Engaging in a church experience is about developing a deep relationship with God and fostering meaningful connections with others. Our church lobbies are an essential tool in building those connections and helping people to practice hospitality. Our new resource, Church Lobbies: 6 Zones for Connection, breaks down six zones that can help your church lobby be a place that helps grow relationships, model hospitality, and encourage generosity.
In this post, we’ll talk about cafés and family rooms—two zones that offer space for refreshment and authentic connection.
The Café
Relationships are often built around food and drink, so refreshment plays an important role in relationship building and the discipleship journey. Hospitality areas help to lower barriers, giving people a comfortable, nonthreatening space to authentically connect with others.
Whether you have a simple, self-serve coffee bar or a larger café with various food and drink options, it’s important that your hospitality area has high visibility from the front door and is accessible from the lobby and worship venue.
Learn how your lobby can help build a culture of radical hospitality
Get the Free PDF!
Offering food and drink even when your café isn’t staffed shows that you understand how people will use your space and communicates the importance your church places on hospitality.
The best opportunity your church has for engaging people and connecting them into your body is by showing them how well you love them. Having an inviting and functional café will allow your staff, volunteers, and the entire congregation to communicate their love and model true hospitality.
Family Rooms
These quiet spaces, located just off the lobby and in close proximity to worship and the café, offer an alternative space for people who want to get off on their own or gather in smaller groups. These rooms can even act as a worship space for those who don’t feel comfortable in a larger worship venue.
Family rooms can be the most sought-after spaces in a church facility—convenient for Sunday mornings and activities during the week. They can be used as a meeting space for church staff or small groups, a place for volunteer sign-ups, or a quiet space to work independently.
Hickory Creek Church, in Frankfort, Illinois (pictured here), incorporated a Family Room with a double-sided fireplace. On the lobby side there’s a warm and comfortable space to relax and connect. On the other side of the glass is a private, light-filled room with views of their pergola shaded patio.
Incorporating a Family Room into your church lobby plan communicates the concept of radical hospitality by letting people know you care about families, connection, and that people can experience church at their pace and comfort level.
Want to dig deeper into ways you can make your church lobby a space that can help build relationships, cultivate hospitality, and inspire generosity? Download the Free PDF resource!
This has been a sponsored post by Aspen Group. If your church is looking a building a new facility or reimagining existing space, I cannot recommend Aspen Group enough! Click HERE to start a conversation with them TODAY!
This specific article was written by Greg Snider. Greg joined Aspen Group in 1999 in the role of partnering with churches to discover how to maximize their facilities and create space for ministry impact. He has written and presented on the power of connecting space, building churches for community impact, and the hybrid “phygital” church experience.
