Rev. Susan Johnson
Inspired Partnerships
Amazing Space, Volume 4, Number 2, page 2 Spring 1998

Space Sharing From a Pastoral Point of View

In an era in which congregations often have more space than dollars, their offering to share space with local organizations offers the best solution to funding issues and supports the community. Our church began sharing space quite casually; a church member knew of a not-for-profit agency in need of inexpensive space and the fourth floor of our education building went unused. Over the years, many community groups have used our space. We had even made changes to it to suit some of them, such as the boy scouts, Alcoholics Anonymous, and a community theater. We began to consider sharing the expenses of building maintenance and utilities. At first, it was like friends lending to friends, with all of the problems implied. Today, our church shares space with sixteen organizations.

Our experiences do not include or anticipate all that a church or synagogue may go through, but we have developed a short list of principles and policies (some learned the hard way) that guide our behavior and that of our space sharers.

First, you should frankly assess what it cost to run your building, the present resources used to maintain it, and the actual areas of the building used by church programs. Committees will have to plan their calendars further ahead than in the past. Decisions about use of space need to be made before crises occur. The congregation will complain as bitterly as a space-sharer when a scheduling mistake is made.

Space-sharers are not exactly tenants, but will think of themselves as such. Planning should include the expectation that building maintenance and utilities, including simple wear and tear, and even the cost of toilet paper and paper towels, will go up with increased use of the building. It is inevitable that staff time will be devoted to these relationships. You should also remember that the cost of space-sharing may increase over the time of any written agreement. We presently raise our space-sharing costs annually based on the consumer price index, unless we have specific knowledge of a greater increase. Space-sharing is a series of compromises and you will have to be careful not to lose money or restrict your own programming.

The church should have clear space-sharing agreements that include items such as: what space is being shared, what the costs are, what the time period of the agreement is, how either party can terminate the agreement, how late payments will be treated, what insurance (or proof of insurance) space-sharers must have, what rules and policies govern behavior in the building. Programs involving children may require state or city licensing and additional insurance.

It is imperative that a church have rules and policies that govern behavior in the building. Without realizing it, space-sharers are actually counting on the church to set the standards—after all it’s the church’s building. You should formulate a sheet of rules referenced in, and attached to, the space-sharing agreement, so that there are no misunderstandings. Start with the basics: heat, lighting, security, but don’t stop there. A church certainly cares about what signs are put out front, or holes made in the walls, or windows removed for air conditioners, animals allowed in the building, food preparation and storage.

Rules should protect the space-sharer as well. If a group has exclusive use to a space, they should be guaranteed of that. If the space-sharers use space during the week that the church uses on the weekends, the church may want to insist that both groups have locked cabinets for things they care about. Cleanliness is often a very difficult issue. The church would be wise to consider their neighbors. Rules and policies need to be planned with their perceptions in mind, e.g. noise, traffic, parking and deliveries.

Sometimes a church’s space-sharers have higher standards for the building than the church is prepared to meet. They may need to hire their own cleaning staff, or add items, such as an intercom. If a space-sharers work requires something new, it may not be your obligation to provide it — it may even be your prerogative to disallow it. Occasionally, a long-term and trusted space-sharer will allow you do things with your building that you could not have done otherwise, such as redecorating, adding appliances, or even increase handicapped accessibility. All of these types of changes should always be dealt with in writing.

Religious institutions are agents for social change; they are also caretakers of the community. Where congregations are active in their communities, their neighborhoods deal better with all kinds of social change. Where these religious organizations have been closed or decreased their role in the community, these areas are at greater risk of deterioration and upheaval. For the sake of our mission and the well-being of our human community — it is well worth the effort to share our buildings.