Blog | Make Wise Use of Church Meeting Rooms During The Holidays
Make Wise Use of Church Meeting Rooms During The Holidays
With all the events happening and groups congregating this time of year, your church building is likely bustling with activity. Of course, we all experience limitations when it comes to space and availability and finding room for everyone can sometimes turn into a bit of a puzzle especially this time of year.
If you’re a church admin and struggling with accommodating all the parties, meetups, and general congregating happening during the busy holiday season, here are some general tips to help you create processes that will serve you all year round . . . and for years to come.
Employ a meeting room scheduling software.
If you haven’t already, making use of a scheduling software will simplify your process right away. This will allow people to reserve meeting rooms for their events in advance, helping groups get the spaces they need, when they need them, and avoid overlap and conflict. Skedda, Robin, and Envoy Rooms are all great platforms that offer free entry level usage so you can get a solid feel if their interface is a good fit for your organization.
Organize your rooms by capacity.
If your church has meeting rooms of varying sizes, you can use your scheduling software to ensure each group gets a space that’s appropriate for their needs. If it’s an intimate small of 5 people, they shouldn’t need a room that can fit 20. If it’s a larger party, they shouldn’t get stuck with an area that can’t accommodate them comfortably. Most sophisticated scheduling software allows you to organize your rooms by capacity and / or purpose to help guide your users in finding a space that’s just right for their needs.
Designate specific rooms when appropriate.
Many organizations find it beneficial to give their meeting rooms specific names. This makes them easy to identify and remember. In the same vein, if you have groups that meet together regularly, it might make sense to assign them a room for a longer period of time. For example, if a small group is doing an 8 week study, they could reserve their same room on the same day, at the same time, for 8 weeks. This can help streamline the booking process and help protect availability for consistent users.
For churches, making efficient use of meeting rooms is important because, unlike other workplaces, both church staff and congregants might need these spaces at any time in the week for any number of reasons. Having an easy-to-use booking software in place can help everyone find what they’re looking for without stepping on the toes of another. Plus, it can help keep groups accountable to their slotted time so no one has to poke their head in and usher a group out when the building is about to close.
Church Admins, thank you for the work you do to help things run smoothly this time of year (and all year!)— your good work doesn’t go unnoticed. We hope that some of these tips will help streamline your efforts and take some load off your shoulders so you can put your mind to other important objectives during the Christmas season.
About the Author
Emma Tarp is a writer and worship leader based in Minneapolis, MN. On her best days, she's highlighter-deep in a good book or teaching herself to sew. On her other best days, she's helping passionate folks and inspired businesses put words to their work. Find out more at emmatarp.com.