The church’s facilities were provided through God’s blessing and by the sacrificial generosity of church members. The church desires that its facilities be used for the fellowship of the Body of Christ and always to God’s glory. Although the facilities are not generally open to the public, we make our facilities available to approved non-member persons and groups as a witness to our faith, in a spirit of Christian generosity, and as a means of demonstrating the Gospel of Jesus Christ in practice. It is important that we steward our Facilities well. Facilities usage fees are therefore required for non-church activities to cover the costs incurred in the use of the facilities and for the upkeep of the Facilities. Details of church facilities potentially available for use by individual(s) or group(s) meeting the requirements are specified in this document.

However, facility use will not be permitted to persons or groups holding, advancing, or advocating beliefs or practices that conflict with the church’s faith or moral teachings, which are summarized in, among other places, the Friends Church Southwest's Faith and Practice. The facilities may only be used for activities that are deemed as consistent with the church’s faith or moral teachings. The pastor, or official designee, is the final decision-maker on whether a person or group is allowed to use church facilities.

This restricted facility use policy is necessary for two important reasons. First, the church may not in good conscience materially cooperate in activities or beliefs that are contrary to its faith. Allowing its facilities to be used for purposes that contradict the church’s beliefs would be material cooperation with that activity, and would be a grave violation of the church’s faith and religious practice. See 2 Corinthians 6:14; 1 Thessalonians 5:22.

Second, it is very important to the church that it presents a consistent message to the community, which the church staff and members conscientiously maintain as part of their witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. To allow facilities to be used by groups or persons who express beliefs or engage in practices contrary to the church’s faith would have a severe negative impact on the message that the church strives to promote. It could also be a source of confusion and scandal to church members and the community because they may reasonably perceive that by allowing use of our facilities, the church is in agreement with the beliefs or practices of the persons or groups using church facilities.

Therefore, in no event shall persons or groups who hold, advance, or advocate beliefs, or advance, advocate, or engage in practices that contradict the church’s faith use any church facility. Nor may facilities be used in any way that contradicts the church’s faith. This policy applies to all church facilities, regardless of whether the facilities are connected to the church’s sanctuary, because the church sees all of its property as holy and set apart to worship God. See Colossians 3:17.

The pastor or official designee must approve all uses of church facilities.

Priority shall generally be given to the following six general categories, in descending priority:

1. Church ministries (for church functions),
2. Small groups and fellowships (for church functions),
3. FRIENDS CHURCH members / FRIENDS CHURCH regular attendees (for church functions),
4. FRIENDS CHURCH members / FRIENDS CHURCH regular attendees (for non-FRIENDS CHURCH functions),
5. Non-FRIENDS CHURCH members /outside organizations (with fees),
6. Non-FRIENDS CHURCH members /outside organizations (without fees).

Only those outside groups meeting the following qualifications will be considered:

1. Groups or persons requesting facility use must affirm that their beliefs and practices and planned uses of the facilities are consistent with the church’s faith and practice.
2. Under all circumstances, the church facilities must not be used for commercial / political / non-Christian religious purposes.
3. The group or person seeking facility use must submit a signed “Church Facility Reservation Request and Agreement” form as well as a “Hold Harmless Agreement.”
4. The group or person seeking facility use must be willing to take responsibility for the facilities and equipment used and must agree to abide by the church’s rules of conduct for facility use, as stated below and as described in any additional instructions by church office and staff.

Facilities are generally only available between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 10:30 p.m. No use of the Annex (formerly referred to as the YAC), Children’s areas, or Kitchen will be allowed Monday-Friday from 7:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. No use will be available on Sundays during Friends Church’s worship service hours.

Use of facilities by an outside group will rarely be approved for events that extend past 4pm on Saturdays because of custodial needs. Use outside these hours may be approved by the pastor or official designee.

Requests for facility use may be made to the church office, by submitting the “Church Facility Reservation Request and Agreement” form as well as a “Hold Harmless Agreement.” The event will be reserved and placed on the church calendar only when the pastor or official designee approves the use and a deposit, if required, has been received.

Use of church facilities is subject to a use and maintenance fee to pay for the upkeep of church facilities. Church members shall not be required to pay a fee for usage because maintenance of the facilities will be derived from member tithes and offerings. Cleaning fee or arrangements may be required of members depending on the scope of the event. The fees of the church facilities are determined by the Property & Finance Team and are subject to change as needed.

Request for the use of equipment is subject to the approval of the church office. Under normal circumstances, the Church will not entertain any last-minute request for items that were not made at the time of application.

All equipment for projection, audio/video system, and stage lighting must be supervised by technicians of FRIENDS CHURCH. All such equipment must be run by someone trained by the church and authorized to use the equipment. In most cases there will be a fee for these services.

FRIENDS CHURCH reserves the right to:

• Deny the application for the use of church facilities by any individual or group without stating the reasons.
• Cancel any approved application due to unexpected church needs at any time without liability.
• Terminate the rental agreement immediately without liability nor payment if the applicant fails to comply with the requirements, or rules of conduct of the Church.
• Cancel the rental agreement and make a refund without interest in case of cancellation by the church due to bad weather conditions or campus emergency repair issues.
• Make alterations to the Facilities use policies, procedures, rules and regulations at any time without prior notice.

1. Alcohol Policy: No alcohol may be served or consumed in/on church campus.
2. Smoking Policy: Smoking (including vaping) in any indoor church facility is prohibited.
3. Groups are restricted to only those areas of the facility that the group has reserved.
4. Children and Young Adults under the age of 18 must be supervised by a responsible adult at all times.
5. Outside organizations must provide a Certificate of Liability Insurance naming Friends Church as "also insured" in the amount of $1,000,000.
6. Food and beverages may be consumed except where posted “No Food or Drink Allowed.”
7. Church equipment, such as tables and chairs, must be returned to original placement, unless arranged otherwise prior to the event. Clean-up is the responsibility of the group using the facility, Trash cans of area used should be emptied, floors should not be left with spills or food on them; the room should be left as found and anything brought should be taken such as flowers, food etc.
8. All lights must be turned off and doors locked upon departure.
9. The church may also require a clean-up fee for some events depending on scope.
10. Abusive or foul language, violent behavior, and drug or alcohol abuse are strictly prohibited while using church facilities. Any person exhibiting such behavior will be required to leave the premise.
11. An individual or (if a group is requesting use) a representative of the group must sign the “Church Facility Reservation Request and Agreement” form prior to reservation of church facilities.

1. For all non-church-sponsored events, the group or person using the facilities must obtain liability insurance coverage in the amount of at least $1,000,000.
2. A person or representative of any group must sign the “Church Facility Reservation Request and Agreement” form prior to reservation of church facilities.