While at the conference, I had the opportunity to connect with several of the vendors at the trade show exhibit.  I was surprised there were really no church furniture manufacturers or dealers displaying in the exhibit hall.  I imagine the high cost of doing so (fees, travel, shipping, personnel, etc.) is the reason for this, but nonetheless I still expected there to be a few.  There were numerous lending institutions and construction companies present, but no church furnishings booths.

I did enjoy connecting with my friends from Midwest Church Construction at their booth.  I have worked with several church builders over the years, but Midwest is my favorite.  If you have any sort of construction project being considered at your church, I would encourage you to be sure to take a look at Midwest.  And for all your church furnishings, check out Save Your Church Money.  These are two great companies to obtain quality products and services from for your church.

Most church cafes and coffee-shops are not normally exceptionally large. The general rule is a handful of cafe tables, either at dining height or bar height, and an appropriate number of chairs and bar stools. Such settings lend themselves very well to personalizing some items to promote the church’s “brand”.  And nothing will stand out more than the actual table tops.

The Furniture Lab can creating an amazing array of custom designed tables.  Their in-house graphics department regularly assists church in creating truly unique tables. Here are several examples of their offerings.

Save Your Church Money is a national dealer for The Furniture Lab. Be sure and contact them first as their pricing will be the lowest. Jobs are often registered and your first contact can be critical in helping you obtain the best pricing.

Office Chairs Inc. was founded about four decades ago.  From the beginning, their goal was to manufacturer quality products of great value with low lead times.  Over those decades,their business has grown and they now have over 60,000 square feet of manufacturing space in Santa Fe Springs, CA.  And like all Church Furniture Guy endorsed manufacturers, they stand behind all their products with the goal of 100% customer satisfaction.

Office Chair Inc.’s product line consists of Executive, Conference, Task, Reception, Guest and Soft Seating.  They have relationships with some of leading fabric manufacturers such as Momentum Textiles, C.F. Stinson, and Culp .  These relationships result in some of the shortest lead times in the industry for custom upholstered seating.

For today’s churches, Office Chair Inc. has positioned itself well as a mid-market manufacturer.  Their entire line is available at great savings to churches through Save Your Church Money.  Please be sure and contact SYCM for all of your church seating needs.

Churches will inevitably purchase one of four categories or “levels” of furnishings.  Most of the time, the primary determiner of which  level they will purchase is budget.  Churches need to be good stewards of their resources.  Overspending for church furniture is NOT good stewardship.  Understanding the different levels of church furnishings can assist the practice of good stewardship.

• Church Furniture Category #1 is JUNK! I know “Junk” is not a very sophisticated term, but it accurately describes a level of church furnishings unfortunately.  There’s a lot of furniture on the market that simply does not belong in any sort of church/commercial setting.  But as stated above, low pricing can be especially attractive to churches.   While I cannot list here all the church furniture that I place in this first category, I’m always glad to entertain your questions about what you’re considering.  Just contact me with your questions.
• Church Furniture Category #2 is VALUE! This is the most purchased level of church furniture.  By “Value” I mean furniture that is well built, but its construction is pretty basic.  Comparably inexpensive materials like steel, poly and wood are used in the manufacturing process.  The design and lines of the furnishings are somewhat simple and plain.  And the number of options and amount of customization that can be added is minimal.
• Church Furniture Category #3 is Mid-Market! I use the term “Mid-Market” to describe church furniture that does not use high-end exotic construction materials, but offers a substantial ranges of upgrades, options and customization.  In addition, the level of styling moves from somewhat simple and basic to classy and stylish.  I have identified several mid-market manufacturers over the years that I especially love to tell churches about.
• Church Furniture Category #4 is Design! I use the term “Design” to describe a level of furnishings that only a few churches are able to consider because of cost.  With this level you may pay extra because of who the furniture was designed by.  Materials that have only recently been invented may be used in the construction which will add to the cost.  And almost every fabric or option on the market is available on this level.

Please note that Save Your Church Money takes great satisfaction in being able to generally move churches one step higher in category, for essentially the same dollars you would pay for the next level down.  As you consider church furnishings, they are consistently a source for great product at great prices.