Foundations

  Planning for a new church can be difficult, especially with budget and time challenges. This was what Jason Murphree, pastor of Crosshaven Church in Hanceville, Alabama, was expecting when deciding to build a two-story sanctuary and worship center with additional space for its youth and children’s ministry. “We knew that we had budget limitations,

  First Baptist Church at the Fields (formerly First Baptist Church, Carrollton, Texas) had added a second campus in 2016 for their contemporary services known as Church at the Fields. The goal was to eventually build additional space on the new site in which to relocate the entire campus to the Fields location. In 2018,

  A relatively new church (founded in 2013), City Church is deeply committed to bringing spiritual, social, and cultural renewal to the city of Evansville, Indiana. The church discovered an appropriate home in a former church facility in downtown Evansville, with Champlin Architecture providing design services to renovate this large structure to suit the nondenominational

Creating a welcoming, comfortable and intimate atmosphere is a priority in churches today. This is causing many churches to undertake a renovation. Pulpit Rock Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado, commissioned Mountain West Architects to renovate their existing sanctuary auditorium and expand key areas. The auditorium is broken up between two levels. The main level has

West County Christian Church in Chesterfield, Missouri, is a large religious and educational complex that The Korte Company designed and built. They master planned the facility to eventually contain up to 50,000 square feet. The overall site provides parking for more than 400 cars and contains visitor parking, an entry drop-off area, a playground, and

The new, 34,500-square-foot St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Louisville, Kentucky, expresses the welcoming, inclusive nature of the parish community through the use of materials and forms that reflect the campus’s natural surroundings, express a strong spiritual procession, and celebrate the parish’s patron saint. The building stands on axis with the approaching road, furthering the mission

Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Saint Paul, Minnesota, is an architectural landmark in the Highland Park neighborhood. PCL Construction worked collaboratively with church representatives and the design team to expand the original 1950s colonial church with an 18,000-square foot-addition that complements the original design. The addition includes a series of new classrooms, a vaulted fellowship

Hermosa Church of Christ in Artesia, New Mexico, was looking for architects that would be able to communicate the church’s vision to the congregation and the community. Busting at the seams with a multi-generational congregation, the current location and facilities were no longer able to meet the ministry needs of the church. Halo Architects went

Eagan, Minnesota Easter Lutheran Church in Eagan, Minnesota, recently worked with Langer Construction to remodel both of their locations. Easter by the Lake At “The Lake,” a 2,500-square-foot Lakeside Commons meeting room, large teen room, and offices were added, while remodeling the greeting desk for full-time staff. The project also included a new licensed commercial

Naperville, Illinois Since 1997, Community Christian Church has relentlessly pursued its mission of helping people find their way back to God. They do this by focusing on REACHING people who are currently far from God, RESTORING this world back to God’s dream, and REPRODUCING this mission in the lives of others. Over time though, it

Murfreesboro, Tennessee Veterans Parkway Church of Christ was busting at its seams. Church leaders found they were in dire need of more space, so they called in Dow Smith Company to help develop a master plan and design charrette for a new church campus. From that two-day planning session, Dow Smith developed and presented a

Elverson, Pennsylvania Brick Lane Community Church in Elverson, Pennsylvania, recently built a large addition onto their existing facility and underwent an exterior renovation. The project called for siding on more than half of the exterior walls – but the building team at Stoltzfus Enterprises had not fully committed to one particular type yet. Brick Lane

Appleton, Wisconsin St. Thomas More Parish in Appleton, Wisconsin, selected Hoffman Planning, Design & Construction to handle various worship space enhancements and renovations to their church in preparation for their 50th anniversary. The interior remodeling and addition were deemed necessary to accommodate liturgical and spiritual diocesan directives, as well as resolve the practical needs of

  This article originally appeared in the October 2012 issue. By Jennifer Walker-Journey Fanning Howey is an architecture, engineering, and design firm with office locations across the country. The firm’s work spans the nation and it often partners with local design firms to bring its unique services to communities large and small, www.fhai.com. To say

Rush Creek Church has three different locations across Texas and is known for using technology and staging to fashion an exciting yet comfortable worship environment. The Mansfield Church was in the midst of ground up construction when the contractor became unable to complete the project. Enter Bryan Garvey, chief executive officer of Corbet Design +

The McKnight Group enjoys sharing real-life examples of churches that have used their vision to drive the construction or renovation of their church building. Often such transformations occur as a natural reaction to changes in the community or ministry. But as you will soon see, they can also be in response to catastrophic events—with uplifting

Hebron Baptist Church has occupied their 32-acre campus in Dacula, Georgia since 1844. As the northeast Atlanta suburb flourished and young families sought a place to worship, the church experienced exponential congregational growth. While thrilled to be a center of spiritual expansion, the church found that their facilities required improvements and new facilities to better

Church of the Resurrection of Lakeland, Florida, is an active parish within a diverse community. Serving more than 2,000 families in its congregation with 50+ ministries, the church is a bustling place every day of the week. In order to better serve its growing congregation, church leadership set out to build a new, larger facility.

Southbrook Church is part of a network of Christian-based churches serving the metro-Milwaukee area. Situated on 20+ acres of land in Franklin, Wisconsin, Southbrook is an active and growing community. A few years ago, the church elders began looking at expanding their current facility to accommodate its population, which had grown from 225 to 850

As their congregational family grew, Holy Infant Parish in Manchester, Pennsylvania, found itself on the easternmost portion of its parish boundary. While their existing two-story church and education building had served their congregational needs well, the parish was faced with aging buildings that were not fully accessible and geographically limited their ability to serve their

The vision of Midland Bible Church in Midland, Texas, as “a family of faith lived out in the world” was hampered by old, inefficient and inflexible facilities. At a key moment, the church’s leadership realized that the only way to remain relevant and effective in ministry in the future was to make a bold move

Pulaski, Tennessee Brindley Construction embarked on an extensive refurbishment, restoration and reconstruction of this 8,810-square-foot, wood-framed house of worship pre-dating the Civil War. Early on, Brindley helped guide church elders through multiple design iterations to find ways to affordably address each area of need. The focal point of the church’s interior transformation is its sanctuary.

By Emily Matchey Cross Lutheran Church of Roberts, Wisconsin, held a dedication service on Sunday, December 17, 2017, for a renovation and new addition to their facility. This celebration was fantastic and meaningful for many, particularly for architect Tim Peterson of Peterson Design Studio and Bill Derrick of Derrick Building Solutions. Cross Lutheran worked with

St. Peter the Apostle Church in Louisville, Kentucky, is a new congregation formed by the merger of five southwest Jefferson County parishes—St. Clement, St. Polycarp, Our Lady of Consolation, Our Lady Help of Christians, and St. Timothy. JRA Architects was selected to provide master planning and design services for the new 1,200-seat church, religious education

By Gino Beltran Nearly 100 years ago, churches were rarely just a Sunday house of worship – they were known for building hospitals, schools, universities, community centers and more that served their surrounding neighborhoods. At Visioneering, we’ve been honored to partner with many churches over the years who desire to bring some of that history

Located in Novi, Michigan, along M-5 highway, Brightmoor  Christian Church wanted to highlight their presence to those passing by. The old building was traditional brick with small windows and little to no visibility into the building’s interior. “People driving by thought we were just a school, or worse, an office building,” said Gary Jonna, chairperson

Founded in 1837, Immanuel Presbyterian Church is the oldest congregation in the city of Milwaukee. The present church was constructed in 1873 and features Gothic style architecture. In 1958, the congregation expanded its footprint by constructing a detached two-story building, which for many years served as an education space for its youth. This separate structure,

Bridgetown Church of Christ in Cincinnati, Ohio, had several design issues and ministry needs. They needed to update their exterior and interior for a better overall first impression. As you walked into the church, the lobby was cramped, dark, and had a low ceiling. The flow of the building was very poor. Upstairs, the church

As part of fulfilling their calling as a church, The Orchard launched four new sites between 2010—2017 from the original Arlington Heights, Illinois, campus. To thrive in this next chapter of their story, the church’s leadership recognized that it needed the Arlington Heights campus to be a vibrant, growing, sending campus—the center of an expanding

St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kronborg, Nebraska, has been through some terrifying weather in its 118-year history. After straight-line winds and large hail struck the church, parsonage and fellowship hall in 2014, the congregation went in search of new siding, windows and roofing. “Danish churches like ours are known for our red and white

Decatur, Illinois When Aspen Group began to partner with First Christian Church Decatur to address their facility needs, it became clear that limited sanctuary seating had begun to impede the church’s ability to comfortably accommodate new attendees. Additionally, the church’s youth and children’s space lacked the kind of functionality and design that creates a safe,

Appleton, Wisconsin Churches often have preconceptions about what their space needs, perhaps without understanding the impact space can have on the experience and performance of the environment. Architects, particularly those who are experienced working with faith organizations, can be a tremendous partner for the future positioning of the church, not just by the end result

South Euclid United Church of Christ began in 1845 in Cleveland, Ohio, with the original stone church being built in 1867. Tragically, lightning struck the church in 2010 and burned to the ground, leaving only a massive carved lintel and bell remaining. In 2012, the church bought a Catholic church and school campus that was

Village Christian Church Minooka, Illinois This 20,000-square-foot facility was designed to be a warm, inviting and multi-purpose space. The exterior features brick, cement board siding and trim, textured insulated metal wall panel, metal trims, stone, and a large volume of glass. There is a large, back-lit, rough sawn cedar cross adjacent to the entrance. A

Fuqua Construction Inc., Inman, Kansas, was recently awarded the 2016 NACDB Honor Award for Projects Less Than $1,000,000 for a church project in Meade, Kansas. Fuqua Construction Inc. is a construction company specializing in church construction. When Max Fuqua began his business in 1979, the scope of the work was residential and commercial. In 1984,

  This article originally appeared in the September 2008 issue. By Jennifer Walker-Journey HDB/Cram and Ferguson Architects, based in Boston, has been designing buildings for more than a century. Today, HDB/Cram & Ferguson exists as a professional firm engaged in the general practice of architecture, historic preservation, interior design, and construction, www.hdb.com. In the fall