As I have studied the Facilities Management field and have researched the cause and effect of the decay of everything that we build, I am more confused as to why we, as God’s stewards, do such a poor job of fulfilling those duties. We would rather put off today what we can go into debt for tomorrow. HMMM….is that good stewardship? Sounds like many government officials.

I recently was introduced to Kevin Folsom, Director of Facilities and Plant Operations Dallas Theological Seminary, Dallas, Texas (http://facilityportfolios.googlepages.com/home) He wrote a White Paper entitled “sustainable facilities” vs. Sustainable Facilities. This is an excellent article and frankly some of it is over my head….Kevin is one smart dude!!!!

Here is a quote from this article:

There are numerous levels that can be used to go about this, but to start we have to
remember our early Physics lessons in high school about the 2nd Law of Thermal Dynamics. Everything we build will decay, but it may last longer if properly maintained. So, here’s a puzzling question… If we build facilities that the natural law causes them to decay at fairly predictable rates throughout its birth to burial, why do we not plan for it?

According to a research project done a few years ago, facilities….any facility…will deteriorate at a rate of 1-2% per year, assuming regular preventive maintenance. However, this rate of deterioration will in most cases more than double if the regular, systematic preventive maintenance is not performed.

So….why do we, as church leaders, avoid addressing and planning for the inevitable? Would you drive your new car and never change the oil until the engine seizes up and then cough over a huge amount of money for a new engine? That does not make any sense to me.

Let me share one more quote from an interview Kevin did with facilitiesnet (http://www.facilitiesnet.com/green/audiovideo/Establishing-Sustainable-Facilities-with-Kevin-Folsom–16070)

Let’s step back and look at the big picture for a minute. An appropriate preventive maintenance program should be funded on average at 1.5 percent of the CRV (Current Replacement Value) of a facility. Using the Fram analogy, which is much like a really small facility, 1.5 percent of a $20,000 car is $300 per year. The equivalent would be to pay someone to come to your car’s location to provide maintenance and inspections, while working around your schedule to prevent interruption. That sounds like a pretty good deal to me.

So, how much is the CRV (Current Replacement Value) of your ministry facilities? How much are you budgeting each year to maintain these God given resources? It may be time for a Facilities Management/Maintenance Audit.

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