Church Facilities
The Heritage Church campus is to be used for the glory of God and the advancement of the
church’s vision. We do not offer our facilities to external entities based on the following factors:
LEGAL RISKS
Opening our campus to non-ministry events puts us at risk for those who would want to use our facilities in the future for things that directly contradict our beliefs and convictions. We can choose to only use the campus for Heritage ministry purposes, but if we open it up for non-ministry requests, we cannot be selective. It also exposes us to added liability risks — if someone gets hurt on our campus, we would be held responsible.
UNSUSTAINABILITY
Each request requires a few hours to meet with the representatives, schedule their room(s), set up the room(s) to meet their needs, and then clean the room(s) after their meeting or event, and we do not have adequate staffing to manage the number of requests. In addition to diverting staff away from ministry priorities, it causes wear and tear on our facilities and increases costs for utilities, thus making this level of commitment is unsustainable.
UNFAVORABLE IMPACT
We had hoped to offer our facilities in a way that would provide a wonderful experience for outsiders, but oftentimes the opposite is the case, especially for large events. Those who have used our facilities to host a major event usually are not familiar enough with our facilities and/or event planning to provide an excellent experience. In the end it can give the public a less-than-favorable impression of us. To remedy this, we would have to add additional staff to walk with community leaders through the entire event planning process - a commitment we do not feel called to make.
COMPROMISED MISSION
The most important factor in this decision is our passionate commitment to the vision of our church - to see people saved, healed, restored, and fulfilled. We see no measurable evidence to suggest that hosting non-ministry events helps us accomplish this mission, and many times it actually compromises these efforts by taking over space that would otherwise be used for ministry purposes.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Our campus will be used for Heritage ministry only, which includes weddings and funerals for members. If we choose to offer our facilities for any other reason, it is at our discretion, but it should be approached with caution and a full understanding of the risks involved.
This policy was discussed and constructed by the Executive Staff Team and adopted by the Heritage Church Leadership Team at a regular meeting held on December 19, 2016.
LEGAL RISKS
Opening our campus to non-ministry events puts us at risk for those who would want to use our facilities in the future for things that directly contradict our beliefs and convictions. We can choose to only use the campus for Heritage ministry purposes, but if we open it up for non-ministry requests, we cannot be selective. It also exposes us to added liability risks — if someone gets hurt on our campus, we would be held responsible.
UNSUSTAINABILITY
Each request requires a few hours to meet with the representatives, schedule their room(s), set up the room(s) to meet their needs, and then clean the room(s) after their meeting or event, and we do not have adequate staffing to manage the number of requests. In addition to diverting staff away from ministry priorities, it causes wear and tear on our facilities and increases costs for utilities, thus making this level of commitment is unsustainable.
UNFAVORABLE IMPACT
We had hoped to offer our facilities in a way that would provide a wonderful experience for outsiders, but oftentimes the opposite is the case, especially for large events. Those who have used our facilities to host a major event usually are not familiar enough with our facilities and/or event planning to provide an excellent experience. In the end it can give the public a less-than-favorable impression of us. To remedy this, we would have to add additional staff to walk with community leaders through the entire event planning process - a commitment we do not feel called to make.
COMPROMISED MISSION
The most important factor in this decision is our passionate commitment to the vision of our church - to see people saved, healed, restored, and fulfilled. We see no measurable evidence to suggest that hosting non-ministry events helps us accomplish this mission, and many times it actually compromises these efforts by taking over space that would otherwise be used for ministry purposes.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Our campus will be used for Heritage ministry only, which includes weddings and funerals for members. If we choose to offer our facilities for any other reason, it is at our discretion, but it should be approached with caution and a full understanding of the risks involved.
This policy was discussed and constructed by the Executive Staff Team and adopted by the Heritage Church Leadership Team at a regular meeting held on December 19, 2016.