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The steeple, the belfry, and the sharply sloped roof—a traditionally designed church is easy to recognize. There is no mistaking what traditional church architecture symbolizes: the church is in the world, but not of it; it engages the world by pointing to values that transcend it; it is at once a mystery to the world and a sanctuary from it. In this church, the main interior space is designed for worship only, a designated holy space to be used for no other purpose.

In the 21st century, however, times are changing. At the farthest reaches of the current trend, exterior church design is indistinguishable from the surrounding buildings, and interior space is multipurpose. What may be used for worship on Sunday morning is used for a wide variety of other church and even non-church activities the rest of the week. But this sort of contemporary design, even at its most nondescript, carries a symbolism. For this church, instead of expecting the community to come to it to be embraced within its confines, is now reaching out to embrace the community in the settings in which the latter is comfortable.

Between the extremes of traditional and contemporary architecture are all sorts of variations. But it should also be noted that a trend in one direction does not mean that the opposite direction is becoming obsolete. The trend in church design cannot be compared to the historical trend that once existed from horse and buggy to horseless carriage, where the newer mode is destined to dominate.

"In our practice, the contemporary [architecture] churches are growing the fastest, and probably the majority of our work is in this area," says Bill Chegwidden, president of CDH Partners. "But there are a lot of traditional [architecture] churches that are growing and doing very well. I know of one traditional church that started 10 years ago with 300 members. Now it has over 2000. This church is still a very traditional place of worship, and is attracting the people who are looking for that."

It's a mistake to frame the discussion of church architecture as modern versus traditional, Chegwidden maintains. The real dynamic for all successful churches, one that crosses all church lines, he says, is not a particular architecture but effective planning. "Instead of waiting for people coming up to them and telling them what they want, today's church administrators are being very proactive," says Chegwidden. "Church design is staff-driven, and they are very deliberate in their planning process. They decide how they want to impact a community, and then they devise a strategic plan. The successful churches are not being built by accident. There is a tremendous organizational effort in determining just what a particular ministry intends to accomplish, then putting all of the steps in place to make it happen. The result might be modern, traditional, or a blend. But it grows out of an articulated plan."

On the other hand, Chegwidden says, some churches don't plan ahead. They quickly decide to borrow features that work elsewhere but may not be right for what they are trying to accomplish long-term. Because churches aren't building on a regular basis, it's easy for them to forget it takes maybe two-and-a-half years to complete a project. If they don't think ahead, he says, church administrators can easily be overwhelmed, and then lose opportunities while people go somewhere else.

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