Perhaps you’re building a new church, moving into a new space, or simply looking to refresh the look of your current space. Either way, you’re looking for inspiration for church seating layouts. The great thing about nice church chairs is that you can move them around and experiment with different arrangements, unlike pews or other fixed seating. Here are some different church seating layouts you can try.
Straight Rows
This is the traditional seating layout and works well in most spaces. You simply line your church chairs up in rows that face towards the altar, stage, or pulpit grouping. You can easily adapt the length of rows to the size of the space, and create multiple aisles.
Most people are familiar with this church seating arrangement, so newcomers will be able to comfortably settle into the worship service. Keep in mind that the congregation will all be facing the front of the church instead of each other. This makes it a less than ideal choice for services that feature a lot of communication between members. The straight row layout is versatile, working in virtually any space.
Angled Rows (Semi-Circle)
You could also arrange your chairs in angled rows that fan out from the center of the altar, pulpit, or church stage. This creates a more communal feel, as members of the congregation are angled towards each other.
This arrangement is ideal for worship services that involve interaction between members, or between the congregation and the pastor. Angled or semi-circle seating may not work in all spaces, especially narrow ones. It may also lower the seating capacity somewhat, depending on the angle of the chairs.
Not sure how many chairs you can fit inside your space? Use our guide to calculating church seating capacity.
Complete Circle
If your space allows for this, you may try arranging the chairs 360 degrees around the stage for a complete circle. Or, you could try something completely unconventional and break out the chairs into groups of circles. You could even add folding tables for members to sit at. This option would be best for a service that requires interaction between the members of the congregation.
Raised Platform
In this seating arrangement, there is a raised platform in the center of the church so that all the members of your congregation are able to see what’s going on up front. This is a great layout for larger churches that are concerned with visibility from the back rows.
Some church leaders may fear this layout gives the wrong message to worshippers. The raised platform can unintentionally imply that the leaders on the platform are also “above” the rest of the congregation. However, it can be the perfect solution when part of the congregation has trouble viewing the service.
One of the major benefits of church chairs is their flexibility. Feel free to experiment with your chairs until you find the seating layout that works best for your congregation.
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