We're nearing the end of this series on ways churches can present themselves better to visitors. Today, we're looking at the facilities.
Make sure your facilities are clean, safe and sound. That probably means you’ll need to do some repairs or install hand rails, ramps and easier to open doors. Visitors may never utilize some things, but if I’m checking out a church to attend, I know I will feel better knowing grandma will be able to make it in and around the building.
Safety is a huge issue that most churches tend to ignore. We use our budget (or lack of one) as the excuse for not funding the repairs or safety features. We may save on the budget today, but a preventable injury due to our negligence will bust our budgets and bank account.
But, safety doesn’t end there. Check out your children’s areas. Are drawers, electrical outlets and restrooms childproofed? I’ve seen many that aren’t. This is trouble that has found the place to happen. It’s just waiting for a willing participant.
Security is also an often overlooked issue. I wrote earlier in this series about a proper check-in set up for kids, but let’s expand security elsewhere. Churches tend to get as much right on this as they do wrong, regardless of size. There should always be someone watching your parking lot during services to ensure vehicles are protected. It wouldn’t take a thief but one or two visits to realize whether or not the parking lot is being watched during the service.
The same goes for your office area. Some buildings have the office area locked off where the public can’t get to them, but many others have the offices along the same hallways as classrooms and restrooms. When those wooden doors are closed for service, someone could be rummaging through your offices unnoticed. Finally, one thing that got a church I once attended robbed was the failure to properly check all classrooms.
One evening, a thief snuck into the building during service, pretended to head to the restroom, but slipped into a classroom and locked the door. The last security run through before locking up for the night didn’t find anything but empty rooms or locked doors. Later that night, the thief emerged and busted into the church office.
Finally, make sure your facilities are clean. Most churches I’ve visited do a good job of keeping things clean, but it doesn’t take much for the picky visitor to not want to return. It could be food or scrap paper on the floor. It might be smelly restrooms.
Cleanliness is next to Godliness, but an unclean church will be a big turnoff to your guests.
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