Sloppy Church

Posted on January 22, 2013 Written by

My guess is that when you go to a fast food restaurant, you look for a clean or mostly clean table at which to eat. I avoid tables that are piled with stuff from a previous customer that wasn’t considerate enough to put his trash away. I appreciate when the staff comes out to wipe down tables so they are clean for the next customer.

That is true for churches, too. Churches should be clean and free of clutter. We don’t need last week’s bulletins scattered everywhere, or every flat surface piled with flyers and postcards about upcoming events. We don’t need Bibles and study guides in stacks on ledges, tables, and chairs in classrooms. I’ve seen rooms with tables and chairs tossed around as if no one cared about the room and what it looked like. I’ve seen members walk right past trash on the floor; actually, they looked at it and probably thought that was someone else’s responsibility to clean up. I could go on and on, but you’ve likely seen the same thing in your own church or in one you’ve visited.

Bottom line: if a place of business were as sloppy and messy as many churches are, you wouldn’t give them your business. Why then are churches so sloppy?

  • Is it that no one really sees it? Yes, there are some people who see messes and some who just don’t. I’m one of the first group. I see messes, and they bother me a lot. Here’s a way to know what group you’re in: look in your car. If you have empty drink cups, wrappers, and other trash on the seat or floor, you’re in the group that can’t see messes. If that’s the case, you ought to find someone with a really clean car and get them to point out to you the messes in your church. They’ll show you what you “can’t see.”
  • People think someone else is responsible for that. Some members actually believe that they pay staff to do those menial chores and that they should not have to stoop to pick up trash or straighten bookshelves or ask why there are old books and Sunday School quarterlies which make the church look bad. Keeping the church clean and straight should be everyone’s responsibility; not just the custodian’s job.
  • Do some people not even care? Unfortunately, yes. It’s not a large number of people, but some just don’t really care or appreciate how a church looks. That kind of problem requires a bigger solution than just becoming aware of how sloppy the church looks; those folks need to experience a change of heart so they’ll value their church and its property.

Next time you’re in church, look around with really open eyes. Check out your surroundings very intentionally. If it were a restaurant, would you eat there, or go to the next restaurant down the road? Guests and members appreciate cleanliness and orderliness, and you do too. Make it a point to help your fellow members understand how little things such as picking up old bulletins, straightening tables and chairs, not having piles of materials everywhere, and other things like that can have a positive effect on people–members and guests alike.

Lead On!
Steve

Filed Under: buildings, church staff, facilities Tagged: , ,

Church Violence and Death

Posted on January 15, 2013 Written by

Every week there is a news report of violence in churches or church-related facilities (camps, retreat centers, etc.). A lot of them end in violence and death.

http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/2012/10/pastor-slain-suspect-dies-after-attack-at-forest-hill-church.html/

About 20 years ago shootings in schools raised awareness that schools were no longer the safe places that everyone felt them to be. Those acts of violence burst the bubble that schools and churches were places of peace and serenity. Both bubbles are now shattered. There is no truly safe public place (except maybe a fire or police station).

For churches and staffs struggling to educate people as to why safety cameras, check-in points, child safety measures, and other preventive actions are needed, the news has way too many stories. Use these stories to inform and show people why a well thought-out, coordinated plan is needed and helpful (and even attractive to young parents). Never use news of church violence to alarm or scare people – that is not helpful at all.

Carl Chinn (www.carlchinn.com) has collected every news article of church related violence since 1999. It is a wealth of information – Carl is doing all of us a great service. I’ve never met Carl and I’ve only emailed him once – but his heart is in helping churches be informed about what is happening. Then, what churches do with that information is up to them but hopefully they’ll take positive action to ensure their houses of worship are also sanctuaries.

If you want more information, contact Carl – I’m sure he’ll help you.

Lead On!
Steve

Filed Under: buildings, church safety, church security, facilities Tagged: , , ,

The Church Lobby

Posted on December 4, 2012 Written by

Your church lobby tells new people in about 3 seconds the kind of people that your church wants to have. Okay, maybe just 2 seconds. It is really, really, really fast and most churches do not even know what they’re doing.

I walked into one church and this is what I saw:

  • Faded, worn out mauve carpet that “died” several years ago
  • Furniture that I last saw in my 80 year old aunt’s house – and she died 25 years ago
  • Bare walls on one side and pictures of old stuff on the wall
  • A chandelier

I looked around to see if it was a church or funeral home – everything told me I was in a funeral parlor or at least a place that my great Aunt Clara (born circa 1900) would enjoy. It was like a museum – okay, you get the picture. It was not a drawing card for 20- and 30-somethings. It was not even attractive to anyone under 60 – but most people had seen it for so long that they felt it was just part of the church. But anyone who was new to the church and walked in there was immediately turned off by what they saw.

Tomorrow morning – walk into your church lobby and look at it as you never have before. Look at the lighting, the walls and what is hanging on the walls. Talk with people about the furniture and ask them if that is something they would see in a home of a young family (presuming that family had some money to buy furniture they like).

Then, ask yourself if the kind of lobby that you have is representative of the age bracket of the people you want to attend. Or was the furniture put in there by an older generation because that is what they’re comfortable with? Be intentional about your lobby – it is one of the first impressions people will have about you. Make it a good one, a positive one that will make you look good. Spend some money; recruit some young women or men to be the interior decorators for that area (and then tell them to take on your bride’s room if you have one and update it!); AND then, in about 10 years, do it all again with yet new furniture.

Every time you update your look, you directly affect the age of people that come (and come back) to your church.

Lead On!
Steve

Filed Under: buildings, facilities, young adults Tagged: , ,

Building Costs

Posted on August 27, 2012 Written by

An article a few months in a facilities magazine reflected that the true cost of building in not in the architect’s fees, furnishings, or even in the actual construction of the building. The article stipulated that over 80% of costs of a building are in the maintenance and operations of the structure.

Say a building has a lifespan of 50 years. The first year the building is built. The next 49 years the building is used for its purposes. Over the course of the 49 years, the cost of the utilities, maintenance, repairs, improvements, alterations, etc. will cost at least four (4) times as much as the initial construction done in year one. That operations cost (the one over the 49 years) does not include the cost of any personnel associated with that structure: custodians, employees, technicians, etc.

Before (BEFORE) you build a building, look at your budget and your future revenue streams. Does your budget have the financial margin to grow and absorb the cost of a new building. Can you afford the additional utilities and maintenance costs? How will you pay for new heavy equipment and major repairs (e.g., HVAC or a new roof) over the next few decades? (By the way, if you set aside funds 10% of the original building cost into a reserve account to cover those costs, you’ll have enough to cover all major repair costs over the life of that building.) Is your budget healthy enough to add staff to take care of the buildings over its lifespan and ministers to put on programming in that building? Ask these questions ahead of time – you won’t regret it.

Also, before you build, think creatively as to why you’re building. There are some opportunities that if a church is willing to think outside the box, you can leverage a lot of resources. Here are a couple of examples:

  • One church wanted to build a parking deck. Members of a Sunday School class knew that the city also wanted to build a parking deck in that area of town. The city and church worked together – the church provided the land and the city paid for the construction and they got a win/win. The church gets a parking lot it uses for free each Sunday and it didn’t have to pay for the construction; the city got the parking it needed but it didn’t have to buy the land.
  • A church wants to build a recreation center. What if the church worked with a local fitness center: the church offers the land and the fitness center builds the facilities? Church members can use the center for free and the church then has people right next door who may have never gotten near a church – a mission field right next door. And the church didn’t have to find $5 million to build a center and then $200,000 a year to staff the facility.
  • The same could be done with a daycare – collaborate with a respectable day care center to use church faciliites for the benefit of the church, the center, and the community.

Think long-term and think creatively.
Lead On!
Steve

Filed Under: budget, buildings, facilities Tagged: , ,

Who is the Church’s Risk Management Officer?

Posted on May 3, 2012 Written by

Every organization has a risk management officer – someone who is formally or informally charged with ensuring the safety and security of the church and its property, with knowing the church’s personnel and financial policies and insurance limits, and working to reduce its legal liability to almost nothing. Unfortunately, many churches, if not most or perhaps even 99.999%, do not recognize the need to assign this responsibility to someone.

From a legal standpoint, the courts have assigned this responsibilty to someone, the senior pastor. Whether or not the senior pastor realizes this is another matter. If the senior pastor does not want this position, then the senior pastor must formally assign this to someone, whether it is a staff person or a lay person. However, the senior pastor must verify that this job responsibility is being carried out regularly.

Here are some things to check on:

  • Safety issues related to the phyiscal building and grounds regarding things such as tripping hazards, sharp edges, or other things that can harm people
  • Safety items related to the people including background checks on people working with minors, protecting people from known predators who prey on adults and children, removing (by force if necessary) people who come to the church in a threatening manner
  • Building security to make that unauthorized access or use of the building is not happening so that people don’t hide in a building after it is closed to do something illegal or that they can’t get locked inside a room
  • Emergency safety including evacuations and hunkering down depending on the type of emergency such as fire, bomb threats, severe weather, armed intruders, kidnapping, etc.
  • Personnel law to ensure that the church is complying with all laws pertaining to its personnel management to prevent legal action from current or former staff
  • Medical emergencies which require the intervention of trained professionals and what by-standers should do in such a situation
  • Financial policies to make sure that proper laws are being followed so that the church is not exposed to the mismanagement of funds including embezzlement and lawsuits or threats related fiscal management
  • Vehicle inspections and safety so that all church buses and other vehicles are safe, road-worthy, outfitted with good tires, and that brakes, seat-belts and other safety devices are in good working order.
  • Police interaction to keep a good relationship with local law enforcement so that when there is an emergency the police will take a personal, not just professional, interest in the situation and the location.

As I said, the courts have already assigned this responsibility to the senior pastor but most pastors have no idea of this legal burden. Pastors would be very, very wise to sit down with the church’s personnel, finance, legal, and other wise counsel to draft a plan so that all aspects of risk management are covered. This will protect the organization and actually help the organziation be proactive in the instance of an event.

Lead On!
Steve

Filed Under: buildings, church administration, facilities Tagged: , ,

Church Violence Website

Posted on October 23, 2011 Written by

I found a website that deals exclusively with church violence, Church Crime History. I do not know this person so I’m not endorsing it but he has a lot of information and statistics. I believe that his purpose (and mine, frankly) is to make people aware that churches can have violence. Information is always good – information can be used to help members be more aware of what is happening in other churches. Share this resource with whomever you feel it would help to know about this.

Let me encourage church leadership to take some pro-active steps for safety and security. The depth of those actions is dependent on the church’s budget and the perceived potential danger to the church and its people. Some actions won’t cost the church a dime (such as setting up a Safety Officer Team) while others are much more expensive (such as security cameras). It is true that many of the items listed in Church Crime History could never be prevented – no argument there – but some precautions are always a good step in the right direction.

Lead On!
Steve

Filed Under: buildings, church safety, church security, facilities Tagged: , , ,

Church Insurance

Posted on August 28, 2011 Written by

On 9/11/2001, the insurance industry took the largest hit ever – over $40 billion dollars in claims – as a result of the terrorist attacks on the twin towers, the Pentagon and the planes. The insurance industry raised their premiums in an effort to recoup their vast losses – commercial insurance prices rose a lot in 2002 and then stabilized. In an effort to help the insurance industry, Congress also permitted the industry to levy a terrorism fee on new insurance policies (this authorization for this fee expires in 2014). As a result, church’s have been paying more for their commercial property insurance for ten years.

Actually, the price increases for churches are not entirely attributable to 9/11. There were two other series of incidents in the 1990s that exacerbated church insurance premium hikes. The Roman Catholic Church (and other church’s, too) had a series of well publicized pedophilia scandals which then tainted all faith institutions and raised premiums. There were also a number of church vans that tipped over and killed several people. 9/11 was the third of unrelated incidents which affected church insurance.

Since 9/11/2001, every commercial property insurance has carried a terrorism clause and premium. The dollar amount isn’t much and is rarely noted by the policy holder and not often mentioned by the insurance agent. This is a voluntary payment – churches can exempt themselves from paying this by simply stating they do not want this coverage. The coverage is automatic unless the church specifically states it doesn’t want the coverage. Please call your insurance agent and have that coverage removed. In my opinion, churches don’t need it because of the very limited coverage it offers: the terrorist attacks must be perpetrated by US citizens and acknowledged as terrorist acts by Congress are the only ones covered. Therefore, nothing on 9/11 would be covered but the Oklahoma City bombing would be covered.

In recent years I put my church’s insurance contract out to bid. Here’s what I learned. We paid over $42,000 for five consecutive years. In the year that the contract went to bid, the incumbent agent came back with a quote of just over $28,000 – a reduction of 35%. Two other bids came in at the same price so I knew that was a reasonable amount. In December 2010, a year after the initial bidding, I put the contract back out to bid and got back a quote of $24,500 – even more savings. We have shaved about 45% off our insurance contract.

With that savings I paid for a current valuation of the church’s property so that we have an accurate estimate of the worth of the church’s buildings and furnishings. I also got a video inventory of every room, cabinet, closet and office in the church. We made several copies of that video inventory and placed the copies with different people in their homes (away from the church), including our insurance agent. I’m in favor of inventories but not paper ones – when it says “10 chairs” there is no knowing the worth of those chairs. An image of those chairs allows for better accuracy in getting an insurance settlement.

So, please do the following

  1. Call your insurance agent today and delete the terrorism coverage on your church.
  2. Put your church’s insurance contract out to bid as soon as possible. Get at least three quotes and chose the low bidder.
  3. Get a current valuation of your church’s PP&E (property, plant & equipment)
  4. Make a video inventory of your tangible assets and have copies made for several people

Lead On!
Steve

Filed Under: budget, buildings, church finances, facilities Tagged: , , ,

Capital Budgeting

Posted on August 9, 2011 Written by

The List
Every church needs more money for it’s capital projects. Oh, I presume that you have a list of capital needs which means you’ve already done a study of them. If not, here’s what you need to do:

  • Itemize
    • Make a list of every thing you need to do in the next ten years. 10? Yes, because I guarantee you do not have the money do it all this year so you need to have a plan of what you’re going to do over the next decade. Equipment will break down and need to be replaced. Keeping a list of your HVAC (heating, venting, and air conditioning) equipment and what needs to be replaced in the next few years will help you set money aside for those needs.
    • Also, there are things that you don’t see now that you will need in the future. In 1990, no one had any idea of the power of the internet – now it is an indispensable part of every office. Who knows what the next 10 years will bring – be prepared to control the future rather than having the future take control of you.
    • The list needs to items that you know about but also what others see. No one person knows all in a church, consult with others (both staff and lay members) about what should be on the capital needs list.
    • Most capital needs lists are physical plant items: air conditioning units, roofs, paint, furniture, buildings, etc. There is nothing keeping a church from establishing a capital needs list with items related to non-physical needs – items that will help others outside the four walls of the church and/or will enable members to go farther and do more. I wish more capital needs lists had other items such as
      • Endowment or foundation funds: this would be a pool of funds to meet present and future needs of the church whether it is a physical plant need or a ministry need.
      • Mission fund for a specific trip coming up or to take care of a ministry need somewhere else.
  • Prioritize
    • After you’ve got a list, put them in some type of order. The best order is one which indicates their priority for being accomplished – the priority of need. This order is very fluid – some things will drop in priority while others will rise according to the needs of the church at any given time. For instance, new interior signage may drop in priority when people realize that the condition of the children’s furniture warrants more attention and funding.
    • This does not mean that you’ll do the items on the list in that order. Several things may interrupt such as
      • A donor sees something on the list that tickles his or her fancy and the donor decides to take care of that item(s). There are donors like this in every church – let members know about the list and you may be surprised by how many items are “just taken care of.”
      • Some items are so big that you can’t do them in one year; instead, items are taken care of in phases over several years. I’m doing that right now with several items: installing electric shades in the dining room and gym; replacing all copper gutters and downspouts with aluminum ones with gutter guards (so I never have to pay for the gutters to be cleaned again); putting in new windows throughout the church; etc.
  • Monetize
    • Put a dollar figure beside each one. The dollar figure is very much a guess, but an educated one.  Do not spend the time now to get quotes for every item, just take a stab at how much each item will cost (aim a little high, too!). That way, when people see the list, they’ll understand the scope of the needs. Also, if someone wants to “own” one of the items, they’ll know how much to give to the church to cover that specific item.
  • Date-ize
    • Establish goals as to when items will be done.  These dates can be fluid, of course. But if you don’t put some type of date/goal, then it may never get done. Put it on the list with a desired “due by” time frame even it is done piece-meal over several years.
  • Publicize
    • Tell people what the list contains, why items are on the list, ask them for additional items for the capital needs list, be willing to alter the list as needed, and continue to tell people about the list. The more publicity you can create, the better. You’re not “poor-mouthing” the church, just making people aware of items that they may not know about or may have over-looked. Help people be aware of the needs – then they’ll support you in your efforts to meet these capital needs.
    • One of the ways that I make my list available is to put it in a rack just outside my office door. I totally believe in transparency so I make all financial info available to anyone who comes to my office (and a limited amount online at the church’s website). That rack contains four items:
      • The latest audit by the independent audit firm
      • The most recent monthly financial statement
      • The current capital needs list
      • Give away books on stewardship and generosity (The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn and Fields of Gold by Andy Stanley)
    • When a project is underway, let people know what is being done and why it is being done. AND, thank them for their financial gifts which made that work possible. Acknowledge their generosity every way you can whether it is in print or from the platform.
  • Review-ize
    • Every few months (definitely once a year), go over the list. Move things around in priority, re-value items as you have new info about their cost, change the “due by” dates as needed, move items to the bottom “already done” category, etc. The capital needs list is organic – don’t let it be static.

The Money
I tell my vendors that while I cannot afford a new piece of equipment this year, I can pay for it in five years by setting money aside. Where does this money come from? Lots of sources – and that is key: tap various areas of the church’s finances in order to pay for the various projects. Finding different pools of money to do things will let you do more. Here are some examples:

  • Use the church’s reserve funds for things that are needed. That’s what the reserve funds are there for. Don’t deplete the reserve funds, but also don’t let those funds just sit there when they can be used for immediate and/or pressing needs. If necessary for a big project, tap the entire reserve fund with the understanding that the money will be put back if the church ends the fiscal year in the black.
  • If the church ends the fiscal year in the black AND it has fully funded the reserve accounts it needs, then use the excess to pay for capital needs. Make sure that the governing body of the church authorizes this expenditure and as often as possible, let the congregants know about this project and how it was paid for out of their generous gifts to the budget.
  • The church’s foundation was asked for money for the renovation (complete gutting) of the oldest bathrooms in the church. The foundation was informed that the total need is $100,000 and they would be approached five years in a row for $20,000 each year to do this work. The foundation agreed to fund this.
  • The gym needed new equipment. The need was made known to parents during Upward Basketball games and over the course of about 9 months, over $12,000 was received for this need. This money came from people outside the church so these gifts didn’t affect the church’s budget receipts – this was “gravy money” which we would not have received otherwise.
  • Talk about specific needs with various members of the church who you know have the gift of generosity. Twenty years ago a family donated funds to enhance a room in memory of a loved one. The room is increasingly out of date and needs some re-touching. I approached the family and they are more than willing to underwrite the cost of renovations to this room. In fact, I gave the family a ballpark of how much this would cost and they said that money is not a hinderance. They are a wonderful family and example of generosity.

In summary, keep a list (with lots of input), check it twice and thrice, find the money from lots of different pockets, spend the money while you tell people what you’re doing and why, and say “thank you” lots of different ways.

Lead On!
Steve

Filed Under: budget, buildings, church administration, church finances, church financial statements, facilities, leadership Tagged: , , , , , ,
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