I am passionate about facility stewardship (a term that I believe better describes what we commonly call “facility management”). I like to challenge churches with the concept that our facilities were entrusted to us by God to steward over, just like money. Facility stewardship/management is a task. A role. It is something we do. Something we manage/steward. Something we hire people to perform. It is what we do. But I am afraid I may not have made a good enough case as to why we do it. Have you ever been asked, “What do you do?” Me too. I am constantly asked what our company does, and I usually fumble through a diatribe that puts the questioner to sleep. As inquisitive humans, we are constantly seeking to understand what people, companies, churches, etc. do. While that may be an important part of evaluating your need to engage in an activity or with an organization, it should be the byproduct of a much more significant question.

There is a much more telling question that should be asked. WHY? Why do you do what you do? When consulting with our church clients, we strive to understand this question. We spend a significant amount of time and energy with our clients to explore this. And for them to answer, “Because we love people and love God,” is not really specific enough. Why are you a church, and why do you do things the way you do? That is where the rubber meets the road. In his book, Start with Why, Simon Sinek makes a very compelling argument as to why this question should be the starting point for any organization. He says, “WHY: Very few people or companies can clearly articulate WHY they do WHAT they do. When I say WHY, I don’t mean to make money - that’s a result. By WHY I mean what is your purpose, cause or belief? WHY does your company exist? WHY do you get out of bed every morning? And WHY should anyone care?” That really challenged me.

So what are the right why reasons to be intentional and diligent with your Facility Stewardship/Management of your church facilities? Before we answer that question, let’s make sure we understand what facility management is and is not. A good layman’s definition is: Facilities management is the integration of processes within an organization to maintain and develop the agreed services that support and improve the effectiveness of its primary activities.

In a church, those “primary activities” are to minister to the community, minister to the congregation, reach the lost, provide a safe place for people to meet God, etc. In that context, facility management is not merely cleaning floors and taking out the trash, although those may be subsets of the act of facility management. Too often, churches think that because they have

a maintenance person or a custodian, that they are performing “facility management.” Not so. You may be allocating a person to perform activities that need to be led by a facility manager as a part of a broader facility management initiative, but those tasks are not the crux of facility management.

Here are some examples of the right why reasons for your church to be proactive with facility management:

1. God entrusted these facilities to you. They are His, and He expects us to be diligent.

2. All of God’s physical creation will deteriorate and will need care and/or replacement. This is inevitable. There is no escaping this reality.

3. Facility-related expenditures are generally the second largest line item in a church budget, only after staffing.

4. We should be considerate of the health, safety, and wellbeing of the staff, congregation, and guests who use our facilities.

5. Maintaining facilities is a perpetual activity, not a one-and-done job.

6. Operational costs (utilities, maintenance, janitorial) make up about 80% of the total cost of ownership of your church facility over a period of time.

7. Your facility tells a story. What story will it communicate to your guests? One of care and attention or one of a lack of attention? Mark Waltz of Grainger Community states, “When your guests are distracted from the real purpose of their visit to your church, you’ll have a difficult

time re-engaging them. In order for people to see Jesus, potential distractions must be identified and eliminated.” The condition of your facility can be such a distraction.

8. Facilities were intended to facilitate activities. What would happen if your facility was not fully operational? Would it impact your ministries? How many Sundays could your church go without A/C in the worship center in the middle of August?

9. If your home was in disarray, falling apart, had stained carpet or peeling paint, would you be proud to invite people to come over? If you are like me (and maybe I am weird), those things bother me. I do not feel good about myself when my house is not what it could be or should be. Not perfect… just intentionally cared for.

If you have been tasked with the care, longevity, maintenance, life cycle, and/or management of your church facilities, you need to take it seriously. Take a minute to read Numbers 3:14-38. Pay specific attention to the fact that it was the Levites, the priests, who were assigned to care for the temple. It was not people at the bottom of the food chain. It was not the unqualified or the lowest paid. It was the priests, those set apart to do God’s service. God ordained His chosen priests to manage the “facilities.” According to this Scripture, there were facility management and facility managers in charge of these tasks before there were youth pastors, children’s pastors, IT directors, media directors, and so on. Facility management is important. Understanding your why for the what will give you the motivation and fortitude to make it a priority.

— Tim Cool

(Originally published in the NOV 2016 Magazine)