Maximize Use of Your Building
I recently visited a church that needs help with ideas of how to use the facility to bring in more revenue. The church has a substantial loan, and while growing in attendance, they still need some more funding at the end of each month. After a walk-through of the building, many ideas were shared.
One opportunity would be to start a day care center or preschool. The steps toward such a program are relatively straightforward. The first step is for a State of Virginia day care representatives to do a walk-through. A day care expert can identify which alterations are needed to make a facility ready for children. In addition, the church needs a tenant from the community who wants to start their own business and will pay rent to the church. The other option would be for a member of the congregation to be interested in running a church-owned day care.
Another idea is to find a chef who might like to run a catering business out of their kitchen. This church has a commercial kitchen equipped for producing large quantities of food. To complement the kitchen, this church has a large family life center that can be used to accommodate large groups for meetings and retreats.
Additionally, a private school is exploring the prospect of using their facility to conduct classes. The church has lots of classrooms and bathrooms which would work very well for weekday education.
Their family life center is already being used for pickleball and basketball groups, but the schedule has many open spots for more groups to rent these facilities.
A suggestion was made for the church to contact the local parks and recreation department who might be looking for facilities to hold events.
Another possibility is to convert a room into a sound studio which could provide support for church musicians and musical productions, as well as for individuals who might want to record a soundtrack. This room could also be used for piano, organ, guitar and other music lessons.
The process of thinking about new ideas has just begun for this congregation. This list will grow as we make contacts and learn more about new possibilities. If you would like assistance with developing new ideas, contact us at the Virginia United Methodist Foundation and Development Company. We will be happy to dream dreams and envision the vision with you.
Contact:
Tommy Herndon (tommyherndon@vaumc.org) or Randy Shelton (randyshelton@vaumc.org).
By the Rev. Tommy Herndon
Images: Michael Humphries & Andrew Seaman, courtesy of Unsplash