"Your church is beautiful. I love the prayer room and the coffee shop!"

"I'm impressed with your facilities. All the signs made it really easy to find my way around."

Roger has heard several compliments like these comments from guests since arriving at his church. Even though he's been a pastor for a few years, Roger never considered the importance of the church building. While he knows the true focus of the church should be to make disciples of all people, Roger now views his church facilities as an important "first time impression" that hinders or helps the goal of reaching people for Christ.

Our research team at Rainer Research interviewed over 350 people across the U.S. who are new to a church. We asked them about their perceptions of the facilities. Did it affect their decision to attend the church? What they told us was surprising. Here are some insights we gained from our interviews.

The church facility plays an important role in attracting the unchurched. While some may argue that the church building is of minimal importance, our research concludes the opposite. Unique situations do call for different types of churches, styles, venues, and sizes. In short, however, excellent church facilities help attract the unchurched. Church leaders need to take great care of their church facilities in order to maximize their evangelistic efforts.

The church building is not the primary motivating factor for the unchurched. Attractive church buildings help draw unchurched people. But while the appearance of the church building is clearly important in attracting the unchurched, it is not the primary reason for them coming to church. The unchurched are primarily motivated to go to church due to a feeling of emptiness, and the simple fact that someone invited them. Therefore, the main factors are the work of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of the unchurched and the obedience of churchgoers to the Great Commission.

The worship area is the favorite area of the church. The evidence is overwhelming that the worship area is the most important part of the church building to the formerly unchurched group we interviewed. As a result, church leaders should focus the majority of their efforts on this area of the church. Beauty, comfort, and worship setting are the three key components of why the formerly unchurched ranked the worship area so high.

The "third place" area is important. A "third place" area is a social gathering point outside of the two usual community environments, work and home. Those churches that remain at the cutting-edge realize that a third place area is growing rapidly in importance with society. Churches that provide these types of gathering areas are much better positioned to reach the unchurched people in their surrounding neighborhoods.

The gym fallacy. Many pastors hear from their members that building a gym will help attract the unchurched in their community. Our research, however, found the exact opposite to be true. In fact, one of the areas of the church that was least important to the unchurched was the gym. Church leaders that are considering building gyms need to understand that gyms, in general, serve their current membership and have little effect on attracting the unchurched.

Church buildings come in a variety of sizes and ages. Churchgoers may worship in a collage of venues, styles, and locations. While secondary to the heart of the people, the church building can have an impact on the unchurched. And recognizing the influence of your church facilities could help your congregation reach the unchurched in your community.

Sam S. Rainer III serves at First Baptist Church in Murray, Kentucky, where he and his wife, Erin, also live. Sam is the co-author of the book, Essential Church. He has written numerous articles for several publications. He serves as president of Rainer Research, a firm dedicated to providing answers for better church health. He is a frequent conference speaker on church health issues. Sam enjoys hanging out with friends and family, enjoying all that the Bluegrass State has to offer.

To compare Sam's insights with results based on another national survey, see "Sacred Space."