Seventh-day Adventist churches should be beautiful,” says South American church region (SAD) president Erton Köhler. “In fact, every Adventist church should be the most beautiful building on its street.”
In an exchange with Adventist Review on the sidelines of the Spring business meetings at the world church headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, United States earlier this week, Köhler shared his “philosophy of church aesthetics,” so to speak. And like everything else in the South American church, according to Köhler, it is something that connects seamlessly to the mission of the church.
“It is not about pride or hubris,” he explains, “but about better supporting the mission of the church.”
How so?
Köhler says there are two major reasons church members should keep mowing, cleaning, repairing, and painting their church facilities. “Every time I speak at a church building inauguration, I tell members, ‘Let me share why it is your Christian duty to take care of this building,’” he said.
Köhler’s two main reasons are shared below.
For the Best, the Best
“God deserves the best of us,” says Köhler. It is something that, according to him, should be enough to motivate church leaders and members to do their best when considering building a new church or improving existing facilities.
“When I see members working on the blueprint for a new building, I always tell them, ‘Before you start, walk down the street [where the land plot is on] and look for the most beautiful building around,’” says Köhler. “Then, go and plan a church even more beautiful.”
