From luxury stays to ‘champing’ in the sanctuary, churches adopt pandemic-era Airbnb models
Instead of worshippers, some churches have been filled with local tourists, professional chefs or burnt-out frontline workers.
Church Space, a platform akin to Airbnb, allows houses of worship to rent their sanctuaries, fellowship halls and kitchens to other congregations and organizations for as much as $30,000 a year. Read the article from Religion News Service here.
Champing, or church camping, at the Church of All Saints in Langport, Somerset, England. Photo by Joseph Casey
After the death of their founding pastor a few years ago, membership at Cullen Missionary Baptist Church in Houston, Texas, took a nosedive.
With less revenue coming in pledges and the expenses of keeping the church, which would take up nearly a city block, running, “we had more space than we knew what to do with and didn’t have the people or resources to pay for it,” said current pastor Andre Jones.
That’s when the Cullen MBC turned to Church Space, a platform akin to Airbnb that allows houses of worship to rent their sanctuaries, fellowship halls and kitchens to other congregations and organizations for as much as $30,000 a year.