Spring is an interesting season for churches. It kicks off with Easter, which is one of the two biggest attendance days of the year. Last year, Easter was exceptionally busy, with a lot of ministries seeing record-breaking attendance. Early 2025 was a season that also saw Gen Z return to the pews and men uncharacteristically outnumber women.
While Easter brings opportunity for growth, it’s surrounded by attendance uncertainty. This article will go live in the midst of the post-Christmas momentum of January/February. The Lewis Center for Church Leadership calls this one of the “prime seasons” of church attendance. It comes when people are looking for a stable schedule after a busy holiday season.
That interest tends to taper off heading into March. At the same time, Lent (which is from mid-February to early April this year) can spark interest in consistent church attendance.
The takeaway here? Spring is a time with potential for growth, but you have to be ready to take advantage of the bursts of interest when they come. This means you want to have things like engagement strategies and next-step journeys already in place.
One easy-to-overlook area of preparation is your church facility.
Is your church building ready for growth in the months ahead? This is a different question than prepping for a spike in crowds around the end-of-year holidays.
Preparing for sustained growth requires a different mindset. Here is a quick Q1 facility audit checklist to help you accommodate the new faces and families that walk through your doors in the next few months.
Your building exists to facilitate your ministry. That means it needs to adapt to your needs as you go along.
From reevaluating your worship center layout to reconsidering your classroom setup, take the time to talk through the “why” behind how each space in your building functions heading into 2026. Make sure every space has a purpose and is helping your church have an impact.
Churches often have underutilized spaces. A pre-spring review is a great time to identify those for the year ahead.
What spaces in your church aren’t being used properly? What rooms are empty even on Sundays? What opportunities are you turning away that you could accommodate with a little creative use of existing space? Find that low-hanging fruit and then activate those spaces.
Easter is the big moment of the spring. Before it gets here, take the time to do a walkthrough of your church from parking lot to pew.
Play out what it’s like to be a visitor. As you walk through that “first visit” experience, see what stands out. What’s working? What needs improvement? Is everything clearly marked? Can you find your way to each area with ease?
Review life safety and security protocols, too. Check door hardware, access controls, key or code management, exterior lighting, etc. Review fire, flood, and other safety measures, too. The U.S. Fire Administration reports an average of 1,300 fires in places of worship annually. (The leading cause is kitchen fires.) Make sure your church isn’t on that list.
The end of the year is a time when all systems are a go. You aren’t slowing down to do routine maintenance or check in on facility health. That season is behind us in the spring. Now’s the time to circle back around and get practical.
Start with a systems snapshot. Talk to your facilities crew and make sure you’re aware of the age, condition, service, history, and warranty status of your HVAC, electrical, plumbing, and so on.
Talk through a “deferred maintenance check,” too. What have you put off? What will break next if you don’t act now? Get those items to the top of your facility to-do list.
Prepping your church facility for spring activity is an important step in healthy church growth. If you wait until people are already in the building on the busier Sundays of Lent or the overcrowded Easter rush, it can be hard to adjust without losing people. Use this list to prepare your spaces in sustainable ways that don’t stress budgets and that make the most of your current resources. Being proactive with your building is the best way to work with your current reality to move toward your preferred future.
If you have any questions or need support throughout that process, our team at Ministry Solutions Group can walk alongside you. One of our favorite services is our Free Analysis. This gives you a burst of initial insights into your facility management so you can make wise choices moving forward. Reach out, let’s connect, and together, with prayer and wisdom, we can take a practical look at your church’s future through the eyes of your building.