One of the greatest transitions to occur in ministry spaces is taking place in the area of fellowship. The word fellowship itself is very much a Christian term coming from the Greek word “koinonia.” True Christian fellowship is a wonderful thing. Jesus said, “By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, that you have love for one another.” It is our belief that unbelievers that experience true Christian fellowship will find it so wonderful that they’ll want more – even if they are not ready to yield their lives to Jesus Christ.  Until recently, the “fellowship hall” has been considered the place for Christian fellowship. This was a space to be used for church members and families to gather to share a meal and talk with one another outside of the church service or Sunday school Classroom. This space was dedicated to structured and scheduled fellowship Events such as pot luck dinners, and wedding receptions. However, this type of space is not conducive to spontaneous and informal gatherings. The trend today is to create large lobby areas with gathering niches that incorporate activities conducive to spontaneous relationships, such as cafes’, coffee bars and bookstores with comfortable chairs and sofas. This Environment suggests, “Relax, hang out, put your feet up, get comfortable.” This is what we call the “Barnes & Noble” or “Borders” approach to fellowship.
To provide for this type of fellowship requires a significant amount of space. The old church lobby, or “narthex,” is a small buffer between the entranceway and the doors to the sanctuary with access to stairs to the lower level where the Sunday school Classroom and the fellowship hall are located. These small vestibules are not friendly spaces, especially for visitors who have to squeeze through a crowd of strangers in order to get into the sanctuary or to an information desk to find out where to take their children.  Most first time visitors will make up their mind about returning within 10 minutes of entering the church.  With this “10-minute window,” the entrance to the facility becomes a critical design element. With this in mind we have championed what we call the Fellowship Mall approach to church lobbies.
Fellowship Malls are user-friendly spaces, large enough to hold about 75% of the sanctuary (standing) but flexible so it has the potential to be used for other purposes, such as a fellowship meal, missions’ banquet, or wedding reception. To make it user-friendly we look to incorporate six important elements into this space:

1. An information/welcome center located close to the entry way with enough room around it so that it doesn’t create a bottle-neck to traffic getting in and out of the building or in and out of the Worship Center. It should be clearly visible for anyone entering the building. When possible, the use of an overhead video to display church activities and services is beneficial. The church could even monitor the service in progress. This becomes an immediate point of reference for visitors attempting to quickly orient themselves to the church. It is important that this space be manned by individuals with the gifts of hospitality, knowledgeable about all aspects of the church.
2. The next critical element in this space is an area for refreshments, such as a cafe or, at a minimum, a self-service food counter. Several purposes are served with this element:
   • Welcoming visitors and offering a complimentary cup of coffee or tea, which makes a statement that we want to make you feel welcome and at home.
   • This is a good way to be able to identify your visitor’s desired tendency. Visitors tend to fit into one of two categories – those who want care and those who want anonymity. The person desiring care will get a cup of coffee and go around informational kiosks, hoping to be noticed by someone, hoping someone will reach out to them, showing they care. They want to form new relationships. The second group of people, however, those desiring anonymity, will not tend to get a cup of coffee or do more than simply collect the information that tells them about the church. They are “sizing you up” before deciding whether or not they want to be committed. At the point where they begin to avail themselves of the refreshments you will know they are ready to be approached and want to build meaningful relationships. For this reason it’s so important to have a well-trained hospitality team working the Fellowship Mall space. If your church is organized into small group ministries or cell groups, this space becomes a great “fishing ground” to identify and assimilate visitors.
   • The third reason to incorporate the refreshment cafe is simply because Christians love to fellowship. Those who are already part of the family will love this space. You will serve the practical need of providing a light breakfast and the opportunity for members to meet their friends. By incorporating comfortable furniture, chairs, sofas or cafe tables into the space, you’re reinforcing this concept of spontaneous fellowship, which appeals to many generations.
3. The next item that we advocate in or near this space is a Book Store. This doesn’t have to be full-fledged commercial establishment; it can simply be a series of carts or bookcases that have music and materials on Christian growth. This can be a place to sell popular praise and worship music, offering the un-churched an alternative to music they hear on the radio. It is also a good location to distribute or sell tapes of the services and resources that the Pastor may recommend in his message to further Christian growth. In today’s culture, it also works quite nicely with the cafe, creating a “Barnes & Noble” or “Borders” atmosphere, mirroring a space that most people are very comfortable with in the world.
4. Having enjoyed a complementary cup of coffee or cappuccino, our visitors may begin to realize another need, namely a bathroom. It is important to make sure that bathrooms are easy to find, and large enough to handle any crowd that may be in the space. A long line in the women’s room will not encourage them to “hang around” for food and fellowship when they go to church on Sunday.
5. Another important amenity is a coat storage area, especially in locales that regularly have colder/inclement weather. Many people bring baggage, such as totes, purses, or umbrellas into the Church that will occupy a seat in the worship space if no other space is offered. Providing an adequate and secure coat storage area will go far in freeing up needed seats in the worship area. It is important, however to keep the coat storage areas visible and easy to find, so that there is a sense of security and safety that nobody can go rummaging through coat pockets without being easily noticed.
6. Finally, entrances to the Worship Center, nursery and children’s area should be directly off the fellowship mall space, with large signs identifying their location. It becomes the central hub of the church, a place where families can easily reconnect with one another. (Remember your average visitor will be bringing young children with them; we don’t want them feeling insecure in being able to rejoin them.)

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