Almost 30 years ago, Rowland Crowder wrote that it was “the rare exception for a church to plan repeated use of its rooms on Sunday and extensive use during the week.”
In his book, “Designing Church Buildings for Southern Baptist Churches,” he also noted that due to the “high cost of construction, escalating interest rates, increasing utility rates and the possibility of a real energy crisis … the day is probably gone forever when a church can really afford to build separate space for so many of its programs.”
As predicted, hundreds of Alabama Baptist churches today are not only offering multiple programs in their buildings, but also are sharing buildings with other language and ethnic groups to impact their community.
In doing so, they fulfill the Great Commission and apply good stewardship principles in managing church finances, experts say.
“As a church grows beyond its capacity, it should give serious consideration to offering multiple services,” said Gary Swafford, director of church planting and building services at the Alabama State Board of Missions.
“It is not only more cost efficient but it also meets the needs of our changing society. With our 24/7 lifestyle many people prefer alternate schedules,” he said.
In addition, dual services allow the church to offer different styles of worship that may appeal to different segments of society, Swafford added.
Even in existing facilities, many churches offer multiple services to delay or save money for future construction, experts say.
“As an expedient measure to accommodate rapid growth many churches have gone to multiple Sunday School sessions and worship services,” T. Lee Anderton wrote in “Church Property/Building Guidebook.”
“The discovery that this works, people like it and there are no insurmountable problems have led more and more churches to decide it is the best stewardship of financial and material resources, and the best way to reduce energy consumption and high utility bills,” he said.
Gwenn McCormick, author of “Planning and Building Church Facilities,” found that “churches conducting dual services can accommodate up to 85 to 90 percent more people in the same amount of space.
“Think of the significant savings that could be achieved by scheduling dual services,” he wrote. “Consider the fact that much of an average church building is used less than three hours per week. Does that represent the best stewardship of resources?”
But despite the many spiritual and financial benefits of dual services, some Alabama Baptist church leaders are reluctant to offer such programs fearing a negative response from their congregation.
Still, experts advise every church to consider it as a building and design option and address potential problems in the church through open and honest discussions.
“The pressing needs for missions support, ministry resources and personnel call church leaders to serious and prayerful evaluation of all plans for new buildings,” McCormick wrote. “This is especially true when the plans involve high interest payments that could be avoided by scheduling dual services for several years.”
In addition to dual services, churches can achieve greater operational efficiency by designing and building multiuse and multipurpose facilities, according to professionals.
“Churches utilizing these space concepts can reduce by as much as 20 percent the total amount of space required for a single-use space design,” McCormick wrote.
“That can cut the cost of construction by 15 to 20 percent. It can also significantly reduce maintenance and operational costs.”
Before a church adds additional activities, they should make sure they will meet community needs.
“The first thing a church should do is take an internal look to determine their strengths,” Swafford said.
“The next step is to determine the needs of the community. Then, they are ready to adopt a plan of action that will focus on meeting two or three of these needs.”
He added, “Practical application of Christianity gives meaning and satisfaction to one’s faith and at the same time helps the church be better stewards of their time and facilities.”
Therefore, Swafford strongly recommends that all churches try to find multiple uses for their buildings.
“In the 21st century, we need to intentionally have multiple activities in our buildings because we can reach more people with less money,” he said. “We can offer a wider range of opportunities and services to the community at very little additional operational expense.”
As Alabama Baptists attempt this type of ministry, many are seeing tremendous success in their efforts, according to Swafford.
“In some cases the church is becoming a center of activity for the community,” he said. “For example, some of our churches have higher attendance on Wednesday nights than on Sunday because children and youth from the community are offered the opportunity to interact in a Christian environment and learn Christian principles.”
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