Topic: Church Properties: From Liabilities to Community Assets

Churches are increasingly sharing their buildings with other congregations and finding ways to collaborate with their communities to both support their local communities and to generate revenue to help maintain their properties.  We will share Disciples Christian Church’s experience of hosting a food pantry, two additional congregations, a Cultural Arts Center, and other community programming, in our building, as well as answer questions regarding the logistics involved. Our Cultural Arts Center was founded by our congregation several years ago, in collaboration with our community.  It required substantial renovations to our sanctuary and how we use our building, and has not only been transformational for our wider community, but our congregation and worship services as well.  Jason will be happy to also have follow-up conversations with any interested congregations following this session as well.

Facilitator: Rev. Jason Bricker-Thompson

Rev. Jason Bricker-Thompson is a native Cleveland-er. He graduated from Hiram College & Vanderbilt Divinity and was the Education Director for a Heifer International Learning Center in MA (teaching about the root causes of hunger and poverty and Heifer’s work to end hunger & care for the earth). He then served as Chaplain & Dir. of the Office of Civic Engagement at Hiram College, was a youth minister at Kent UCC and then a senior minister at Community Church of Chesterland, UCC. He met his beautiful wife Monica, who is a licensed Social Worker, while working at Hiram House Camp.