Holy Church Space

Holy Church Spaces

8 tips for making the most of your church’s space

Maximize using your church’s facilities. Find new ways to use your sanctuaries, libraries, common rooms, fellowship halls and offices.

Opening your doors to the community can do two things. First, you expand your congregation’s role in the community. Second, you might help the church’s bottom line. Here are eight ideas to get you started.

Begin.Involve your congregation before opening your facility doors. Seek their ideas, address concerns and work together to create a facility-use plan that meets a variety of needs. Appoint a church employee to oversee the facility schedule. 

Think big. 

Does your church have an unused (or rarely used) gym, auditorium or other large space? Is your church interested in expanding? Does it lack the necessary funds? Consider creating a community recreation center and renting it periodically to community sports leagues or for recreational classes. 

Rent rooms. 

Many churches already do this, but most can do it more successfully by expanding their marketing. Some possibilities include:

Advertise room rentals on your Web site. Include costs and an up-to-date calendar, if possible. Make sure to identify how many people each room can accommodate and the various set-up styles available (theater, round tables, etc.).

Hold an open house for leaders of your community’s nonprofit, charitable, educational and arts organizations to tour the available spaces.

Put rental fliers on public bulletin boards in bookstores, cafes and supermarkets.

Church

Church is an English word that refers to a certain kind of religious building or institution. It is mostly associated with Christianity.

For the etymology of the word see: Etymology of the word "church".

Church

A church building is a building or structure whose primary purpose is to facilitate the meeting of a church. Originally, Jewish Christians met in synagogues, such as the Cenacle, and in one another's homes, known as house churches. As Christianity grew and became more accepted by governments, notably with the Edict of Milan, rooms and, eventually, entire buildings were set aside for the explicit purpose of Christian worship, such as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Traditional church buildings are often in the shape of a cross and frequently have a tower or dome. More modern church buildings have a variety of architectural styles and layouts; many buildings that were designed for other purposes have now been converted for church use, and, similarly, many original church buildings have been put to other uses.