Granger Community Church (GCC) wants kids to know church is fun. The Granger, Ind., congregation built its new children’s facility around that concept.

The $2 million facility, which opened Easter weekend, looks like an indoor playground. Bright colors dominate the children’s center, from the hallways to the exotic fish. A telescope gives kids an up-close view of what’s going on. Themes range from a construction zone and a farm to the popular "3-2-1 Penguins" children’s video series.

Children in kindergarten through fifth grade sign in at the church’s main level, then enter one of two slides that drops them off one level down into their appropriate class areas. Parents watch the adventure on TV monitors.

GCC is following what some church experts expect to be a trend in children’s ministries - bigger and better buildings to attract kids and their parents, said Lesley Coney, GCC’s children’s operation coordinator.

"Our generation was raised on being dragged to church," Coney said. "They remember what it was like, and they want their kids to experience something much better. We feel like we can offer that."

Visitors take notice of a church’s preschool, nursery or children’s facility, according to church consultant Thom Rainer. More than 36 percent of those interviewed for Rainer’s book "Surprising Insights from the Unchurched" indicated such facilities make an important first impression. Modern, clean facilities also motivate those with children to make return visits.

GCC nursery coordinator Georgia Fawcett said visitors to the children’s facility like what they see and come back for more. Children’s ministry attendance has jumped nearly 62 percent, from an average of 512 kids each week to more than 830 following the facility’s opening. Adult worship attendance during the five weekend services has increased 32 percent to nearly 3,800.

Fawcett credits the children with encouraging their parents to bring them back week after week.

"I think the w

Coney agreed.

"Kids started asking their friends and neighbors to come, and then they started begging their parents to bring them back," Coney said.

Parents are surprised, Fawcett said.

"Years ago parents used to have to drag their kids to church, and there wasn’t a place for kids to go that was fun, relevant and exiting," she said. "Now we hear parents saying to us, ‘it’s so nice to walk down here. Our kids run to the door, they want to go in, and then we can go to church and not worry about them. The biggest problem we have is when we pick them up they have a fit because they don’t want to leave.’

"It’s a total shift in what parents think about going to church," Fawcett said.

Chicago-based freelance design architect Peter Exley designed GCC’s children’s center. The church staff chose Exley based on his other kid-friendly structures at museums, schools and O’Hare International Airport.

GCC's new children's center is impressing kids and their parents.

The church held a three-year building campaign to raise the $2 million needed for the project. Church members are still paying off pledges, according to Tony Morgan, GCC’s pastor of administrative services. Morgan didn’t say how much is owed.

Church building consultant Steve Anderson said church projects must take into account a family’s needs and expectations. Anderson is an executive with Arks Inc., a Christian consulting and development company based in Raleigh, N.C. Arks consults churches across the country on building issues from financing to architect selection.

"Churches have started focusing on families more today than in the past," Anderson said. "Church has become a family-oriented, social and recreational event where people are attracted to the church through the programs and ministries offered by the church."

Anderson, who previously owned and operated a child daycare, said churches need to consider a number of factors when planning a children’s area.

The area should be sectioned off from the rest of the church except for the infant area, which should be close to the sanctuary for nursing mothers’ convenience, he said. Major considerations include lighting, visibility, access and security.

Space must also be considered. Anderson recommends 35 square feet per child for children from nursery age to toddlers; 30 square feet per child for those in kindergarten through fifth grade; 25 square feet per child for middle school students; and 20 square feet per child for high school students.

One large room partitioned with accordion walls is a less expensive building option.

"This can be more economical, but maybe not as quiet as individual rooms," Anderson said.

While GCC’s children’s facility is top-notch, it’s not the answer for every church, Anderson said. Churches have to follow their vision, not trends, he said.