“You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” - 1 Peter 2:5

It is a well-known axiom that the church is not a building. We are the church.

This concept has its roots in several New Testament scriptures. The church is the collective body of people that Christ has called to himself–that's us! Most churches do own buildings, however, and many are looking for new ways to unlock the hidden value of their property. 

I worked as my church’s janitor during my university years, and later served as the administrator. Through both of those roles I became closely acquainted with the physical space that my church family occupied by keeping it clean, organized, in repair, and prepared for the various activities that would take place within its walls. I met God in prayer in every nook and cranny of the space–while dusting the pastor’s offices, vacuuming out the baptismal tank before filling it with water from a garden hose, or restocking the pantry shelves. I felt blessed to participate in the body of Christ in this way - caring for my church by taking care of our beloved building. 

Eventually my family relocated to a new city. The new church I joined didn’t own a building at all - we rented a civic theatre for a few hours each Sunday morning. This delighted me, as I deepened my understanding that the church is not a building but a group of believers. It felt lighter to not carry the burden of a large, deteriorating building. For a small congregation like ours, renting was a good option. Not having to worry about affording and maintaining an expensive property enabled us to simplify our focus on cultivating relationships with God, with each other, with the wider community, and with nature–we did a Good Friday hike every year and read the Easter story at a familiar stop on the path; we celebrated baptisms at a lake. 

There were drawbacks, of course, to not having a space of our own. It limited the types of groups and ministries we could run. Since the space was owned by the municipality, our Sunday reservation occasionally got bumped in favour of city-run events. It wasn’t difficult to find other locations to meet, but it could become confusing when visitors came looking for us. When other churches began meeting in person again as the pandemic wound down, we were left hanging for months while we waited for the city’s public building to reopen. 

With fewer Canadians attending church in person or at all, and with a corresponding decline in financial gifts, many churches are re-evaluating how best to utilize their physical spaces. The practice of renting church buildings is not new, but facility rental beyond traditional uses (like for weddings and funerals) is an increasingly popular option.  

Some benefits of facility rental for churches:

• Add a new, sustainable source of income

• Fulfil a need for meeting spaces in the community

• Make new connections and foster goodwill in the neighbourhood

• Share space and cultivate relationship with another church or mission organization

• Create a sense of welcome for people unfamiliar with church

Some questions to consider before renting your space:

• Pray: What might God have in mind for the spaces?
  
  
• What are the needs in the community?
  
  
• How best to start the conversation among the membership?
  
  
• What associated insurance, tax, or staffing costs might there be?
  
  
• Does the property require changes or upgrades to ready it for use by others?
  
  
• What policies and agreement documents are needed?
  
  
• What kinds of spaces are available, and what are their capacities?
  
  
• Larger rooms such as the sanctuary, theatre, children’s area, or gym?
  
  
• Smaller rooms such as unused offices, the library, kitchen, fireside room, or cafe space? What about the parking lot?
  
  
• Will you offer add-ons for a fee, such as staff, set up or cleaning services, the use of furniture, instruments, equipment, or wifi?
  
  
• Will you charge different prices for public and nonprofit groups?
  
  

Sunergo’s Online Facility Rental Management for Canadian Organizations makes rental management simple and easy:

• Easily track rentals, deposits and payments.
  
  
• Customize availability of spaces by time, date or season.
  
  
• Avoid double-booking rooms, equipment and resources.
  
  
• Add additional costs such as cleaning and service fees.
  
  
• Flexible payment options for deposits and full payments.
  
  
• Online payment system accepts credit and debit.
  
  
• Costs can include optional taxes.
  
  
• Generate reports to track your rental history.

Click here to try a live demo of Sunergo’s Facility Rental System. 

This demo shows how the self-serve portal looks from a public viewpoint if accessed it through your church’s website. Of course, we would customize your rental page with your church’s logo, colours, and photos and details of your spaces. 

Or, book a demo for church administrators with our support team.

Reach out to learn how church admins set up and use the facility rental tool. We would be happy to answer all of your questions and provide a free demonstration.