Do your facilities meet CODE? The 3 “other” Codes.

Posted by admin on February 19, 2011
Stored in Blog

I am a weird duck…most of you who know me would agree (but not so quickly, please). I love to work with churches at a 30,000 foot “visioning” level, and yet I am very detailed and process driven. There have been times when I would travel by air, that I would copy sections of the Building Code’s and read them on the plane…weird, huh? I wanted to know everything there was to know about the “codes” that applied to church and ministry construction. How many parking spaces did you need based on occupancy? How was a facilities occupancy determined? When was a fire sprinkler system required? What are the required fire ratings? What materials could be used in different size buildings?

These are very important “code” issues to understand and apply. In fact, if they are not adhered to, your likelihood of obtaining a building permit is slim to none…so you have to follow these.

But…I believe there is another set of “Codes” that are just as important…and in many cases far more important than the above…it is the Genetic Code of your church….not just your DNA (I feel like a script writer for CSI).

So, what is Genetic Code? What is meant by “Genetic Code” of a church?

According to the dictionary, it can be defined as – The sequence of nucleotides that is the basis of heredity in the DNA molecule of a chromosome and that specifies the amino acid sequence in the synthesis of proteins. My guess is that very few of us were science majors, so let me put it in layman’s terms…it is what makes up the sequence and identity of DNA….so…it is the heart of DNA…it is what makes DNA, DNA. So…in a church setting….your genetic code is the “code” (beliefs, elements, differentiators, etc) that make up your uniqueness….in short… Who you are and Why?

So as you dig deeper than just looking at your “DNA”, and really seek to know WHY you are who you are, here are some things to explore about how your facilities either support or detract from conveying your “genetic code”:

CODE #1: Congruency - Do your facilities convey WHO you are? When a guest comes on campus, do the facilities set a tone of who you are…what you stand for…what your message is? I am not here to debate the WHO/WHAT/WHY of your ministry objectives and Genetic Code….that is for another time…but is the visual congruent with the verbal? Is your church located in suburbia…with $500,000 homes all around….and you have a metal building that you skimped on all the finishes? Are you a contemporary church that is meeting in a building with 4 white columns and a 50 foot tall white steeple? Do you “say” you are friendly…and yet have inadequate signage to direct guests and no “Guest Parking” area? Do you preach the message of sacrifice and giving and yet your facilities are lined with marble floors and opulence? Don’t hate me for saying these things…just think about them.

CODE #2: CARE – Ever walk into a restaurant that you read about on line or someone recommended…full of anticipation and excitement…to then be turned off by the lack of care of the facility? I have disappointed more times than I can recall when I was in a mid to upper priced establishment, to then visit their restroom and be totally repulsed by the lack of care and cleanliness….or to look at at their ceilings (that is a habit for me…so if you invite me to your facility…know I am looking at your ceilings) to see stained ceiling tiles…or worse…dirty HVAC grills and cob webs. What does that say about you and your church? To me it indicates that either you do not care about your facilities…or are not attentive to their care…or are in a bad place financially to where you can not maintain them. Now that is just me…but could that message also be the one conveyed to your guests? Not a great witness in my opinion.

CODE #3: Consistency – Lisa and I have a favorite spot that we like to have our dates out…without the kids. We frequent this establishment for several reason….but the overarching reason is their consistency…in the quality of food, cleanliness of the facility, and friendliness of the staff, to name just a few. We have rarely if ever been adversely surprised…if anything we have been surprised by something exceptional. Now…I am not suggesting that everything stay the same….or you stay status quo….but there needs to be a level of consistency…even if there is also an element of surprise. For example, at our church, we rarely have the exact 2 musical sets…or the same videos…or even the same worship leaders….we have variety in the “means and methods”, but we always have a level of consistency in the quality of the experience, the quality of the facility condition, the friendliness of the greeters, the attentive parking staff, etc, etc, etc. Consistency is not synonymous with boring or never changing. But it is part of the genetic code that raises the bar on all of the creativity that God has blessed you with and expects us to share.

So….as you look at your facilities….whether new…old…rented…borrowed…etc, do they MEET CODE?