We’ve all had that experience. Within minutes of leaving the the office, we remember that we were supposed to reserve a room in the church for an onsite ministry event. It’s Wednesday, so it’s highly likely that someone will find whatever open room they can and “set up shop” for the evening. There is only one choice to make. Turn around and go back to the office. Unlock the office door. Boot up the computer again. And then log in to the basic calendaring system and reserve the room.
Easy enough. But now you’re 30 minutes late for dinner with the family instead of 10.
Ever happened to you? If it hasn’t, it will. Even with the best of intentions, it is easy to forget a detail or two. What may seem like a harmless oversight can create an uncomfortable situation if two groups want to meet in the same room...or at least come to church with the expectation of having access to a certain space.
Churches depend on events to gather people together for specific purposes. Managing available space can be a full-time job if you let it. A paper calendar will only take you so far and is highly likely to be lost. Besides that, who has the official paper calendar...the staff...the treasurer...the chairman of the committee?
What if you could update the church calendar with something as simple as an internet connection? Or a smart phone or tablet? And then what if you could publish that calendar to your church’s Web site (member-only section or completely public) where every volunteer leader could see for themselves if the room is reserved?
The good news is you can. And you should. Managing ministry can overwhelm you without the right systems in place to manage the details. Plus, ministry doesn’t happen in the office, so why should you be tied there to accomplish simple management tasks?
How does your church reserve meeting space? Is it working?
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