Riverside Baptist Church is a Christ-centered, interracial, inclusive, and ecumenical community of faith. We are dedicated to the redemption of our world through acts of mercy, love, and justice.
In the furtherance of that goal, Riverside will make its facilities available for use by church, service, and community groups both within and outside of our congregation. We regard this as part of the church’s service and outreach to our neighbors and our Southwest community.
The following policies will govern the use of Riverside Baptist Church’s facilities for all purposes except weddings. Use of the building for weddings is covered by a separate policy document. You may download the full policy here: DOWNLOAD POLICY PDF
Our beautiful new church facility opened in 2018. It features plenty of natural light, energy efficient utilities, a caterer kitchen, and multipurpose gathering spaces. This is a 2-story space with a full-service elevator for accessibility and ease. DOWNLOAD Facility Use Request Application
The Sanctuary (Capacity: 272)
The Nelson Multipurpose Room (Capacity 80)
The Wassum Conference Room
The Caterer Kitchen (No burners; Full Service Ovens, Fride, and Ice-Maker)
Restrooms
Lower Atrium
Upper Atrium
Upper Atrium Narthex
DOWNLOAD Facility Use Request Application HERE
1. General Policies
Building use activities fall under the purview of the board of trustees, which is charged with management of all church facilities. No commitment for use of Riverside building facilities is finalized until a Facilities Use Agreement has been completed, approved, and executed by the event point of contact, and all required deposits have been submitted to the church.
Use of church facilities will generally be granted when the requested facility is available, subject to the following priorities:
- The ministries of the church take first priority for all facility usage
- Other Christian ministries
- Church members
- 501(c)(3) Non-profit and/or service organizations
- Neighbors and community groups.
Note that there may occasionally arise unforeseen circumstances, such as funerals, which will necessitate the rescheduling or cancelation of scheduled events.
Requests for use of Riverside’s facilities by for-profit groups operating for commercial gain are unlikely to be approved, but the board of trustees will consider each request on its individual merits.
Any group or organization requesting use of Riverside’s facilities must submit a statement regarding the mission of the organization on a Facilities Use Request. It is important to us that our community partners share our values and our mission of inclusivity and justice. Requests by partisan political groups or by organizations whose missions are inconsistent with that of the church will not be considered.
2. Procedures for Requesting Use of Riverside Facilities
DOWNLOAD Facility Use Request Application HERE
Organizations or individuals who wish to use any Riverside facility must complete a Facility Use Request. The complete form can be emailed to Requests should be submitted as far in advance as practical, but at least six weeks in advance.
Facility Use Requests will be forwarded to the board of trustees for consideration. If the request is approved, a Facility Use Agreement will be prepared and sent to the point of contact. The Facility Use Agreement must be signed and returned, along with a deposit of $100, at least four weeks prior to the scheduled event. The deposit will be applied to the applicable room use fee, and is non-refundable. The balance of the room use fee is due in the church office at least one week prior to the event. Until the Facility Use Agreement is executed by the point of contact, the chair of trustees (or their designee), and the required fee has been paid, the event will not be considered finalized and will not be placed on the church calendar.
3. Guidelines for Use of Riverside Facilities
A. General
Organizations or individuals who wish to use any Riverside facility must comply with the following general facilities guidelines:
- The church does not have a parking lot and cannot provide event parking; all event attendees must use public transit, street parking, or park in a nearby parking garage at their cost
- Smoking is prohibited within the church building and on church grounds
- Weapons of any kind are prohibited within the church building and on church grounds
- Animals are not permitted within the church building with the exception of service animals
- Use of controlled substances are prohibited within the church and on church grounds
- Alcoholic beverages are allowed within the church building only with prior approval
- The event host or (subject to trustees approval) their designee must be on site at all times during events
- Events attended by minor children must be supervised by a minimum of two adults, and as a general rule at least 1 adult for every 6 children, depending upon the age of the children
- No food or beverages are permitted in the sanctuary
- Decorations may only be attached to trim and/or doors with string or masking tape; all decorations must be completely removed immediately upon conclusion of the event
- Event hosts must ensure that any refuse generated during an event is picked up and placed in appropriate trash or recycling bins
- Under no circumstances may any equipment, furniture or other church property be removed from the building without prior approval from the board of trustees
- Riverside is not responsible for damage, theft, or loss of personal property during an event; any items left in the church after an event will be placed in the lost and found in the administrator’s office
- Attendance at events is strictly limited to the fire code capacity of the facilities.
B. Kitchen Use
The event host should specify on the Facility Use Request whether use of the kitchen is required. Use of the kitchen, if approved, will require payment of an additional fee.
Groups using the kitchen are expected to leave the kitchen and its equipment clean and in the condition in which it was found.
The church’s disposable kitchen products (plates, utensils, linens, glasses, etc.) may be used for church/ministry events. For non-church/ministry events, plates, utensils, linens, glasses, etc. must be provided by the hosts of the event. Alternatively, the event host may compensate the church for the use of the church’s disposable kitchen products with prior agreement.
C. Audio/Video Equipment Use
The trustees will coordinate all A/V equipment use during events. The use of Riverside’s A/V equipment is restricted to trained personnel approved by the trustees. Event hosts must indicate on the Facility Use Request whether A/V equipment will be needed during the event, and the specific nature of A/V support required. Use of Riverside A/V equipment may incur an additional fee.
D. Room Setup/Breakdown
The event host should specify on the Facility Use Request whether any non-standard room setup is required. Room setup requests are subject to the approval of the trustees, and may be subject to an additional fee.
Under normal circumstances, Riverside will perform any movement of furniture and/or equipment specified in an approved room setup request, and will perform any required breakdown following the event. The movement of furniture and/or equipment by event hosts and/or attendees is not permitted without prior approval.
E. Damage/Breakage
All persons and/or groups using Riverside facilities are expected to exercise reasonable care and judgement in order to prevent damage or breakage. Any damage to church property should be reported to church staff immediately. The Facility Use Agreement shall require the host of any event be responsible for paying costs incurred by the church in repairing or replacing any part of the building or its furnishings and equipment which is damaged during an event, or which in the judgement of the trustees has been carelessly or irresponsibly subjected to more than normal wear and tear by the attendees of the event.
F. Recurring Usage
If a group wishes to use Riverside facilities on an ongoing basis, this should be indicated on the Facility Use Request. Facility use fees may be waived or reduced, at the discretion of the trustees, for religious, ministry, recovery, or non-profit groups that use Riverside facilities for regularly scheduled meetings/events.
A Facility Use Request for a recurring event, when approved, is effective for one year, after which the agreement will be reviewed for renewal.
Failure to adhere to the provisions of the building use policy may result in the immediate cancellation of the Facility Use Agreement at the discretion of the board of trustees.
G. Insurance
For non-church/ministry events, the board of trustees may require the event organizer furnish a Certificate of Insurance that includes general liability insurance of at least $1 million each occurrence.
4. Fees for Use of Riverside Facilities
In order to defray the costs of utilities and maintaining the church building and facilities, the following fees will be required for their use.
For events that take place outside of normal office hours (M-Th 9AM-1PM), access to the building will be provided by Riverside personnel when available. However, in the event that church personnel are not available, building access will be provided by Riverside’s security contractor for an additional fee of $100 per hour.
Use of the multipurpose room (max. capacity 80 people)
$100. per hour ($50. per hour for 501(c)(3) non-profits)
Use of the kitchen (for anything other than simple staging of food)
$50. per hour ($25. per hour for 501(c)(3) non-profits)
Use of the conference room
$30. per hour ($15. per hour for 501(c)(3) non-profits)
Use of the sanctuary (max. capacity 272 people)
$250. per hour ($125. per hour for 501(c)(3) non-profits)
A $100 fee will be assessed for events including food and/or drink. An additional fee may be assessed when excessive or unusual clean-up is required after an event, at the discretion of the trustees.
All events will also require a $250 refundable deposit. Any additional fees, such as for events that run over the scheduled time or excessive cleaning fees, will be deducted from the deposit.
5. Board of Trustees Discretion
The board of trustees reserves the right to waive any provision of this building use policy for specific events at its discretion. All decisions of the board regarding building use are final and non-reviewable.