What I Wish They Taught in Seminary
Rev. Edmonds Senior Pastor at Mt. Lebanon Baptist Church in DC talks to CPA Co-op about what he wishes he’d learned in seminary.
One of things that I wish my seminary would have offered when I was a student was a course on church facility management. I soon discovered, upon entering my first pastorate, that the maintenance cost of the church facility can severely hinder the congregation’s ability to fund the operating and programmatic side of ministry.
Every dollar spent on the electric bill, trash pickup, cleaning, and building repairs was a dollar not spent on furthering the work and mission of the church. While these expenses are a necessary part of being a property-owning congregation, pastors and trustees are often confronted with decisions amidst complex industries, misleading sales tactics, and burdensome contracts. We do not always have the time or capacity to ensure that we get the best pricing by researching policies, vetting vendors, and getting multiple bids for all of our facility needs. As a result, we often end up paying more than we should for the basic services that ensure we can keep the building and our ministry up and running.
“Every dollar spent on the electric bill, trash pickup, cleaning, and building repairs was a dollar not spent on furthering the work and mission of the church. ”
I recently had this play out at my church when we realized that we needed to replace an old, broken down air conditioning system. While we had been doing our best to keep this old system running, it was finally time to make the investment in a new one. But when we got the first quote from a contractor, we had no real way to evaluate it. Was the price too high? Was the equipment right? Could we trust that the contractor would do a good job? Should we get multiple bids? And if so, how can we make sure we are comparing apples to apples? The prospect of a church facing such an expense can take the air out of wanting to hire a youth minister, church musician, or upgrading the sound system in the sanctuary.
Mt. Lebanon Baptist in DC
Church maintenance is a ministry that every Pastor should understand as a vital component in supporting the overall vision of the church. Lower and more efficient maintenance costs translate into more resources that the church can place into other areas of the ministry. This is why I view Community Purchasing Alliance (CPA) as a part of my ministry team. In fact, we’ll be joining CPA and a group of churches and other organizations in DC for a group HVAC RFP to take care of that ailing air conditioning system at my church. CPA is a purchasing cooperative that works with over 120 D.C. organizations, such as schools and churches, to lower the cost of their largest contracts while becoming more effective with the performance they get from their vendors. With their savings, members can do more work in their communities and use their spending power to employ local vendors. I work with CPA because they help me save money on facility upkeep, keep me out of predatory contracts, and field those annoying sales calls that I used to dread.
I’d still tell any young seminarian to prepare themselves for the challenges that come with managing church property. It’s an important part of learning to care for the whole person, and not just the soul; this physical work that we do really matters. And then I’d give them the phone number of the folks at CPA who believe we don’t have to labor alone.
Guest Contributor Rev. Lionel Edmonds is a Senior Pastor at Mt. Lebanon Baptist Church