Can’t build a youth facility just yet?

By Rich Maas

When your church doesn’t have the resources to build additional facilities for youth ministries, what are you to do? Obviously, you can’t simply say, “Sorry, folks! We won’t have enough money to build for another 12 or 15 years. So, please wait awhile.” That would be ignoring a needed ministry for a long, long time.

Something must be done.

This was the precise situation facing the congregation at Alpine Chapel in suburban Chicago. (See photo, above right) Members weren’t about to wait; instead, this resourceful group put on its thinking caps and determined, first, what was needed the congregation’s youth to have an area they could call their own:

Alpine_Chapel_Youth_RoomSome basic furniture. A few couches, chairs, and a TV or two. (For the most part, teenagers aren’t too fussy about such things.)

A reasonably sized open space.

A flexible way to easily divide the space, and change it around as desired. In a perfect world, the dividers for a teenagers’ space should be tackable and sound-absorbing.

Once word got out, it didn’t take long before the congregation donated some furniture. And, the pastor had an idea about what space could be available to use very soon.

Finally, to make the space flexible, the congregation contacted our company for portable room dividers. The church was already were using our sound-absorbing dividers to create Sunday school classrooms in its gymnasium. Their acoustical accordion-folding dividers are easy to store in an area no larger than an office chair. After they’re rolled into place, they can unfold into basically any shape desired. An additional two dividers were purchased to complete the new youth space.

So, if your congregation doesn’t quite have the resources for a brick-and-mortar construction project, know this: There’s always a way!

Rich Maas is vice president at Screenflex Portable Room Dividers in Lake Zurich, IL.

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