This week at SaveYour.Town, we’re sharing how to take big empty buildings and divide them up for multiple small businesses. One model is co-working spaces, which offer shared office and workspace. Then our friend Jon Swanson sent us an article on rural churches doing innovative things, including one doing a co-working space. This seems like a perfect fit for some small town churches.
The article is by Allen T. Stanton: Rural churches can thrive beyond numbers. The example he gave was First United Methodist Church in Sanford, Florida, which he describes as “a small city outside Orlando.”
Stanton listed questions that a pastor named Meghan has started asking about their role in the community. “What are the needs we can meet?” and “What does it mean to be a leader in this particular community?”
That’s where the co-working space for non-profits idea came up. So far, the non-profits include food-based programs, support groups and entrepreneurial initiatives focused on justice.
“All of these groups were trying to find ways to work together,” Meghan said. “We want to find ways for our church to help in that.”
Think about the churches in your small town. Are any of them asking questions like this? Are any sharing their buildings with outside groups or another congregation?
New to SmallBizSurvival.com? Take the Guided Tour. Like what you see? Get our updates.
- Seasonal business: How to beat the annual “no bookings!” panic - August 8, 2022
- Recession? Practical steps from 3 international peers - August 3, 2022
- Reaching “at risk” kids for local jobs - July 15, 2022
- 3 Major factors in rural remote work: incentives, flexible workspaces, and a sense of community - June 6, 2022
- How to recruit new residents, remote workers, or remote entrepreneurs - June 2, 2022
- How cooperatives improve small town economies - May 8, 2022
- Metaverse business idea: virtual world tour guide - April 15, 2022
- Make extra money from extra workspace: co-working and 3rd workplaces in small towns - March 28, 2022
- Trade show booth design trend: hand drawn visuals - March 21, 2022
- New business sign design? Don’t use cursive script - February 14, 2022
