A church in Kendall lets a community soccer league use its field on Saturday mornings. There is no written agreement. The arrangement started when someone from the league asked a deacon after a service, and that was three years ago.
A parent walking to the sideline trips on a broken section of walkway and shatters her elbow. She sues the league and the church.
The church will be in that lawsuit regardless of who organized the game, because it owns the property. What determines the outcome is paperwork nobody thought to create.
Sharing Space Is Nearly Universal
Most congregations let outside groups use the building. Recovery meetings, scout troops, community organizations, tutoring programs, schools, day cares, wedding parties, quinceañeras, polling places, and neighborhood associations.
It is good stewardship of an underused facility, and it is frequently a revenue source. It is also a set of activities the church did not plan, does not supervise, and may not be insured for.
The Premises Liability Problem
An organization that owns property generally owes a duty of care to people who come onto it. That duty does not disappear because someone else organized the event.
When something happens on church property, the church gets named. The plaintiff’s attorney names every party with a potential source of recovery, and the property owner is always on that list.
The question is not whether the church will be involved. It is whether the church’s own policy absorbs the claim alone or whether the responsible organization’s coverage stands in front of it.
The Documents That Matter
Four things, and most congregations have none of them.
A written facility use agreement. Who is using the space, when, for what, what they may and may not do, who is responsible for setup and cleanup, and what happens if something is damaged.
A certificate of insurance from the user. Evidence that the organization carries general liability coverage, with limits stated.
Additional insured status for the church. This is the important one, and it is different from a certificate. A certificate shows a policy exists. Additional insured status, added by endorsement to the user’s policy, extends that coverage to the church for claims arising from their use of the space. Ask for a copy of the endorsement, not just the certificate.
Indemnification and hold harmless language in the agreement, obligating the user to defend and indemnify the church for claims arising from their activities.
Together these move the first line of defense from the church’s policy to the user’s.
What Your Own Policy Does With This
Two things worth confirming with your carrier.
Is regular outside use disclosed? Policies are underwritten on described operations. A church whose application describes worship services, but whose building hosts a day care five days a week and a basketball league on weekends, has an information gap.
Does the policy contemplate rental income? If the church charges for use, that may be treated as a business activity with its own considerations.
Neither of these is a reason to stop sharing the facility. They are reasons to tell the carrier.
Higher-Risk Uses
Some arrangements deserve more attention than others.
Anything involving minors. A day care, preschool, tutoring program, or youth sports league operating on church property intersects with the church’s own child protection requirements. Carriers ask about it, and the abuse and molestation exposure does not neatly separate by who runs the program.
Licensed childcare. A day care renting classrooms is typically its own regulated operation. The church needs their license, their insurance, and a clear agreement about what the church is and is not responsible for.
Athletic activities. Higher injury frequency, and often less organized users.
Events with alcohol. Weddings and receptions raise liquor liability, which is generally excluded from a standard church policy. Some churches prohibit alcohol entirely; those that permit it need to know how the exposure is handled and who is serving.
Commercial kitchen use. Caterers and food programs bring their own considerations.
Overnight use. Sheltering, retreats, and youth lock-ins are a materially different premises exposure than a daytime meeting.
Polling places and public events. High volume, unfamiliar visitors, and parking congestion.
Maintenance Is the Other Half
A written agreement does not help if the walkway was broken.
More people using the building means more wear and more chances for a hazard to go unnoticed. Congregations that share space heavily should be walking the property regularly and documenting it — parking lot surfaces, walkways, lighting, handrails, stair treads, playground equipment, and anything else people traverse in the dark after an evening meeting.
Documented inspection records are useful both for preventing claims and for defending them.
A Practical Starting Point
For a congregation that shares space informally and wants to fix it without disrupting relationships:
Make a list of every group currently using the building and how often. Most churches are surprised by the length of it.
Create a simple facility use agreement and apply it going forward, starting with the highest-risk users.
Request certificates and additional insured endorsements from organizations that carry insurance. Some small groups will not have coverage, and that is a decision the board should make consciously rather than by default.
Tell your carrier what is actually happening in the building.
Walk the property and fix what needs fixing.
None of this requires turning anyone away. It requires writing down what already happens.
Review How Your Facility Is Being Used
Prestige Insurance Group works with churches, synagogues, ministries, and religious schools throughout Florida and can review how outside use of your facility affects your coverage and what documentation you should be collecting.
Call our Miami office at 305-969-8776, our Orlando office at (407) 993-2331, or our Stuart office at 561-983-4333, or request a quote online.
This article is general information and not legal advice. Liability outcomes depend on the facts of each situation and on the specific terms of the agreements and policies involved; consult qualified counsel when preparing facility use agreements.
