by Chris Goldman
The definition of a good church facility is simple: it facilitates the ministry of the church. If it doesn’t, you will quickly find yourself exhausted trying to make things work.
In 2016, NWChurch decided to “build a community center where a church happens to meet.” The intention was to make the daily use of the facility common for community organizations. The facility includes a fully functional dental clinic, mental health counseling, weekly medical care, and numerous other organizations such as local police and fire, Support 7 (providing community chaplaincy), Rotary, and Tax Aide Services (free during tax season), alongside the regular ministries of the church.
Here are some pointers for making this work for you rather than against you:
- Define Ahead of Time: Determine in advance which ministries and partners will complement your work in the local community. If you are always reacting to each request for facility use, you will drift from your original purpose.
- Offer Affordable Facility Use: When possible, offer your facility to community organizations for the cost of hosting, cleaning, and replenishing supplies. When you do this, the community begins to speak well of your church to everyone they know. For police and rescue organizations, we allow facility use at no cost.
- Welcome Community Users: Don’t shy away from having a spokesperson stop by, say a word of welcome, and thank them for using the facility to benefit the community.
- Prioritize Church Needs: Make sure anyone contracting to use your facility understands that you are a church first. This means you shouldn’t schedule too far ahead for community use, so ministries can have a chance to secure space for their effective ministry needs.
- Serve During Community-wide Events: Work with all groups to serve families during events like community-wide funerals. It will bless everyone.
- Use Contracts: Sign contracts, even if you are discounting the cost 100% for a function. It’s important for community members to see your generosity in this regard.
- Encourage Staff Involvement: We have challenged our pastoral staff to get involved in community groups, events, and organizations, and we allow them work time to do so. This has led to greater partnerships and blessings.
Case Study:
The local chapter of Rotary reached out asking to use our facility. When we shared our rates with them, they couldn’t believe the affordability compared to other facilities. After meeting for a month at the Community Life Center, they invited me to speak to the entire group and explain the model of ministry we were attempting. Even the atheists in their group enjoyed hearing about a church diligently working to bless the local community. After a few of their members started attending weekly services, two decided to get baptized. One of them shared her experience with the civic leaders in town, which led to two additional baptisms. In the meantime, after touring the facility, they asked if they could give the church a gift of artwork for our prayer room. We said we’d need to see it first. It turned out that the piece was originally commissioned for a business but was going to be lost in a redevelopment program. The artwork had a value of $15,000, and yes, everyone comments on its beauty.
Ministry Conclusion:
God has placed us in our communities to be light, leaven, and salt. We cannot do this unless we engage our local community. Almost every church has what community organizations need: space during the week. As Christians, we always remember this truth: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
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