The Most Slamming Church Building I’ve Seen In YEARS
In the line of work and ministry that I am in I get to go to various churches across the country.
I count it an honor to visit these communities of faith and to serve along side them.
In this current season of consumerist Americana many churches feel as if they need to wow the attendee in order to keep them inside the walls and back the next week.
I agree this works.
Different strokes for different folks.
But you know what calls me to worship?
This…
Why?
Because like everything else in America…
The church is struggling with over stimulation.
This chapel is in the countryside of Southern Chile, by Claudio Baladron and Diego Grass. It is a wooden barn structure over a concrete platform with corrugated metal cladding in the outside and pine boards in the inside.
And I don’t know why…But it is SCREAMING at me in silence.
The pendulum has swung…and there is this small voice that isn’t going away telling me that it is about to swing back.
Or maybe it’s just the bad burger I ate last night.
Be still and know that I am God – Psalm 46:10
Los
Dude, that’s beautiful.
yeah man, that place is perfect! amazing
That’s beautiful! Our church meets in a tent. Pretty simple too.
Man, I love the building. Personally, as I’ve gone on what may seem like a nut-case spiritual hourney with Christ (one of simplification and redefinition), I would love to see houses of worship like this built in the USA. Beautiful and functional without frills.
But not knowing the story, I think you’re saying that the church that meets here is struggling and the building has been left in silence. Is that right?
Actually, I went on a “journey” rather than a “hourney”.
Umm… I pretty much want to move to southern Chile right now, just so I can go to that church. Amazing.
This looks like the chapel at Holy Cross monastery in that it is simple (their walls are white plaster in more of a spanish style) and the monks sit in benches facing one another when they chant the Psalms. Lights and loud are fine, but there is nothing like simplicity and quiet for getting ourselves (and our tastes, and whether that is a slamming bass line that I’d like to replicate when I get home) out of the way and hearing God.
me too, molly.
Sweet! I remember that some of my most precious and memorable times of worship have been in the most humble of surroundings… e.g. a campfire, a small chapel, a guitar, a few believers, singing with my small group, or just me and my wife praying, etc. Our God is omnipresent btw, not just in our sometimes large, media-saturated worship environments meeting the world where they’re at, but everywhere! Thanks for the pics and thoughts, Los!
Wow. I love it. It makes me want to purge some more “stuff” from my home. Simple. Organic. No distractions. There’s one thing missing: a basket by the door ….. to place your cell phone into when you walk in the door. lol
Any chance there are some higher res pictures so “someone” could use these as their desktop image? Love the simplicity. Would love to be reminded of it every time I look at my computer.
breathtaking.
i went a church in San Antonio a bit that I also loved for its simplicity. http://covenantbaptist.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/chairs.jpg
Gorgeous.
What’s the church called Los?
Is this main campus or a wedding chapel in the woods?!
Love it! There’s a church here in the Detroit area that has an amazing chapel, here’s the link to a post on my site when I recently led worship there. I love love love this room.
http://joshcollesano.com/2009/10/03/kesington-churchaxiom-w-pics-and-video/
blessings
wow. simple. beautiful. powerful.
that is a stylin worship space! I think you’re right about the pendulum swing. There’s something to be said for simplicity. Just look at Apple’s advertising!
I love it.
Love it. It’s not about the physical image of the church…it’s about the worship going on in it that God cares about! I’m ready to see some changes America!
Covet. Covet.
Awesome. Something to say about the stripped down and bare. I like my worship that way too. Just give me the acoustic sound and heartfelt pure words of worship. I tire of the production, light show, concert atmosphere. For me it becomes a distraction from the One we worship sometimes.
you are right los, this church building is Screaming, I felt the screaming as I looked at the pictures, i can’t imagine what it must have felt like to be there
Los, I don’t think it’s the burger, man. Amen. What I love – how those chairs were setup FACING each other.
AMAZING…Simply Beautiful
I’m always banging on to anyone who will listen that the Church is NOT the building, but this is absolutely beautiful, and well worth a shout out on Ragamuffinsoul!
Man, it’s gorgeous.
Thanks for bringing it to our attention, Los.
http://johnnylaird.blogspot.com/2009/06/church-is-not-building.html
A wonderful reminder of where our focus should be when worshiping our Lord.
Blessings!
I love these pictures. I’m setting them as my desktop background. Great reminder of simplicity and priorities.
I’m with Laura “Any chance there are some higher res pictures so “someone” could use these as their desktop image? Love the simplicity. Would love to be reminded of it every time I look at my computer.”??? Please?
Someone else mentioned this, but that’s basically how Catholic temples/monasteries are setup for services. Very cool.
I love the bare elegance, it looks like a place where one could bare one’s soul.
Simple is the way to go!
Just looking at those pictures ministered to my spirit. I am so tired of poor noisy Christianity. Too many words, too little Presence of the Almighty. Thank you for sharing these pictures.
I kind of like the mojo of this one:
http://covenantbaptist.org/?page_id=75
Come on, be real! Are you guys crazy or high on something? I am sorry, I don’t like it at all. It is the most depressing building I have ever seen. The inside looks like a torture and interrogation chamber in a high security prison. And what’s the deal with the chairs facing each other? Are we trying to have a seance there? This is too gimmicky. By being so different from everything else, it is trying to call attention to the building rather than to the worship of God and the message of the Gospel.
Wow! That is gorgeous!