Ask a person where they most experience God's presence, and typically you'll get one of two answers. Some will say they feel closest to God when they are in nature. Others experience him best in a church or cathedral—a space that has been specifically constructed to elevate one's thoughts toward God.

The reality is that throughout history, from the Garden of Eden to the City of Heaven, God has used real places—three-dimensional environments, both natural and man-made—to help people find him, experience his presence, and recognize their place in his story.

Jesus told stories on the side of a hill as well as in Jewish community centers—the synagogues. Paul used a pagan place like Mars Hill, and early Christians used catacombs and living rooms to tell the story of Christ. Timeless eternal truths and the character of God aren't conveyed solely by awe-inspiring structures and the manipulation of natural light, although worship architecture is a powerful means of inviting people into God's story. When Visioneering Studios designs a church, we follow the tenet "form follows fiction," rather than the traditional "form follows function." All faith communities have a story to tell, and church buildings provide the perfect medium for this narrative.

For example, people often connect best with God in a natural setting. By creating walkways that connect buildings rather than relying on all indoor corridors, churches provide a natural environment—a space that reinforces our journey in the Gospel story.

Technology, too, can be a powerful tool for communicating Truth. A sound stage itself becomes a storytelling space—a place where we anticipate hearing a new story (or at least a fresh retelling) week after week, using drama, music, theatrical lighting, video, and other technology to convey the story. Fifteenth-century technologies of stained glass and traditional statuary remain powerful storytellers, but new technologies effectively bring us into the sacred too.

In a project we recently completed in Connecticut, we created a postmodern New England village green across the street from a residential area. As you can see in the illustration, the church’s drop-off point takes the form of a covered bridge, the outdoor fellowship pavilion looks like a traditional chapel, and the "black box" sound stage is hidden behind an existing stand of evergreen trees. The church and its community unanimously approved and received this design with open arms. They recognized the value of creating connecting space that tells both the story of their rich New England culture and the story of Christian pilgrims on a journey.

Place matters. And as churches begin to see the myriad ways they can use their ministry space to tell and reinforce God's story, church buildings will be transformed from mere man-made structures to spirit-filled spaces.