Managing a church facility is very similar to managing any other type of building or campus. The only difference being churches often use volunteer labor to help get the job done. This approach provides volunteers with opportunities to give back to the ministry and allows the church to maintain its campus with a limited church budget.
Churches can be very busy campuses with activities going on almost daily. Whether it is Sunday morning services, Wednesday night bible studies or a Saturday afternoon wedding – there is always something going on. This constant use of facilities requires coordination, planning and scheduling to ensure all responsibilities are taken care of.
6 Tips For Managing Church Facilities
1. Church Events Calendar
Churches are very active places so having a central calendar that lists all events is one of the first steps in good facilities management. It is difficult to schedule a cleaning crew to clean up after an event if the event is not listed on the main calendar.
There are many electronic calendars available that can help facilitate scheduling of campus space and some can also be uploaded to the church website for viewing by congregants. I’m familiar with ServiceU, but other options are My Church Events and The Calendar Planner.
Contact the vendor and ask for a demo and determine if it is compatible with your other church software.
2. Cleaning Schedule
Congregants like to attend a church that is neat, clean and orderly, so having scheduled cleaning times that coincide with the church
calendar is important. For example, after a Saturday afternoon wedding, it is important to have a cleaning crew clean up and prepare the building for Sunday morning services.
Without a calendar, it would not be possible to schedule and coordinate this function. There also needs to be a weekly, monthly or annual schedule for detail cleaning like dusting blinds, cleaning air ducts, cleaning light fixtures, wiping down cabinets, etc. Not everything needs to be cleaned daily but having a schedule for routine deep cleaning is important for keeping a facility fresh!
3. Maintenance Schedule
All buildings need to be maintained on a regular basis and having a maintenance schedule helps to ensure routine maintenance is done consistently.
Whether it is changing the air filters in the HVAC units, painting high traffic areas or sealing the parking lot, a schedule helps to ensure things get done. To do this, take a few people and walk the church campus and make a list of all maintenance projects. Put the list in an excel spreadsheet and sort by frequency of maintenance.
For example, sealing the parking lot may need to be done annually, painting high traffic areas quarterly and changing air filters monthly – regardless, map out the frequency and then schedule dates for
4. Volunteer Work Days
A great way to get the congregation involved is to schedule volunteer work days a couple times a year. This is a great way to get skilled people in to help with projects and it helps get a lot of work done very quickly.
This can be done by making a list of projects that need to be done – changing light bulbs, cleaning windows, power-washing sidewalks, raking out flowerbeds, etc. and making task lists with needed supplies to get the job done.
Add a fellowship lunch afterwards and it is a great opportunity for people to get to know each other and get a lot accomplished very quickly. Organized and intentional event planning is the key, but if done well, it can be a great experience for volunteers and can help get a lot of projects off the maintenance task list.
5. Safety Training
Whether it is church employees or volunteers helping with maintenance tasks, safety training is important. Training on simple things like proper usage of cleaning chemicals, ladders or power-equipment is essential to ensuring a safe event that is free from injuries.
We often make assumptions that people know how to use equipment or power tools safely and in doing so, we put them at risk of injury by not providing the proper training. Identify experts and ask them to help with training to ensure a pleasant, safe experience for employees and volunteers.
6. Landscape Maintenance
Most churches have some sort of outdoor landscaping so having a plan to groom the exterior by cutting grass, trimming bushes and cleaning out flower beds is an important part of keeping a campus sculpted and appealing. Volunteers may be available to help with a lot of the projects that need to be done on the outside of a building. Use the lady’s group to plant flowers in the spring and volunteer workdays to trim bushes and clean out flowerbeds. This can provide great volunteer opportunities while keeping the campus looking great.
Keeping church buildings and campuses neat, orderly and maintained is one way to show excellence in the church. Planning, scheduling and coordinating of routine tasks simplifies the process and gets others involved in helping to maintain the church campus.
What are some creative things you do to maintain your campus?