How should a church look?

What should a Baptist church look like, whether in regard to its interior or exterior? According to building professionals, the appearance is less important than the message, with many denominations constructing buildings that easily could be used by any faith.
   
“It’s not what the building says. If you have Christians in there worshiping God, it’s a church,” said Walter Anderton, owner and founder of Anderton Architect and a member of Shades Mountain Baptist Church in Vestavia Hills. That conclusion is echoed by Aubrey Garrison III, president of The Garrison Barrett Group, who said churchgoers today are less concerned with traditional trappings of a church such as stained glass windows.
   
“I don’t think that is as important to people going to the more contemporary style churches,” said Garrison, a member of The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham.
   
How a church looks is mentioned in the Bible when Ezekiel details the appearance of a temple. Beyond that, there are no specific guidelines.
   
“You can’t find anything about that in the New Testament,” Garrison said.
“There’s no description, other than it’s centered in the heart of the believer.”
Others believe a need does exist for some symbolism in churches through stained glass windows, murals, statues and other elements.
    
“We need these symbols, because they help us understand the gospel,” said Timothy George, dean of Beeson Divinity School at Samford University.
   
But George quickly adds symbolism can be overdone in a sanctuary.
   
“I think that’s a serious danger,” George said. “The abuse of symbols and images should not be taken as a pretext for not using them properly.”
   
What is crucial, according to Anderton, is that churches incorporate features that are important to any building. Among these are adequate restrooms, comfortable seating, accessibility for the handicapped and covered walkways for days when it rains.
   
Anderton said convenient parking is also important, offering the opinion that visitors are likely to worship elsewhere or not at all if they cannot readily locate parking spaces.
   
Garrison said a design that is user friendly is also important in a church building.
   
Pointing to the slope design of seating at The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Garrison said the concept avoids balconies that can isolate segments of the congregation.
   
The slope design is more practical, said Garrison. “It pulls people in. It makes the room more intimate.”
   
A trend toward common areas in churches is another feature Garrison is excited about, again citing Brook Hills. “The old style churches, the entry went right into the sanctuary,” he said. “Now they’re having people enter a common space, with church offices, the sanctuary and other things centering around the common area.
  
“By having everyone come into a common area, there’s greater opportunity for engagement,” Garrison added.
   
Another truth of church designs is that the buildings do not have to be created in such a way that the facility can only be used as a house of worship.
   
In regard to church offices and classroom space, Scott Gurosky, president of Myrick Gurosky & Associates in Birmingham, said many churches could be used just as effectively by schools, businesses and other organizations.
   
“It’s very rare that we design a building to just be a building serving that [original] purpose forever,” said Gurosky, who is also a member of Shades Mountain Baptist Church in Vestavia Hills.