When I counsel churches on chair purchases, I always ask them what their storage situation consists of.  If they have more storage than they know what to do with, then the range of their chair choices is broad.  Of course, there are few churches with that much storage.  Most need to maximize every bit of storage they possess.

The reality is that chairs that provide both excellent comfort and efficient storage will cost more than chairs that provide excellent comfort and a low price point.  If there was a chair that provided all three positives, manufacturers could not keep up with the demand.  Because it does not exist, churches have to choose which of these three factors are most critical to them.

Here’s a key point to remember:  When you’re involved in a church construction project there’s a square foot price for the project.  If a church is able to construct less square footage through the purchase of chairs that store efficiently, the savings can be significant.  One of my favorite chairs for churches literally stores in about 25% of the space needed for the most popular church chair style.  Granted it costs about twice as much per chair, but the construction savings realized far exceeds that additional cost.  My counsel in new construction settings is always the “win-win” of saving dollars and obtaining chairs that maximize storage.

What about settings where new construction is not taking place?  I’m still very partial to chairs that store well.  In the long run, the extra dollars paid for the storage attribute will not be missed.  But over the long run, chairs that store well will be appreciated often.  And to help your church afford the advantages of great storing chairs, be sure and check them out at Save Your Church Money.  They’ll guide you well in your church chair purchase.

• More Padding does NOT Mean More Comfort:  One of the most common assumptions I see well-meaning people make is that a chair with three inches of padding will be more comfortable than a chair with one inch.  This is simply not the case.  Thickness is not as important as quality and contour.
• All Foam is NOT the Same:  There are many options manufacturers can choose from when selecting the foam quality levels they utilize in their products.  There’s not enough room in this short article to detail all of these options, but quality of foam cannot be overstated.
• Width of Chairs are Important Considerations:  I recently talked to a church that purchased several hundred chairs because a great price that was offered them.  It was only after the chairs were delivered and paid for, they realized the chairs were two inches narrower than the chairs they decided against.   Never purchase less than an 18″ wide chair for dining and a 19″ wide chair for worship (20″ for worship is the standard).
• Foam will Only Become Softer:  It’s a fact that foam will never become firmer after you purchase chairs, only softer.  Don’t be overly concerned if the sample chair you have seems a bit stiff.  This likely is a indicator that a higher quality foam is being employed that will serve you better over the long run.
• Don’t Overlook the Effects of Contour:  Many chairs are simply a flat piece of plywood with foam on top of plywood and fabric or vinyl holding the foam to the wood.  But the human body is not flat as we know so discomfort tends to develop very quickly.  Contour molded chairs with less padding and upholstery will often provide superior comfort.  Testing this principle out before purchase is very important.

As always, there’s much more that could be added to this principle of chair comfort.  I encourage you to work with a church chair provider like Save Your Church Money.  They can provide you not only great pricing, but wise counsel and sample chairs.

If your church chooses to use a committee for such an important assignment, I would advise that you begin the process with a complete list of the seven criteria that need to be weighed in reaching a recommendation.  Without an intentional effort to do so, the issue of cost will be raised early and often at the expense of the other criteria.  Make sure that each of the criteria is discussed individually and that the committee together determines which criteria are most important to the church.  Over and over I’ve heard churches lament that price and price alone was allowed to determine their seating choice, and it was not long before that became obvious to the church constituency.  Remember, “The pain of poor quality lasts long after the joy of saving money!”

I’ll be sharing about the other six critical criteria to consider as your church chooses its worship seating over the days ahead.  I’d love to hear your comments so please share them with me.  And one more thing:  If you ‘re right now working on a church chair purchase, I’d encourage you to check out Save Your Church Money.  Their prices are simply the lowest for every level of church seating!

As I have assisted hundreds of churches over recent years with their church furnishings needs, similar thoughts to those that pastor shared have been far too common.  I believe there are seven main criterion that a church needs to consider during their chair search.  Too often, only a couple of these seven are taken into account, and the result is a purchase that is often regretted over the years following.

My next several posts will explore each of these seven criterion.  We’ll take them one by one and provide insights and recommendations about each.  I’m looking forward to this project as church seating, whether worship seating, classroom seating, cafe seating, or that of several other environments is a substantial part of the life of a church.  People will sit far more in your church than they will stand.  These articles will help the choices of seating we make not to be regretted over the years that follow.

For a complete list of qualifying products, please contact Save Your Church Money.  They’ll supply you not only with the sale list, but also the steepest discounts in the country.  When in need of church furniture I encourage you to always check with them first.

• Dining Height:  These tables are 30″ high and the chairs around them are standard height chairs, which means the seat is about 18″ from the floor.  Certainly this height is most common in all settings.
• Counter Height: These tables will be 36″ high which is the same height as most kitchen counters.  Chairs are going to have seats that are 24″ from the floor.  This height of tables and chairs is becoming increasingly popular.
• Bar Height: These tables are the tallest at 42″ high, taking their name obviously from the normal height of bars around the country.  The accompanying seating or stools, are going to be 30″ high.  Most settings will have some bar height tables and stools.

As you furnish out your church cafe or coffee-shop, you will want to consider which heights will be best for your application.  I find most churches will choose two of the above heights and use some of each in their project.  You’ll also want to check out  Save Your Church Money for great pricing on all three cafe styles of seating.