Although churches can get crowded on Sunday mornings, many will sit largely empty during the week. Meanwhile, smaller ministries are searching for places to gather and worship. One Houston-based startup is working to bridge the gap between those two groups.
Church Space was launched in 2019 by founder and CEO Day Edwards. Growing up as the daughter of a pastor, Edwards saw how difficult managing finances and facilities could be on a church. Through her work in public relations and marketing for churches, she realized that many houses of worship had high overhead costs, and their physical spaces went unused outside of weekly worship services.
"[Houses of worship are] really a large asset that [churches] have, and it's a really huge problem that we found out is happening nationally, and not just due to Covid," Edwards said. "Pre-Covid as well, church buildings were pretty much sitting empty."
So Edwards launched Church Space, a platform that she says employs a similar business model to coworking and Airbnb. Smaller ministries and congregations, small businesses, ghost kitchens and other renters can book church space for short- and longer-term rentals. When the platform launched, Edwards thought most renters would be looking for space for one-off events, but renters typically book spaces for between three to six months, she said.
Emmanuel Brown, COO at Church Space and a pastor himself, said the platform also helps connect churches with organizations and renters that align with their values. Some of the most common renters on the platform are looking for spaces for weddings and funerals, he said.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, churches have also rented out underutilized space to small businesses, like ghost kitchens preparing delivery orders, Brown said.
"Making sure that the church is comfortable with who is in their space and that renters are abiding by those guidelines is probably one of our biggest core values as a business," Brown said.
The Church Space platform also has capabilities to ensure churches remain in compliance with requirements to receive 501(c)(3) tax exemptions, Brown said.
Church Space was named to Dallas-based nonprofit accelerator Impact Ventures' spring 2021 cohort earlier this year. At the Impact Ventures pitch competition held in July, Church Space took home the top prize of $25,000. Church Space was also selected to the 2021 cohort for MassChallenge's Houston accelerator program earlier this summer.
After launching with a few locations in the Houston region in 2019, the Church Space platform has since grown to around 4,000 users across the U.S. looking to rent or share space, Brown said. By the end of this year, Church Space plans to raise its pre-seed financing round to help the company hire and grow into other areas of the country.
