By Jenny Rice
LifeWay Christian Resources
Churches across the country have discovered a new way to raise funds for ministry by utilizing an often-overlooked building asset-the church steeple.
Houses of worship can earn income by contracting with telecom companies to provide use of church steeples to house cell phone towers. With the right agreement, steeple towers can be a win-win situation for churches and telecom companies.
Christ Church United in Dracut, Mass., with just 300 members, has partnered with three telecom companies to use its steeple as a cell tower.
“Our church building is over 200 years old and requires much upkeep,” said Larry Zimmerman, pastor of Christ Church United. “With the steeple tower, the building is picking up its own tab for maintenance.”
Recognizing the need for churches to have an advocate when working with telecom companies, LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention recently partnered with Steeplecom, a company whose sole purpose is to help churches negotiate profitable contracts for steeple towers.
“Steeplecom is our endorsed provider for the placement of wireless communication antennas in our churches,” said Ron Chandler of LifeWay's direct marketing department. “When churches sign on with Steeplecom, they have the assurance and comfort of knowing that LifeWay has screened the company.”
“We are an active church,” said Zimmerman. “If we rented out space, that might conflict with our church activities. But with the steeple tower, there is no wear and tear on the building. You can't see it or hear it. It doesn't conflict with our ministry at all.”
Christ Church United has used the steeple tower income for missions outreach, special projects and emergency needs not planned for in the annual budget, with no interruption to church activities.
According to Zimmerman, the process of working with the telecom companies has been easy because of a third-party company who helped in negotiations and maintenance.
“I recommend installing cell phone towers into steeples for any church,” said Zimmerman. “It is good to have a manager, though. There is a cost involved but it is worth it because they oversee the installation and any problems that may occur, although we really haven't had any.”
“We've studied the industry and the particular service providers and we endorsed Steeplecom because we have found them to be the best in the field and they meet our performance standards,” said Chandler.
Tom Moylan, president of Steeplecom, warned that churches have much to be concerned about when negotiating with telecom companies on their own.
“Churches sometimes can get hoodwinked,” said Moylan. “For example, one church agreed to let a carrier use their steeple for $1,000 per month and they signed away their rights to the steeple. Now, if the church wants to let another carrier use their steeple, they have to ask permission of the first carrier.
“Another church signed an agreement that gave the rights to the telecom for the steeple all the way down to the ground, which meant if the church wanted to sell the church building, they would have to receive permission from the telecom company.”
For the ease and convenience of churches, LifeWay's direct marketing department assists in making informed, wise decisions in selecting trusted products and services beyond those developed and distributed through LifeWay Christian Resources.
LifeWay has worked with Steeplecom to provide pre-approved contracts designed to protect churches while helping them earn the most they can from their church steeple.
Moylan is not only focused on protecting churches. He and his organization are passionate about the resources that potentially could be poured into the Kingdom as a result of local churches hosting steeple towers.
“The goal is to funnel millions, no billions, of dollars into the Kingdom of God,” said Moylan. “This supports thousands of other missions through providing money for the church. It's awesome.”