Historically, acoustical design for traditional worship music has sought to naturally reinforce instruments and vocalists by carefully exploiting room reflections. However, the advent of ‘‘contemporary’’ worship and the widespread use of reinforced music have paralleled a clear change in the architecture, seating capacity, and expected acoustical signature of the worship sanctuary. In addition, many modern worship services employ a hybrid of musical styles within a single service, such as choral performances, orchestras, electronic music, and dramatic presentations. While some may consider a highly absorptive room to be an ideal listening environment, this approach neglects several key aspects of the contemporary worship experience, such as ensemble support for choirs as well as for the audience during congregational singing. Here, acoustical criteria are reviewed for the design of architectural elements within a contemporary worship space. Design strategies are presented for integrating effective acoustical elements within the framework of necessary technical systems. Case studies are presented of recent sanctuary designs of varying size to demonstrate the relationship between architectural techniques and the musical experience.