Leasing Out Facilities

Question: We have a church that rents from us weekly. We have taken precautions in terms of insurance, but are there other things we should require?

Answer: There are Facility Use Agreement forms developed by the Foursquare denomination for that purpose. Additionally, we require that they follow all of our other safety rules especially related to childcare. All we need is to see on the evening news…“We have discovered that a child was molested at Grace Covenant Church last evening.” The news reporter won’t think to mention that the group had nothing to do with the church or that they were just using the facilities as a meeting place. It will be our reputation that is ruined.

However, don’t just say “no” either. That is almost too easy. Stewardship of facilities is a balancing act. Don’t forget that to win our communities, we must serve our communities. We can serve them and require that they work with our guidelines.