What do I mean by a “Hybrid Approach”? As you might suspect, this is a strategy where the manufacturer both sells direct and markets their products through a dealer network.  But how are they able to motivate dealers to distribute their products when they’re in a sense competing with these dealers by selling direct?  It would seem that no dealer would advance the products of a manufacturer doing so.

Well, the reason dealers are willing to do so is summed up in one phrase, “two-tiered pricing”.  Suppose our manufacturer makes church seating that they sell for $75 a chair to churches direct.  The church believes they’re getting the best price possible on their worship seating because they’re purchasing direct from the manufacturer.  But what the church does not realize is dealers for our manufacturer can purchase the same chair for $65 a chair which leaves room for the dealer to mark the chairs up a few dollars and still save churches some money.  The idea that a third party (our dealer) could be added to the sale of the chairs from the manufacturer to the church and still produce savings defies logic, yet it happens every day.

I encourage you to always check with low overhead dealers such as Save Your Church Money before purchasing.  You may be surprised at the savings your church may realize!

Permanent Seating: This style of seating continues to dominate most church environments.  My use of the descriptive “permanent” does not denote that the seats are affixed to the facility, though that can certainly be the case.  Rather the implication is that in this type of application, the chairs rarely need to be moved.  The use of the room is quite static throughout the various programs of the church, therefore the “function” of the seating for the room is static as well.  The seating needs for the room simply do not vary.

Flexible Seating:  With the growing need for worship and other church environments to lend themselves to various applications and uses, the use of flexible seating has increased significantly over the past couple decades.  By “flexible” I mean that the seating can be used in different configurations such as in rowed auditorium style seating as well as more informal arrangements such as around tables.  These chairs tend to be less bulky and a bit lighter than permanent seating.  They also then to cost a bit less.  However, the assumption is that they’re consistently being used in the room they’re located in and not stored.  If the chairs need to be stored, rather than flexible seating, the description that applies best is transitional seating.

Transitional Seating: With many church environments today, rooms will need to be reconfigured many times during a week.  When this is the reality, seating that’s simple to handle and simple to store is important.  Some transitional seating options of today can be stored in 25% the space it takes to hold a comparable level of permanent seating.  Transitional seating tends to be very strong and will weigh far less than what permanent and flexible seating will.  While these types of chairs will be more expensive,  they can  be a wise investment over the years of use they’ll provide.

For a visual overview of these three types of church seating, check out this presentation from Save Your Church Money.

• Frame Strength:  Far and away, the primary factor that determines chair durability is the strength of the frame.  How do you determine if the frame is strong?  Specifications to consider include the gauge of metal used to construct the frame.  Also look for how many lateral cross members the chair has, both connecting legs to each other and those under and behind the seat.  Lateral stability is accomplished through these cross members.  Is the frame a wire rod frame or of tubular construction?  Tubular almost always provides more stiffness and longer life for the chair.
• Fabric Endurance:  Fabric is rated in “double rubs”.   This term refers to how fabrics are tested before they are released for the church furniture market.  Essentially a machine rubs the fabric twice, imitating a person sitting down and getting up.  That equals one “double rub”.  Look for fabrics that have a minimum of 150,000 double rubs for their rating.  Some will have twice that, but unfortunately some will have far less.
• Foam Quality:  Chair foam quality can have a huge range.  Some foam will be very soft at first and this may lead to a church chair purchase based on the appearance of comfort.  However, keep in mind that foam will only get softer over time, never firmer.  I recommend you choose a chair that is more on the firm side when purchasing.  In a few years you’ll not be “bottoming out” like you will by purchasing a softer foam.  Also, it’s wise to only purchase chairs that have the foam compressed before applying the fabric.  This way as the foam softens over the time, the fabric will stay taut and not wrinkle, something I see often.

As always, there’s more I could add here.  Please contact me with any questions you might have.  You can also forward questions to Save Your Church Money where you’ll find expertise on this subject and some recommendations for chairs that exhibit great durability.

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!