What are the ten bonus benefits a church enjoys while portable?
In our most recent resource, we talked about some of the kryptonite that multisite churches can face and how to handle all of those roadblocks. We also talk about how portability could be the right thing for your next campus. Here are some very convincing reasons to consider doing church portably and why you can have a great deal of confidence. (We narrowed it down, there are way more than listed!)
1. New Ministry With No Debt
As established, of all the facility options, portability has the lowest capital investment entry requirement and cashflow expense. It also has low ongoing expense. Any issues that arise with your facility such as flooding, electrical, heating or cooling, etc.those fixes are not on your church to fix. Which is a HUGE cost saving in the long run. You can see a more detailed outline in our resource Facility Cost Comparison Matrix.
2. Inherent Flexibility Within the Facility and Community
Within your portable space, there is usually a lot of room for growth. One way we see this is if your worship space becomes too full, you could broadcast your service to another room in the facility. Additionally, you can add more kids ministries in other rooms as you begin to use more of the space that is available. Another option that you can always take advantage of is alternate rentable facilities within the same community. These options for various spaces is a great benefit to portability.
3. Opportunity To Set New Expectations
The portable church environment allows church leaders to reframe one’s view of “church.” This typically applies to new attendees, especially those who are irreligious or “re-churching.” Engagement in community and growing deeper with a biblical world view can be newly modeled and expected as the church continues to grow.
4. Early/Exponential Growth
Permanent walls can create a sense of being settled and relaxed about the mission, increasing the challenge of leaders trying to mobilize the church. On the other hand, portable churches lend themselves to members feeling as though they are part of a “movement” and everyone involved is “on mission.” Because of this, it is easier for you church to grow from the start and continue to grow.
5. Allows For “soft failures” vs “hard/permanent failures”
If you fail in a portable environment it is not as big of a hit as it is when a permanent environment does. That’s not to say that no portable churches fail, because some do. And here are some common reasons a portable church launch eventually fails:
- Lack of clarity in terms of vision
- Underestimating the work involved in building momentum
- Chaotic on-site delivery
- Not setting volunteers up for success
- Settling for an “it’ll do” attitude, which typically looks like underfunding the portable campus
At Portable Church Industries, we are here to help that not happen.
6. High Volunteer Commitment
Portable churches have volunteers with more “buy-in” to the church’s mission/vision. Being deeply integrated into teams fosters great community and allows members to feel needed in fulfilling the vision of the launch. Also, you will get volunteers who don’t typically have a “fit” to serve in brick and mortar churches as they do in “portable” roles. These are people who don’t want to be a greater or work in the kids’ ministry but would rather work with their hands and set up your service.
7. Deepening the Development of People
This begins with a deep sense of community, widening the entry to leadership pipeline, and developing new homegrown leaders who know and live the established culture of the community.
8. Low/No Significant Thresholds to Overcome
People comfortably and frequently visit local schools, YMCA’s, movie theaters and community buildings. This makes it easier for the unchurched to go into that environment.
9. A Much Needed Solution
Your portable campus can become a desperately needed solution in a community. Thom Rainer says, “Since the church is not the building but the people, lasting impact and engagement should not be dependent on brick and mortar. Very few people will say they became engaged with a church because of the facility. And while a building can be a powerful branding tool, it is an expensive one!”
10. Insider Perspective vs. Outsider Guessing
A season of portability helps determine the dynamics of a church’s next step. When the vantage point is from within a community a church is ministering to, it has the significant advantage of understanding exactly where it should land in terms of a 24/7 facility. Educated guesses can be done from surrounding communities or regions, but better decisions can be made from within the neighborhood after you’ve spent some years in it portably.
