As church recreation centers become a growing trend throughout the state, many Alabama Baptists are facing the possibility of adding these facilities to their church campuses.
However, building experts advise churches to carefully and prayerfully consider whether they truly need a recreation facility and to proceed with ample planning before beginning construction.
In “Guidebook for Planning Church Recreation Facilities,” John Garner and Wendell T. Newman write, “Many churches jump into brick and mortar too soon. A great deal of stewardship is involved in projecting any church building. Church leaders are obligated to the church membership to make judgments based on available information.”
To ensure the best use of church resources, Garner and Newman recommend that church leaders consult a professional with experience in building church recreation facilities.
“Too many leaders transfer their authority from their professional areas and assume expertise in the building process where they have no training or experience,” they wrote.
“Without consultation with experienced recreation building administrators, without proper ministry orientation and without the stabilizing element of an established program, a building often becomes a burden instead of a blessing,” Garner and Newman wrote.
“A properly launched, ministry-oriented program, on the other hand, can become the foundation on which a building is built.”
Early in the planning process, Garner and Newman advise churches to consider the following principles:
–Count the cost.
Before beginning any building project, churches should consider the costs of construction, operation, maintenance, salaries and benefits, liabilities and insurance, supplies, equipment and program budget, Garner and Newman suggested in their book.
Gary Swafford, director of new work and church building services at the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions, concurred.
“A recreation facility will also increase your utility bill because that big space requires a lot of heating and cooling,” he said. “It will also demand additional leadership and in many cases hiring staff.”
–Develop a church property master plan.
–Make sure you really need a special recreation building. “You should not expect a recreation building to do what members may not be doing without the building,” Garner and Newman wrote. “The recreation building should be a natural extension of other ministries for achieving the purposes of the church.”
Swafford said, “A church should build a recreation center after they already have some activities going on in the church that indicate that they need a building for those activities.”
–Learn from other churches’ experiences.
Garner and Newman encourage church leaders to consult other churches about their recreation facilities. “Learn from their mistakes and achievements,” they wrote. “Review as many situations as possible, consider their suggestions and develop your own concept of ministry within a facility.”
–Designate someone to be responsible for the facility.
“Churches need to have personnel designated to lead any program or activities that will take place in the new space, and have those programs and activities already started,” Swafford stated.
–Incorporate the necessary building blocks for maximum ministry.
Garner and Newman wrote that prior programming, proper staffing, right timing, ministry concept of church recreation, vision of leadership and financial ability are the foundation that ultimately determine the ministry potential of the recreation center.
“The number of people in the planning process, the size of the ministry before construction and the leader’s ability to program, delegate and involve people also will affect ministry potential,” they said.
–Remember that form follows function.
“The facility’s design needs to be appropriate to suit the activities that are planned for the space,” Swafford added.
Professional advice
“Think of church recreation as a tool, method or support ministry (of the church), not as a separate program. It is used by a church as a tool to reach people with the gospel, build a fellowship of the church and disciple persons through ministry. As a method, church recreation includes many activities such as retreats, banquets, all-church picnics, intramural and league sports, fitness classes, camping, drama and crafts to support the church program. As a support ministry, church recreation helps build and complement Sunday School, Discipleship Training, missions, music organization and pastoral ministry.”
John Garner, Wendell Newman
“Guidebook for Planning Church Recreation Facilities”
Consider reasons not to build
In the excitement of preparing to build, churches may miss one important consideration: reasons not to build.
From following the crowd to getting ahead of themselves, churches may find themselves beginning needless building projects for the wrong reasons.
Following are some of the most common — and detrimental — reasons churches choose to build.
Everybody has one — The church down the street did it, and we have to keep up.
Crisis cure-all — Our church is struggling financially or having problems in the fellowship.
Maybe a gym will bring in more people and thereby more money, or at least unify our membership and help us overcome dissension in the ranks.
Cart before the horse — We’ll build the building, then get someone to run it and do the programming.
Our community needs recreation — Be careful that you do not feel responsible to make up for the lack of recreational facilities in the community. The church is commissioned to reach, teach, win and develop people for Christ. Recreation should always be used as a method to achieve the purposes of the church.
Let’s do something for our youth — Youth will enjoy an adult building. Adults will not relate as well to youthful building decor. The majority of drop-ins will be adults.
Sports-only mind-set — Church recreation is more than sports.
We will win souls — If you don’t have an evangelistic church now, a recreation facility will not make it evangelistic in the future.
Source: John Garner and Wendell T. Newman, “Guidebook for Planning Church Recreation Facilities” 2nd Edition, LifeWay Church Resources Group
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