“We want a chair that LOOKS more like a worship chair!”
I was working with a church recently that made that statement to me. They were desiring a very economical seating solution for their worship area and they desired the chair to also possess good quality. I suggested one chair that we have found to both work well and save dollars. The church though, while loving the comfort and the price of the chair, responded with the above statement, “We want a chair that LOOKS more like a worship chair!”
As I considered their wishes, I realized two things: First, this was a very subjective statement that reflected something important to their church and therefore was to be respected. But second, there certainly are criteria that are needed for a chair to be classified as a “worship chair”. What follows are comments that relate to those criteria.
- A worship chair is one that allows those attending the worship service to be comfortable enough when seated that they are able to be focused on what is taking place within the service. People come to church to see and to hear and to participate. When the church has seating that is noticeably uncomfortable, their ability to see and to hear and to participate is affected as the seating becomes a distraction to their ability to focus versus an enhancement for it. This has little to do with what the church chair LOOKS like, but rather is much more about the comfort it provides.
- A worship chair is one that meets or exceeds all legal codes and requirements in place within the geographical area of the church they are being utilized in. Some churches fail to realize that once a room has a significant seating capacity (and this varies greatly from state to state and jurisdiction to jurisdiction) that special legal requirements are likely in place. These may include required church chair interconnection or “ganging”, fabric and foam certified fire retardant ratings, anchoring of the church chairs to the floor, egress considerations, etc. The chairs that a church utilizes in their worship area should comply with all of their local codes and requirements. Again, this has little to do with what the church chair LOOKS like, but rather is much more about honoring the authorities over them.
- A worship chair is one that functions well in the worship environment that it is located in. Some churches may need to maximize their seating because of a lack of overall square footage. For them considering a church chair below 20” wide makes sense. Some churches may need to take their chairs up and down each week as their worship area is a multipurpose area. For them considering a worship chair that is easy to handle and stores efficiently will be prudent. Some churches may need their chairs to also work well around tables and in other settings. For them a “hybrid” style worship should likely be considered. Once again, this has almost nothing to do with what the church chair LOOKS like, but instead reflects the environment within which it is being used.
What makes a chair a WORSHIP CHAIR? The reality is that if the person occupying it is truly worshiping, it is a worship chair regardless of what it LOOKS LIKE! If you’re looking fro chairs for your worship environment, check out Church Chair Finder – where you can always get the lowest price on chairs for worship.