Reflecting God’s Beauty in Your Worship Facility

Reflecting God’s Beauty in Your Worship Facility

God’s story for the world begins and ends with beauty. It starts in a lush garden and finishes in a golden city. Between those bookends of history it redeems the lost and restores the broken. It pursues wayward sons and daughters and breathes life into dry bones. God’s story of beauty is everywhere.

And all around us — through each generation, in the most remote locations and on the busiest city streets, with a divine ability to work all things together for good and with the same passion that drove Him to make Himself nothing — God is meeting people. He’s drawing them to Himself; writing stories of beauty and redemption; joy and purpose.

At Station 19, we are architects and designers who believe that beauty is essential to the work we do to create spaces for growth and gathering. Just as it is impossible for God to make non-beautiful things, so we believe that it is within our DNA to reflect beauty in our work. Because He is creative, we can be creative. Because He creates, we can create.

What Beauty Does

The spaces we design for worship and community are ultimately spaces where people will encounter God. This makes beauty essential. If we’re going to reflect God and direct people to Him, we must be creative. It doesn’t mean that beauty is our only standard — that functional requirements, way-finding systems, and operational necessities take a backseat to aesthetics. It does mean that we can’t divorce beauty from our identity…or from our process. Beauty redeems and restores something that is fundamental in all of us, and points us to something bigger. It’s woven into us, and if we’re missing it when we create something, we’re probably missing communion with the God who is beauty.

Beauty reflects God while it also points us to Him.

When it comes to the space you’re creating for your community, beauty is both missional and unifying. It breaks down barriers between people, cultures, and belief systems. It draws us in, engages our senses, and enriches our lives. It doesn’t discriminate and has no language barriers or socio-economic restraints. Beauty transcends time and can humble a man with only a glimpse.

Capturing Beauty in Your Church’s Space and Culture

Designing spaces where encounters with God will happen is a profound privilege. At Station 19, we believe our job is to help people plan their space beyond the scope of checklists, ministry demands, building codes and growth strategies.

God’s creation reflects His beauty with fascinating realities like bioluminescent algae and Aurora Borealis. It’s found in the immutable perfection of mathematics and in the fragrance of fields of lilacs. It’s heard in songbirds and felt in symphonies. And when it comes to designing your space for worship and gathering, beauty is yet another way that your people can experience a profoundly gracious God.

Station 19 Architects, Inc., currently has an architectural entity or individual architects registered or licensed as a business entity or an Architect in the states of MN, IA, WI, CO, ND, SD, NE, MO, and WA. Our goal is to serve clients nationwide, so if you're interested in pursuing a project with us let us know and we'll start the process of getting properly registered in your state. The information contained on this website is not an offer to provide, or a solicitation to sell, any product or service in any jurisdiction in which such offer or solicitation, purchase or sale would be unlawful under the appropriate licensing laws or other laws and regulations of such jurisdiction.

Project Photography © Saari & Forrai Photography