A church is mostly known for its devotional nature. But on the practical side, they are large buildings with lots of usable space inside.
First Baptist Church, Guelph at 225 Woolwich Street on the fringe of downtown Guelph has plenty of space it wants to share, and for a relatively small fee.
Amy Lancaster, the church’s administrator, said there has been a sharp increase in people traffic through the classic limestone church lately. Acting as the hub of activity for Guelph’s Refugee Sponsorship Forum, the structure has experienced a sharp spike in human bustle.
Lancaster said the new energy has inspired the church to want to open its doors up even further, and foster a more active, fuller sense of community within its walls. It can do that by sharing its space, she said.
The space sharing aspiration appears to be a trend in Guelph’s church community, with a number of longstanding church organizations partnering with organizations and other religious groups to better utilize and share available space. The partnerships help defray the cost of operating the buildings, and rejuvenate the social energy inside.
“We have about six different areas in the church that we can rent out to community groups, depending on their needs,” Lancaster said.
There is, of course, the sanctuary, the largest space of all, with its pews and beautiful ornamentation, suitable for weddings, lectures, and other large gatherings. There’s a gymnasium downstairs that is about the size of a standard elementary school gym, just right for recreational sports, dance or yoga classes.
There are smaller meeting spaces both upstairs and down – a parlour room, a resource centre, and two larger meeting rooms on the top floor. There is also a full kitchen at the ready.
“A lot of the groups that currently rent here are non-profit groups,” Lancaster said. “We open our doors to them, and give them special consideration.”
Among those are Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous groups. The Guelph Community Choir fills the space with song, and a TOPS (Taking Pounds Off Sensibly) Club meets to develop meal plans and share educational resources with participants. MAD Science Group’s day camp uses space in the summer, and a host of religion-inspired groups also use the church’s space for inspirational purposes.
“We’ve come to realize there are a lot more groups out there that we could share our space with,” Lancaster said.
She added that the increased traffic through the building of late, made up of hundreds of volunteers from all walks of life, and with connections to all kinds of community organizations, opened up a world of possibilities.
Jaya James, coordinator of volunteers for Guelph Refugee Sponsorship Forum, who is a member of First Baptist, said the space has recently been used for Arabic language classes, English as a second language instruction, and various information workshops related to the Syrian refugee effort.
“Most of our groups are here in the evening, but we’ve got all these spaces sitting here during the day that could be used as well,” Lancaster said. She stressed that the church’s main objective is not to generate operating revenue, but to build community by offering its space to others.
The sharing of space is an important detail. The idea is for many groups to share the same space, not for one group to permanently occupy a space in the building. Storage space is limited.
Space users would be required to sign a rental agreement, agreeing to conditions of use, and they need to have insurance coverage in place. They would then be provided with a key.
“The cost depends on the group,” Lancaster said. “If you are selling ticket to an event and making a profit, we will charge a bit more. If you’re a five-person group just starting out, we are going to work with you by starting lower. We have different pricing structures based on single-time use, monthly use, frequency of use, and the amount of space you use.”
Lancaster said the church wants to be as accommodating as possible to as many users as possible.
“We want the community to recognize that we are part of the community,” Lancaster said.
“We just want people to be in here, using the space so it’s not sitting empty,” Jaya James added.
Visit http://www.firstbaptistchurchguelph.org/contact-us for First Baptist Church, Guelph contact information.
