I sat down with Dr. Kevin Berkopes, the Founder & CEO of Crossroads Education, to discuss what the future holds for classrooms and churches in today's society. Dr. Berkopes is a thought leader in the education space and was just awarded a substantial grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to transform education in the state of Indiana.
Our Playback Podcast episode conversation produced an idea. What if churches evolved into the epicenter of a community where faith, commerce, and education collided into a beautiful kinetoscope of opportunities?
This idea would require reinventing the infrastructure for learning spaces and school facilities in your church. United States schools and churches are close to sixty years old on average. They are well below modern architectural standards with costly, outdated lighting and mechanical systems. Our vision is a mixed-use space that reduces the number of square footage per student and congruent. Also reduces common area maintenance space, making state-of-the-art learning spaces affordable for schools and churches. This single-facility ecosystem model has the potential to solve many community challenges and provide endless benefits.
Community Benefits
Imagine an affordable grocer in the building (an estimated 200,000 Indy residents live in food deserts.) And space where working parents won't worry about taking time off of work to drive their children to dentist appointments because the dentist is in the building. CCV in Arizona is already thinking with this type of mindset having a clinic and food pantry their location. Access to healthcare and health programs in your church could significantly impact the lives of some many people in need. The church could also partner with banks and local businesses to provides micro-loans for community members, and financial literacy programs for students.
Business Benefits
The business impact of the evolved space would also impact commerce in your town. With a mixed-use level, your congregation could secure rental space, and there could be a cafeteria with restaurants benefit from the grocer distribution network. You already see this type of setup in larger west-coast churches like Mariners in California.
We believe the church can evolve to have a significant impact on your community with the utilization of technology and learning environments. If you are interested in discussing your next building project, please send Dr. Berkopes a note. He would love to hear from you.