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5 Tips for the Portable Church

This article is sponsored by Proclaim Church Presentation Software. Check them out for your cloud-based church presentation needs.

Churches choose to rent for a variety of reasons. Some churches simply cannot afford to have their own space, while others prefer renting a specific location for strategic reasons. If you’ve ever ran a mobile service you know that something unexpectedly pops up. Always.

Whether you’re a church plant just starting out or an established church putting on a concert in the park, here are 5 tips to help your portable service run smoothly.

Allocate Plenty of Time

When you are not in your own space, you need to factor in extra time to deal with unforeseen circumstances. When setting up week to week you should always leave room for troubleshooting. The most common problem will be locating bad or unplugged cables.

Get the Keys

If at all possible try to get the keys to the building, and any rooms that you might need access to. Janitorial closet, electrical room, or the kitchen are all perfectly good example of rooms that you should try to have keys for. Good luck getting a hold of someone at 6 am on Sunday morning when the guitarist accidentally overloads a circuit breaker because they want to run an extra guitar amp. Also, try to get on site storage for your gear. Having a storage space on-site will cut down on setup and teardown time by at least an hour.

Get Cases and Wheels

If you are loading and unloading your gear every week, you should have cases, and those cases should have wheels. The wear and tear that loading and unloading weekly will put on your gear is unbelievable. Also, have a miscellaneous box for extra cables, direct boxes, batteries, tape, and anything else that may be needed. Cases will protect your equipment and wheels will ensure an easier set up as well as  healthier backs for those involved!

Label Everything

A lot of venues have existing equipment, and you don’t want to accidentally take something that’s not yours. If something is broken, label it and take it out of the rotation until it’s fixed. There is nothing more annoying than troubleshooting the same faulty cable week after week because they look the same.

Use the Cloud

Not having a dedicated space throughout the week can pose challenges for church staff, but with the cloud, working remotely is easier than ever. Take advantage of cloud-based tools to stay connected with your team throughout the week. Tools like Google Hangouts, scheduling software like Planning Center or Elvanto, and church presentation software like Proclaim.

What are some tips that you have for churches that rent? Share them below!

SALT Conference C Cell

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