An Institutional Maintenance Checklist

Use this short Institutional Maintenance Checklist to get an idea of how big a problem maintenance concerns are for your congregation. You may want to consider sharing this checklist with your church board or another administrative group. Place a check mark beside each of the following statements with which you agree.

_____ Our church has delayed important repairs because we couldn’t afford to make them.

_____ Our church spends 60% or more of the budget on staff salaries, benefits, and expenses.

_____ Our church gives less than 15% of its budget to help God’s mission beyond the needs of our own congregation.

_____ Our church has difficulty finding enough volunteers to fill all the board, commission, and other official positions.

_____ If we are truly honest, we have to admit that a major motivation in our search for new members is the need to have more people to give time and money to the church.

_____ Our church is seriously underpaying our pastor or another staff member.

_____ There are rooms in our church that look a little shabby and are not well maintained.

_____ We have several members with a negative attitude or low morale concerning the church.

_____ I am personally concerned about what is going to happen to our church in the next few years.

_____ Our church has had to reduce its giving to denominational programs and mission agencies more than once in the last five years.

It’s possible that you may check agreement with two, three, or even four of the above items and still be part of a church that is, on the whole, very strong and vibrant. Think about how serious the concerns are for your congregation.

For more information on addressing the challenges of institutional maintenance, see the New Life Ministries Report entitled Institutional Maintenance.

You are free to reproduce this questionnaire for use in your own congregation. Thank you for giving credit to New Life Ministries, www.NewLifeMinistries-NLM.org 

See other self-assessment tools.

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