IT CAN'T WAIT - DEFERRED MAINTENANCE ACCELERATES CHURCH DEMISE

Deferred maintenance is the practice of postponing maintenance activities such as repairs on both real property and personal property in order to save costs, meet budget funding levels, or realign available budget monies. The failure to perform needed repairs could lead to asset deterioration and ultimately asset impairment. --wikipedia

One of the hallmark signs of a church in trouble is a growing list of facility repairs which are not being addressed. It's easy to understand that choosing to repair an air-conditioner, roof or other major system vs. paying the pastor, keeping Sunday services going, funding missionaries can feel like an impossible choice. 

TICKING TIME BOMBS
WATER: If you talk to any contractor, builder, insurance agent or realtor they will tell you this - water (where it's not supposed to be) is your enemy. The reality is this, every house and building (aside from the newly built) has water issues at some point. Practicing due diligence in tracking down water intrusions and leaks is absolutely mandatory. Pay attention to your life and doctrine, also pay attention to your roof. 

HVAC: These are some of the most costly repairs a church will face. Our forebears worshipped without AC, God bless them-they would tell us they would have loved to have it in their churches. They didn't go without heat. Unless you live in a temperate climate you're gonna need both the ability to warm and cool your gathering spaces. Unfortunately I can count on my own hands and a couple of extra deacon's hands the number of churches who have been taken down by the lack of AC and Heat. Closing off one part of the building, retreating to a smaller area due to HVAC issues is often putting one whole foot + leg into the casket. 

MOLD: Why do churches smell they way they do? I used to think it was all the old accumulated SS literature and plastic flowers and those N'illa wafer cookies handed out in kids sunday school. Most likely it's likely due to the previous mentioned elements (water and lack of climate control) and what happens when heat and water mix over time - Mold. Will you encounter mold? Yes, it's not a matter of if, but when. As well, don't be paralyzed by mold in your facility. Get a contractor, a remediation specialist and attack that mold, remove it, get it gone. I was always amazed at this passage in Leviticus, they took mold seriously.   

PAINT: We are currently in the market for housing, one of the obvious elements that speaks to the overall integrity of a home and the care it has received is the external condition of the structure, of which, the condition of the paint is telling. Peeling or absent paint communicates a message whether it's on the eves of the structure, the siding or the concrete steps leading to the front entrance - paint tells passers by a story about your church. Here's a tip, paint anything that doesn't require a ladder, hire out the rest. 

FEELING OVERWHELMED?
By now you might be feeling that bringing your church facilities up to acceptable standards or even addressing safety and security and climate control issues are fundamentally beyond your capacity, your expertise or your financial reserves. Good, I'm glad you are at this place. Let me ask, what do you think God wants to do? Do you imagine that he wants your church to stay like it is for years? Is He glorified by a dilapidated, broken down and somewhat unusable house of worship? What about a crumbling and derelict facility confirms the power of the gospel? I think we both know that answer - it might help you to actually say it out loud, nothing.

CHOOSING TO DO SOMETHING
Now that we are to the place of honesty and we've said it out loud it's time to act. Unfortunately, ​leaders caught in this dilemma often choose inaction, not intentionally but because they can't see their way out. Here are some practical suggestions on what to do:

1. Make a list of necessary and required repairs - things that have to be addressed to safely and comfortably use the facilities. 

2. Create a list of "desired" repairs - these are the lists of things that you would like to see taken care of and address, non critical to space usage but nice to have complete.

3. Call the Contractors and Count the cost - after you get the lists together, divided into necessary and critical repairs get bids for repairs. Last time I checked, most (not all) bids are free. Too many churches have thousands of dollars in reserves waiting for a "rainy" day. Hey guys, it's raining! It's time to release those funds according to the greatest priority needs, don't let the church crumble and die with money in the bank. 

TRUST GOD AND TAKE ACTION
Some churches have enough means to address their facility issues - great, let's get it done. Other churches after counting the costs realize they do not have the level of reserves and income to survive their circumstances financially. Those in this place face a difficult choice, they are at a crossroads. 

THREE OPTIONS AT THE CROSSROADS
1. Partner with another church - I live in a city where church plants are in desperate need of space. Likely, due to the fact that most of our area in the urban/suburban region is already built out, and facility costs are so high, they won't find space/land/buildings affordable to them under 10 years. But there are countless existing spaces, debt free, occupied by congregations who need what these church plants have: people, momentum, children, money.  The repair costs may be too high for an existing church in decline, but those costs are significantly lower than the purchase price of a comparable facility for the growing church.  Understand this: the repair costs for a deteriorated facility which can be restored and redeemed are substantially lower than the purchase price of the same building in today's market.

2. Donate the building to your Association, State Convention, Multiplying Church: any one of the aforementioned would gladly assist in stewarding your church property toward its intended purpose of being a gospel outpost in the community. They have the energy, knowledge and connections to preserve the ministry in that location, to see your facilities redeemed for God's glory. 

3. Stay where you are as you are: In listing this as an option please don't read this as an endorsement and affirmation that it is a viable choice to do nothing. I write this recalling several churches and their leaders in my mind's eye.  They know the facts, they are fully aware of their predicament and still, they choose to do nothing. Why? I wish I could fully understand, but even if I did, I'm not sure I could change their thinking or their decisions.  While I'm tempted to express a multitude of thoughts, recite a cogent list of arguments, point out the dangers and coming realities related to inaction, doing so to ears that won't hear is futile. 

PLEASE PRAY - FERVENTLY
I know of too many churches who are stuck and stranded in their fears, stymied by the thought of the church as they've known it ending under their watch. I know of well intentioned Trustees, Committee Members and Lay Leaders who have taken the viability of the church upon their shoulders rather than allowing God to care for it and lead it toward the future. They are weary, fearful and protective. Their ire and anger flash at anyone who suggests a future that threatens or suggests it's time to let go and let God.  They stymie, pocket veto and obfuscate all reasonable attempts to bring the church into a better place and toward vitality. They can't be reasoned with, I've tried. That's why I'm asking you to pray earnestly for God to move in them,  move them on or remove them as the roadblocks to Gospel Advance.