As a church or nonprofit leader, you may struggle to find new and creative ways to fund your ministry. One strategy that has become increasingly popular is to monetize your organizational assets through asset stewardship. But additional revenue is just one of the many benefits to better utilization of your space and property.
Stewardship is the careful and responsible management and protection of something valuable. It ensures the physical space, resources, and equipment gets used in a way that supports the mission and vision of the church.
Asset Stewardship is essentially using church facilities to generate additional income and or create a greater missional impact. Before you begin, consider these three purposes for asset stewardship.
Purposes
Why consider asset stewardship? If this is a new concept you may have questions about the reasons to use it at your church. For decades churches have found ways to utilize every aspect of their facilities. Asset stewardship is:
Reasonable
Churches are often cash-poor and facility-rich. They don’t have enough money to support their ministries but have amazing facilities to put to good use.
Many churches are under-utilized. The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship estimates only 32% of a church facility gets used on any given day—including Sundays.
Stewardship isn’t only for individuals. It’s true for churches, too.
Spiritual
Asset Stewardship is a Biblical principle. In the parable of the talents, the servant who buries his assets is condemned while those who use it to the fullest receive praise.
Scripture tells us in 1 Peter 4:10, “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” God gives us many ways to be good stewards, we are to use them all for His purposes.
Practical
If you are looking for ways to increase your income or missional impact and you have unused facilities, then asset stewardship is a viable option.
Churches that have experienced a decline in attendance or an increase in costs face several realities. They can cut the salaries or benefits of team members, cut ministry expenses, or cut property costs.
Asset stewardship provides a practical solution, so you don’t need to cut any of those areas. This allows you to save jobs and continue your ministry.
Benefits
Asset stewardship is an indicator of a ministry’s operational effectiveness and financial health. The more a ministry gets out of its assets the more value it will receive. It is a creative way to:
- Generate income: To keep your church doors open and ministries going, you need funds. The money you bring in with asset stewardship can pay salaries or expenses.
- Further your mission: The increase in revenue helps you have a greater missional impact. You can use this income to improve current ministries or start new ones.
- Share resources: Part of church ministry is reaching out to the local community. Asset Stewardship allows you to share what you have with like-minded ministries, bless the community, and be good neighbors.
Implications
Asset Stewardship comes with some issues you need to consider as you begin this process. Discuss these with your leadership team, stakeholders, and external partners or agencies.
It will cost you to share your facility with other organizations or ministries. You should plan for the increased and possible cost of:
- Utilities
- Maintenance
- Renovations
- Staffing
Check to ensure you have the proper insurance coverage and liability for rental or external usage. Discuss with your tax adviser about UBIT—Unrelated Business Income Taxes. In the vast majority of churches with unrelated business income, you can avoid creating taxable income with proper planning. Tax implications vary by state, so be sure you seek the counsel of a CPA or attorney familiar with churches and nonprofit organizations. In all but the most unusual cases, there is very little risk of losing your tax exemption status.
Before you begin research:
- Zoning restrictions
- Permit requirements
- Child safety policies
You may also need to speak with your church governing body to receive any approvals.
Challenges
Whenever you take on new initiatives, you’ll face new challenges. The same is true for asset stewardship. When you rent or lease your space and property assets you’ll encounter:
- Tension: Sharing the same space brings tension. If you’ve ever shared a bedroom with a sibling or had a college roommate, you understand. You will not see eye-to-eye on everything. Remember what’s important to your ministry and let go of the rest. Written agreements are a best practice.
- Determine rental value: It is difficult to determine how much to charge for rent. Do you want fair market value? Do you want to offer a discount? Talk to other churches or places that rent their facilities before you decide to make an offer.
- Patience: It takes time to make decisions, set up space, get the right permits, and find the right partnership. Create a plan, goals, and objectives to help you see it through to the end.
- Sideways energy: Your church has a clear mission, but when you bring someone new to share your space, you expel your time, energy, and effort to make it happen. That’s sideways energy because it doesn’t move your mission forward.
You’ll need to decide if the benefits of increased income and furthering your mission outweigh the challenges. Asset stewardship requires plenty of research and conversations with church leadership.
Greater Missional Impact
There are a wide variety of ways to unlock your organization's asset funding potential. Discuss these steps with your leadership to make an informed decision about how best to steward the assets entrusted to your care.
By putting these strategies into action after careful consideration, you can improve the long-term sustainability of your ministry and create a greater impact in your community.
To learn more about how you can unleash new revenue streams and have a greater missional impact through asset stewardship, check out Next Level Generosity.