FLIPPING OUR RELATIONSHIP TO CHURCH BUILDINGS

Earlier this month I was a part of what United Methodists call a Paragraph 213 Meeting - a meeting looking at the viability of current congregational ministry versus the possibilities of their community.  In this case it was a P213 on Steroids - as we were looking at 10 churches simultaneously across a small urban region.  Among the things that became clear:


1. Every church is dying, except one.

2. The people in the churches have difficulty imagining church life apart from their buildings.

3. The buildings are old and in most cases about ten times the size needed to house current gatherings.

4. The handful of healthy community ministries that exist among the churches do not currently build any bridges for the neighbors toward participation in the life of any of the churches.

5. If we were to sell every building but one, and to take the sale proceeds to repair and stabilize that one remaining building, all the proceeds would be exhausted before the building was truly sound for twenty-first century ministry.

Our church buildings have become a major problem.  They can no longer, in many cases, be considered assets.  They are liabilities and distractions from our work.

If we were starting fresh in this particular city, we could do everything with one church facility and perhaps a couple of neighborhood centers.  We would decouple all worship communities from building ownership. We would focus on borrowed space, shared space, rented space -- any space that doesn't smell like a nineteenth century church building!

Remember how recently the experts told us we needed twenty acres for a new church start?  I am working with a Texas congregation that is relocating to a 4.5 acre site, which will house a 200-seat worship space and a multi-purpose room which could also be used for worship, plus the accompanying space for kitchen, lobby, children, office and parking.  I think that church can run up to 700 in worship on that site.  But it is a campus built around a 200-seat room.  And it will cost $11 million. That is over $50,000 PER SEAT.  The building will be modern and possibly serve this church well for decades.  But $11 million.  This is the price point to meet codes and build a durable facility for a mid-sized church in the 21st century.

Because of this:

1. We no longer recommend purchasing large acreages, unless we see the land as an investment, where we can buy now and sell part of it off after appreciation to help pay for the land and facility.

2. We no longer recommend big worship arenas in most cases - no matter how full they are this year, we have learned that the chances are good they will be mostly empty in thirty years, and serving to handicap the church's long-term viability.

3. We recommend thinking smaller venue-size and more gatherings - often across a wider geography.

4. We recommend denominational assistance in securing a home-base for new churches - since many will never be able to afford a home without parental assistance.

5. We recommend multi-purpose space that is as nimble as a space can be - space that can house multiple types of events in any given week, and to house things ten years from now that we have not event imagined yet.

6. We recommend that as many ministries as possible happen beyond the church walls, out among the people.

7. We reframe sustainability from the church that develops multiple financial streams to support a building to the church that makes its resources available to invest in supporting a better life in the neighborhood.

The only thing that has not flipped in our thinking about facility is this: wherever you meet, free, easy-access parking is essential!