Should Churches Be Allowed to Meet in Public Schools?

Last updated on: January 23, 2012 at 1:19 pm by Tim Suttle

Should Churches Be Allowed to Meet in Public Schools? 2012-01-23T13:19:00-07:00 Tim Suttle

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

New York City Housing Authority officials have notified all of the churches who rent space in their public schools that they are no longer welcome as of Feb. 12. This decision came without warning and some say it threatens to violate an earlier Supreme Court Ruling on religious use of public space. After numerous protests and even 43 arrests, it’s happening. Here’s a snarky NYTimes editorial about it. Here’s an article on the protests. It begs the questions – should churches be allowed to meet in public schools?

Until we moved into our first building this year, Redemption Church always met in schools. The Olathe School District administrative officials and custodial staff were always great to work with and I will be forever grateful to them – the teachers & building administrators were another story. I used to break into a cold sweat when my assistant told me an administrator from the school was on the phone. Honestly, the most disrespected I’ve ever felt as a representative of the church was in conversation with teachers and assistant principals… just petty disrespectful stuff on the most part, things you just let go. A few times it was out of line, insulting and almost threatening..

I’ve never been able to discern where the rub was in particular. My sense was always that we were just a pain in their butt, and they resented the fact that it was district policy to allow outside groups to use “their school.” They would always call it “their school,” seemingly unaware that the community owns the school and church attendees pay taxes. Not only was the tension unnecessary, but it was short sighted. There are many benefits to having churches meeting in schools and even when we tried to offer to help, we were often rebuffed. Once we offered to install around $10,000 in sound and lighting equipment in the school we were meeting in, and we would donate it all to the school and leave it there when we left. They refused Here are just a few:

1. Churches are an important part of community life. Churches serve a vital role in the community. Healthy communities have healthy churches. In fast growing areas school districts tend to build the first public buildings long before most smaller churches can afford to build. It’s good for the community to have churches meeting in schools because the alternative would be to have no churches in that area at all. In areas like New York City or on the West Coast where property is so incredibly expensive, it makes sense to have churches meeting in schools. Schools which hold churches in contempt are missing the opportunity to share resources and join efforts to help build vital communities.

2. Renting to Churches supports the neighborhood. The MegaChurch, or video campus franchise are often the only ones with the financial means to operate in growing suburbs and places where the price of real estate is very high. Allowing churches to meet in school supports the neighborhood church model.

3. Schools can make money on this: We used to pay around $23,000 a year to the school district for very minimal usage. Other churches pay much more than this.

4. It provides more work for custodial staff: This provides more hours for district employees at no cost to the district. The custodial staff members we worked with were great at every single location. They often became good friends of people in our congregation. We always gave our janitor a pretty good Christmas bonus as well. I miss getting to see him every week.

5. Churches often donate time and resources over and above to the schools. There were a couple of teachers who seemed glad to have us involved. Members of our church volunteered to take tickets at plays and musicals (ONW has incredible arts programs, btw); we would also give gift cards to teachers, and helped with PTA events. The church who used the building before us donated tons of man hours to help the school install the sound system and lighting – all for free. I’ve heard of many churches who donate significant sound/lighting upgrades to schools. If the school would welcome the congregation as a vital part of the community, I think most churches would like to support the teachers. This could be a win win.

I get the other side. Churches can be annoying and Christians often do disrespectful stuff & overreach and offend. But most small churches like this get it – they understand school is not church, nor vice versa – we should be able to make this work for our communities and benefit both the school and the church.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

January 23, 2012

Monday Morning Confessional

Next Post

January 24, 2012 Mark Driscoll: Talking Church Discipline Mars Hill Style

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category abortion corruption Donald Trump elections Empire Entertainment Ezra Klein ideology Justice Lacan politics race Sports Ta-Nehisi Coates Uncategorized

Select a Month September 2026 March 2026 September 2025 March 2025 June 2024 January 2024 December 2023 May 2023 February 2023 October 2022 April 2022 March 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 September 2020 July 2020 June 2020 March 2020 September 2019 July 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 August 2010 July 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was Lydia's profession?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Weaver Potter Farmer Cloth merchant