
Places of faith have anchored and shaped our communities for generations, and remain social and physical landmarks, whether in urban or rural settings. Many congregations are at risk as they face declining attendance and insufficient funding to maintain and operate their buildings.
Recognizing that congregations and communities are struggling with these issues, the National Trust for Canada and Faith & the Common Good, two national not-for-profit organizations, have come together to provide expertise, training, advisory and custom coaching services under the banner Regeneration Works: Places of Faith.
Resources
Podcast: Faith Spaces and the Arts
Kendra Fry of Faith & the Common Good, National Trust for Canada, and Trinity-St. Paul's Centre for Faith, Justice, and the Arts discusses the potential of collaborations between faith spaces and the arts to foster "spaces for people not profit".
With host Jessa Agilo.
Listen to the podcast.
Presentation: Recapturing Faith Vitality
May 10, 2016
Faith communities are increasingly looking for ways to grow their mission, with their congregation and their community. We call this "Mission per Square Foot"; it involves looking at re-purposing the faith building, in order to better accommodate the needs of the congregation, the surrounding community, and community partners.
The portion of the webinar posted here is the PowerPoint presentation on "Best practices for marketing to and retaining long term tenants." The presenter was Kendra Fry.
Download PDF (3.8 MB)
Mission Per Square Foot Case Studies

In 2015, we launched a new program called Mission Per Square Foot (MPSF) designed to help any congregation fully harness their building in a way that meets its mission, acknowledges its capacity, protects the environment and serves the larger community. These case studies (from the Ottawa area explore how diverse faith communities are fully and sustainably utilizing their buildings, guided by a clear mission and in service to the larger community. The MPSF program was relabelled Regeneration Works: Places of Faith in 2017.
Download PDF (1.8 MB)