6 Smart Portable Church Equipment Questions to Clarify Your Game Plan

Cubic volume, weight, and assembly make a difference in portable church equipment.

Church leaders wear a lot of hats. Let’s not add the role of portable church equipment master to the list. 

And yet, if you’re ready to create a portable environment, you need a game plan for your equipment solutions. Whether you’re planting a church, launching a new campus, selling a too-small facility, or shifting to another building after the pandemic impact, you need smart, fast, trusted ways to build your unique, portable solution. 

Whatever the reason, your vision is to reach more people with the message of Jesus, and you know that LED boards, folding chairs, and trailers are the means to the end. 

Portability is one of the most cost-effective ways to expand or plant and it creates ideal circumstances for development and outreach. Are you ready to turn temporary venues into powerful environments and compelling experiences every week? 

PORTABLE CHURCH EQUIPMENT CONSIDERATIONS

The list of considerations when becoming a portable church is robust and — for many — intimidating. We talk to church leaders every day who tell us they just “didn’t know” what they didn’t know.

Today is the moment you get in the “know.” When you work through our six critical questions, you’ll have the information you need to make wise decisions regarding your game plan for portable church equipment. 

Cutting through the noise will get you and your team closer to achieving your goal of reaching people and expanding the Kingdom in your community — both within your walls and outside of your rented facility. 

The key is to go portable wisely. 

These questions will help.

6 Portable Church Equipment Questions To Clarify Your Game Plan

Question #1: What’s Your Weight Limit?

Does that question give you images of a UHaul pulling an RV? 

While churches do need to consider trailer load limits, we’re thinking more in terms of the weight limit for your volunteers. 

Basically, you need to make sure the weight of your gear is something an average person can set up and use. 

First, choosing lightweight, safe equipment demonstrates that you’ll go above and above to look after volunteers, the men and women who will be setting up and breaking down your equipment weekly. It communicates that you value their service. 

Second, you want to avoid injuries at all costs! Not everyone on your team is a CrossFit phenom. 

As for the trailer load limit, churches are always amazed at how quickly the gear weight adds up. For example, consider trailer weight and gear cases when calculating max. 

In this related article, learn more about weight limit and find questions to drive your choices.

Choose lightweight equipment when starting your portable church environment. Not everyone on your team is a CrossFit phenom. Click To Tweet

Question #2: What is Your Cubic Volume Limit?

When building out or church planting, don’t make the mistake of so many that have come before you and hyperfocus on economics while overlooking the practicality and usability of the equipment. 

Steward your finances wisely, but choose gear that is safe, efficient, professional, and easy to use. 

For example, one church we assisted struggled with the decision to purchase less expensive chairs that looked just as nice as the higher-priced ones that were just slightly larger. 

After doing some projections, it was clear that spending extra on the higher-priced chairs would be cheaper in the long run when you compare the cost to two other factors: 

• Extra storage space would need to be rented for the larger (but cheaper) chairs
• Additional trailer trips from storage to the facility to accommodate the increased cubic footage. 

Once the numbers were run, the decision was simple. 

The reality is that your values when choosing portable church equipment will likely differ from your values in a permanent space.  

Work through a sample space-to-cost ratio in this article and learn more about cubic volume. 

The reality is that your values when choosing portable church equipment will likely differ from your values in a permanent space. Click To Tweet

Question #3: Is the gear easy to use?

Imagine transporting, moving, setting up, and tearing down the same set of equipment every week.

Now, consider doing the same actions with the same equipment in 6 inches of snow or on a 116* day.

The highest principle to consider when choosing portable equipment is the ease of use for your set-up team. 

You might find a great backdrop, but the grommets are constantly popping out. One Sunday, you notice your team members giving each other the side-eye and avoiding the job of hanging that piece. Was it worth the cost and likeability factor? 

Here’s the ultimate Pro Tip:

Everything benefits from having an efficient system — from morale to the bottom line to potential church plants or campuses for your new church.

Learn how to avoid highly complex systems and get more tips for functional equipment. 

Retain your team: The Secret to Excellence and Volunteer Retention in Portable Churches

Everything benefits from having an efficient system — from morale to the bottom line to potential church plants or campuses for your new church. Click To Tweet

Question #4: Is The System Reproducible? 

Since most church plants or new campuses will be in a rented facility like a school or community center, your process must be reproducible. Can this entire process be done again and again and again? 

Will the equipment move and pack quickly, install easily, and tolerate the weekly wear and tear? If so, then you have a reproducible system. This goes for everything from the nursery gates to the AVL equipment.

Furthermore, you are set up for a strong return on your investment since this will mean minimal damage to your equipment, reduced man-hours, and — bonus — happier volunteers. Talk about a win-win!

Think ROI when you choose a reproducible portable church solution. This means minimal damage to your equipment, reduced man-hours, and — bonus — happier volunteers. Win-win. Click To Tweet

TWO MORE QUESTIONS TO DRIVE YOUR PLAN

In the last questions driving your game plan for portable church equipment, you’ll explore ways to break down barriers for first-time guests based on our decades of experience and the “do” and “don’t” testimonials from thousands of churches who have walked this road. 

Also, you’ll uncover innovative ways to empower volunteers for the church’s mission. It’s an amazing sight to behold when a team of volunteers is enthusiastic about their 5:30 AM wakeup because they understand the bigger picture. We can help you cast that vision when you work through Question #6. 

To dive into those last two considerations, head to our resource page and download (totally free!) our e-book. The e-book will give you a one-stop-shop for the 6 principles to consider when choosing portable church equipment and help you decide which values to prioritize as you create your game plan.

What did we miss? What questions have helped you drive your efforts for going portable?