Stewarding Your Building
The property and facilities of a church are the most significant financial investment most ministries will make. The cost of these buildings is not just made up of the cost to construct them. Maintenance, utility, and insurance costs add to the total costs of owning facilities and are typically the second-highest expense in the church’s budget. This knowledge makes proper stewardship of your facilities a critical factor in the health of your church. But how do you become a good steward of your building?
One place to start being a good steward is by annually evaluating how your church utilizes its facilities. By keeping space available for multi-uses, a church can offer attractive ministries to its target audience. Many churches have replaced pews with chairs to allow their worship space to be more flexible for other ministry uses. Purchasing desks that can fold up and lock can enable a church to repurpose its office space into educational space on Sunday mornings. A church can also look to lease any available space to a mission church or a school ministry. Allowing outside groups to use the facility may allow the church to impact their community by getting community members on their property where church members can minister to them.
Properly maintaining your building is another important way to be a good steward of your facilities. Addressing issues before they become significant will allow the church to keep building maintenance costs in check. Deferred maintenance tends to snowball if not addressed, while systematically preparing a maintenance plan for preventative care of your building can keep unforeseen costs at bay. For example, regular landscaping maintenance to keep bushes and trees away from structures and making sure irrigation systems are correctly running can prevent costly repairs.
Utility costs for a church can also be a significant budget item. Regular replacement of air conditioning filters can allow systems to run more efficiently and enable units to last longer. Proper exterior caulking and insulation can also help in reducing the church’s utility costs. Several companies will even perform energy audits for churches and provide recommendations that can save significant resources.
Insurance costs should also be evaluated on an annual basis to make sure the church has proper coverage. Does your policy cover the replacement value of your buildings as well as code-required improvements? Do you have adequate liability coverage, including counseling coverage for staff and bible study leaders? While many lawsuits brought against churches do not have merit, the cost to defend these lawsuits can significantly impact the church’s budget. Making sure you understand the coverages in your policies can eliminate any surprises and unexpected costs if you have a claim.
Developing a stewardship plan for a church’s property can allow a church to more effectively utilize its existing facilities and help it reduce current and long-term costs associated with the property. When we steward our facilities well, we can make room for additional resources to be available for other ministry needs.
Michael Rhine | SBTF Director of Lending