Archive for Space – Page 3

Space: A Big Growth Barrier

By Mark Miller · Comments (1)
Thursday, April 26th, 2012

Winston Churchill remarked  concerning the rebuilding of England on October 23 1945, “We shape our buildings and afterwards our buildings shape us.”  As Sunday School Specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Convention, one of my favorites opportunities is to consult with churches about space.  Space really does shape a church’s ministries and can determine their growth

Recently, I have consulted with two different churches. One of these churches averages 800 in worship and 500 in Sunday School and the other averages 100 in worship and 82 in Sunday School. Both of these churches have buildings that were built in the last 10 years.  When shaping their buildings, they opted for a maximum number of classrooms and built classrooms for children of approximately 200 square feet.  Their building has shaped their ministry and as families have been reached put a squeeze on the space.  Praise the Lord that both of these churches are growing and are determined to not let space determine their growth.

Some Sunday School classes get satisfied because they have a full classroom.  When every classroom isutilized, organizations can become stagnant and new classes are no longerconsidered.  Both should be unacceptable when it keeps the church from fulfilling God’s purpose of reaching their communities for Christ.  Three types of space have to be balance: Parking, Education, and Worship.

All space problems can be solved.  Yes it might mean reorganizing, rethinking, or relocating, but they can be solved. Examine your space by answering the following questions:

  1. What traditional classrooms are available?
  2. Are there rooms such as closets, kitchens,
    offices that could be adapted for use temporarily or permanently?
  3. Could you swap smaller classes in larger rooms
    with larger classes in smaller rooms?
  4. Are their adjacent community buildings, schools,
    or houses?
  5. Have you considered utilizing the existing space
    twice by starting a second or third Sunday School hour?
  6. Is it time to build additional space for
    growth?
  7. Would starting off campus or weekdays groups provide
    a legitimate alternative to Sunday morning
    Sunday School and worship?

Remember the building simply houses the programs that allow the people to accomplish the purpose of God.   Don’t let space keep your church from fulfilling God’s purpose.

_________________________

Dr. Mark Miller, Sunday School Specialist, Tennessee Baptist Convention. Mark also has his own blog at http://drmarkmiller.wordpress.com/

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Categories : Space, Space and Facilities, Sunday School

Basic Classroom Space Principles

By Tom Belew · Comments (0)
Wednesday, January 25th, 2012

The kind and quality of space for a class or department has a significant impact on overall success of the class. At a minimum space should be clean, attractive and large enough for the current attendance plus a few guests. Age-appropriate furniture and equipment should be in the room depending on the classes or departments using the space. The following chart provides some basic guidelines for the amount of space needed per person by groups:

Access to space is another important concern. Parents with preschoolers and older adult need the space to be convenient to parking, with ground level access.

Adult and student rooms are best painted in soft, neutral colors with a color accent wall or trim. Carpet is the preferred floor covering. The room needs a focal wall with a whiteboard or chalkboard, as well as, chairs for participants and table(s) if there is adequate space. The focal wall needs open space for posters. There should be a cabinet or open shelf for basic supplies. It is a good idea to have a few extra Bibles in the room.

Preschool and children’s rooms are best painted in soft, neutral colors with a color accent wall or trim. The furniture should be age-appropriate. There should be a focal wall or bulletin board for displays with the exception of younger preschoolers. Preschool rooms are set up by activity areas with the exception of babies and 1’s. Preschool rooms need a water source and restroom in the room or nearby. The preferred floor covering is carpet with the exception of vinyl floors for babies-1’s.

Caring for preschoolers includes providing a clean environment where the child can explore, create, learn and play. That means toys, teaching materials, equipment, walls and floors need to be clean and ready for the child. It is important to be aware of cleaning procedures and hygiene practices to ensure a safe and clean environment for the child. For recommended hygiene practices visit http://www.lifeway.com/Article/childhood-ministry-basics.

In conclusion, I want to share some common shortfalls I find when consulting with churches. Entrances and doors are not clearly marked. Today, it is highly important to have a visible registration/check-in process for preschoolers. Preschool rooms often have too many and inappropriate toys (they can produce

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a safety hazard or might be unrelated to teaching). It is common to find outdated displays and posters on walls and bulletin boards. I find furniture with sharp edges or broken tables and chairs still in use. Often, I find rooms filled with lots of equipment and other items unrelated to its use(s). Learn to think like a guest; look around your room to see if anything would catch a guest’s attention. When we are expecting guests at home we clean house. Why don’t we do that at church? Maybe we are not expecting guests?
_______________________________________
Tom Belew has served as Small Groups and Childhood Specialist for the California Southern Baptist Convention since 2002. He previously served as Minister of Education in churches in Arizona and California.

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Categories : 5 Weeks of Flake, Organization, Space, Space and Facilities, Sunday School

Provide Space and Equipment for Sunday School Growth

By Darryl Wilson · Comments (1)
Sunday, January 22nd, 2012

This month, we have been sharing five areas of Sunday School growth that have become known as Flake’s Formula: (1) know the possibilities, (2) enlarge the organization, (3) provide space and equipment, (4) enlist the leaders, and (5) go after the people. In today’s post, we will examine how important it is to “provide space and equipment” in order to allow Sunday School growth to take place. Consider these ways and reasons to provide space and equipment:

  • ENOUGH ROOMS. In Is the Size of Your Sunday School POT Keeping You Small, Part 1 and Is the Size of Your Sunday School POT Keeping You Small, Part 2, I shared this idea from Ken Hemphill in The Bonsai Theory of Church Growth: “You must keep the pot small to keep a bonsai small, and in a similar way many churches keep the church and Sunday School small because they keep the facilities small.” In order for your Sunday School to grow, you must have space available in which to start new classes. This can include using the space more than once and even using off-site space.
  • ENOUGH SPACE. Adults and teens need about 12-15 square foot per person. Children need 25 square foot. Preschoolers (due to activity level) need 35 square foot. When attendance approaches 80% of capacity of the room, growth will slow or stop. Moving classes to rooms of appropriate size to allow for growth is essential. Also, when a class reaches or exceeds the space’s capacity, it is time to start a new class.
  • ADEQUATE SPACE. There are many issues to consider in making sure that the space you provide for classes is adequate, such as appearance, location, usefulness, safety, cleanliness, noise, and more. Check out Conduct an Adult & Student Sunday School Space Walk for a set of questions from which you can evaluate your adult and youth space. When possible, locate preschool and senior adult space close to worship space.
  • ADEQUATE EQUIPMENT. What is needed by each age group is appropriately different. Certainly chairs and tables (if needed) should be of the right size for the assigned age group(s). It is important to provide the equipment and furnishings needed while taking into account the space available and potential attendance. As attendance begins to approach 80% of capacity, as much equipment and furnishings as possible should be removed making more room for people.
  • TOO MUCH EQUIPMENT. Too often classrooms fill earlier than necessary due to too much equipment and furnishings in the space. Tables are often the biggest culprit. People are more important than tables. Removing tables to have space for more people is more important that coddling people’s preferences (to hold coffee and Bibles and cover short skirts). Sometimes more chairs are in the room than are necessary. Only one or two more than expected attendance should be kept in the room. In fact, it can be depressing to enter a room with 20 chairs and only 3 attenders, while it can be exciting to have to set up one or two more chairs.

Make sure you plan ahead. Don’t get to a place where you need to start a class but lack the space, furnishings, and equipment needed. Anticipate needs. Plan ahead. Expect to grow.

For more ideas about Sunday School space, check out these blog posts:

_____________________________________________

Darryl Wilson has served as Director of the Sunday School Department for the Kentucky Baptist Convention since 1997. He served as Minister of Education in five churches in Kentucky and South Carolina. He is the author of The Sunday School Revolutionary!, a blog about life-changing Sunday School and small groups.

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Categories : Flake's Formula, Space, Space and Facilities, Sunday School

How Much Space Does One Person Need?

By Marie Clark · Comments (1)
Monday, May 9th, 2011

Make no mistake: Space can impact the quality of the Bible study experience for children, teens, and adults.  In addition to the attractiveness and comfort of the room, you must consider square footage requirements.

Children are active and need to be able to move around freely. Cramped space for preschoolers and grade-schoolers eliminates some of the effective learning activities that can be used to teach God’s truths. The two-small spaces may also aggravate discipline problems when kids are in cramped spaces for 1-2 hours.

In youth and adult groups, guests are not likely to return if there are no seats available for them. Many learners are uncomfortable having to walk in front of the whole group to get to a chair or having to thread their way between chairs and tables jammed together.

At first glance, LifeWay’s suggested space requirements may seem excessive:

  • Preschoolers                35 sq. ft./pupil
  • Grades 1-6                  20-25 sq. ft./pupil
  • Youth & Adults          10-15 sq. ft./pupil

The numbers make more sense when you realize the total space requirements per pupil also include the space taken up by tables, cabinets, pianos, plus passing room between chairs and the other furniture.  

Visualize what 10 square feet looks like. Cut a piece of butcher paper 2 ½ feet wide by 4 feet long and lay it on the floor. (If you don’t have a large roll of paper, use sheets of newspaper taped together.) Set a classroom chair on one end of the paper and ask someone to sit in the chair. Notice how much space is left on either side and beyond the feet of the person. Now picture the 10-foot-square sheets lined up. It’s easy to see why this is the minimum suggested space requirement.

Obviously, these are ideal numbers. While many churches do not have the luxury of such space, I challenge you to do the best you can: Start new classes… Get rid of tables in small rooms… Clean out the clutter… Remove unused pianos. Resolve to clear space for Bible learning!

_______________________________________________

Marie Clark is the Bible Teaching & Discipling Team Leader for the Kansas-Nebraska Convention of Southern Baptists. She enjoys serving as a Sunday School volunteer in her own church each Sunday.

Comments (1)
Categories : Organization, Space, Space and Facilities, Sunday School

Organize Well with No Regrets!

By Dwayne Lee · Comments (0)
Thursday, May 5th, 2011

It has been said that your Sunday School is the largest organized group the church has. It’s not the choir or the youth group. It’s not the seniors or the WMU. It’s Sunday School!

If that is the case, then ask yourself the question, “Is it an organized group or structured chaos?” What do I mean by that? Well it’s simple. Many churches have Sunday School because we’ve always had Sunday School, but with not with a purpose. Instead, it can be an organized group that functions like a well-oiled machine with every part hitting on all cylinders. Here are eight questions to check to see if your Sunday school program is organized well or not:

  1. Do your teachers, apprentices, and greeters show up early on Sunday morning (to pray, prepare the classroom, and greet)?
  2. Do your teachers, apprentices, and outreach leaders prepare the classroom for guests (expectancy)?
  3. Is each room free from clutter and organized? Are there things in the room that could be removed or thrown away?
  4. Do teachers stand at the door welcoming people as they arrive (or are class greeters enlisted to do so)?
  5. Are teachers getting feedback from those who are in the class from participatory teaching methods as well as from class members and/or care group leaders?
  6. Do teachers take time each week to check on their class members and guests (or are care group leaders enlisted to do so)?
  7. Do teachers and workers participate in monthly/quarterly/semiannual planning meetings and training sessions? Have each of them enlisted an apprentice who attends with them?
  8. Are your classes fully staffed for growth?

How is your Sunday School doing? Did the questions help you identify some areas of organization that need some attention?

When it comes to organization, it is your responsibility! You may be the minister of education, Sunday school director, pastor, teacher, or whatever title your church has given you. Regardless of title you have the responsibility of assessing, analyzing, and implementing whatever it takes to make your Sunday School the very best organized group it can be.

Because at the end of the day you do not want to look back and say I should have done a better job!

______________________________________

Dwayne Lee serves as Associate Group Leader for the Bible Teaching/Leadership Team of the State Convention of Baptists in Ohio.

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Categories : Organization, Space, Sunday School
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