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Portable Church Venue Choice | What To Look For In A School Part One
December 21, 2015

So, you’ve made the choice to make your church a portable church, and, in our opinion, you’ve made a great choice! Your next step will be to decide where your portable church will create its sacred space. Your choice of venue will impact what kind of equipment, resources, and storage you will need. We’ve seen churches meet in a wide variety of unique venues, but the most common venue choices tend to be schools, hotels, and theaters. In this series, we will explore what to look for in each of these venues in order to make the best decision for you and your church. So here we go with the first subject to address. 

Does the school have the space you need?

The right school venue for your portable church should have enough space for your congregation to do life and ministry together. We’ve found that schools tend to have several options for these purposes…here are some things to be on the lookout for:

Auditorium

While gymnasium rentals often have a lower rent, meeting in the school auditorium often costs less in the long run due to existing seating, staging, and light control. The previous mentioned things coupled with the venue being designed specifically for performances make them a great choice. An important variable with auditoriums is developing a relationship with the drama teacher who views the auditorium as his or her domain. Even if you have been approved by the school board, things can get very difficult for you if your plans do not line up with the drama teacher’s agenda.

Gym or Cafeteria

Not every school has an auditorium. But that’s okay! Plenty of churches meet in the gymnasium or cafeteria (or in of those gymna-cafe-torium combos). It is important to consider seating and staging as those are items where costs can add up quickly, even more so if you have to pay for storage of these items. Floor coverings may also be required by the school, and if the school does not have any for you to use, they can be a large additional cost, both financially and in volunteer time. These types of rooms also typically have large windows which can lead to issues with lighting and projection. All these things can be worked around, but at some expense. It’s also important to keep in mind that some of these ‘issues’ can also be turned into big wins for both you and the school!

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Lobby/Welcome Area

Is the lobby tiny or spacious? Some schools may not even have a lobby. Consider if it is big enough to capture the vision for your visitors experience with coffee, kid registration, welcome areas, etc. If you aren’t using the cafeteria as a meeting space, you could potentially use it as a welcome area. If worship is in a Gym/Cafeteria, using hallways or empty areas can work well, too. Be on the lookout for even small ‘bump-outs’ that can be turned into a cafe or social area.

Children’s Space

When selecting your children’s area, you need to consider security and safety. It is best to find a space that can be blocked off from the main meeting areas for an extra level of security. Also, will the children have access to their own bathrooms? A favorite of most, if the school allows, is to use different classrooms for different age groups. This option is great in creating a defined space and is often best for acoustics. However, it also means being particular about clearing or rearranging the classroom, moving classroom property, and making sure children are safe from potential hazards (power sources, monitors, cables, etc.). Children’s areas also work great in the cafeteria or gym, as these spaces offer large areas and can easily be secured.

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This is a broad overview of the main areas your church will use when using a school. Most any space you choose can be made to work, however, each area has drawbacks to consider. Keep in mind that each drawback typically comes with a financial and/or human resource expense. Our goal in this series is to help you choose wisely! Next week, we’ll be talking about some other location considerations you should have when choosing a school for your portable church.

No one gets excited about these little details like we do. We are truly church-planting and portability nuts. This series has a ton of details, but still only touches on the things you should lookout for. We love these details and exist so that you don’t have to spend all of your time worrying about them. Instead, we want you and your team to be able to focus on building your church and inspiring the people you serve. Tap into over twenty years of experience in turning any type of venue into an incredible worship and community space. What kind of venue will you be meeting in? Contact us and see how we can help!

To learn more about what to look for in a venue, check out these posts: 

More Location Considerations

Does the school have the resources and equipment you need?

What kind of control will you have with your venue?

Availability and Accessibility