in order to maximize visual impact and minimize costs," Ware said.

The building interiors are all very colorful and exciting, with no standard design elements carried throughout.

"Everything is different and interesting," Ware added. "We used many different flooring materials and combined them in non-standard ways. The lighting is varied and interesting. Ceilings are also very interesting, as we used a variety of unique ceiling systems."

For churches considering similar building projects, Ware suggested they realistically define project needs and budget before beginning the design process.

InterDesign, www.interdesign.com, is full-service architecture and interiors firm located in Indianapolis, Indiana. The firm specializes in the design of institutional buildings, including churches and educational facilities throughout the Midwest.

In a Nutshell

Church:Northview Christian Life Church

Location:Carmel, Indiana

Project:Develop spaces for children and youth that would be attractive and inviting. Also, add a coffee shop and bookstore to serve as a gathering place for the community.

Size:33,800 square feet of new space and 7,200 square feet of renovated space

Cost:Just under $6 million

Construction Time:Design was completed in eight months and construction took approximately 18 months.

Challenge:Time and budget were the greatest challenges. The church needed to expedite the project to address growing attendance. At the same time, the project had to progress as funds were available.