When visiting various churches to "read" their worship space, you are looking for, “What does this space communicate to me about God, people, and culture/the arts?”
You might ask yourselves these questions:
- What is the first thing you notice when walking in (atmosphere, items, symbols, etc.)?
- What is/are the most prominent visual symbol(s) in the worship space (cross, pulpit, screen, font, drums...)?
- What things are visibly the most valuable to this community (music, preaching, arts, decorations)?
- Are there any things that appear to be “trying to communicate something” but aren’t actually achieving that?
- Does the visual layout of the worship space help me engage in specific acts of worship (praying, singing, listening…)?
- What attributes of God does this worship space seem to emphasize? (transcendence, imminence, love, justice, warm, cold)?
- Is there anything visually that identifies a certain type (class) of people that are more valuable than another?
- How does the worship space communicate what actions people do to connect with God (only listening / watching)?
- What does the worship space say about the community’s value of “stuff” or money?
- What does the worship space say about the community’s relationship to the culture around it?
