How To Plan A Work Party To Clear Land

Is your church congregation planning to build a new building for worship and fellowship? Whether you're moving from an existing building or whether this will be the very first church building for a new congregation, you are all probably very excited and anxious to move right in. If you are on a shoe-string budget, consider saving money by having members of the congregation clear the land in preparation for the actual building. Here are some ideas that might make the job easier and faster.

Start With A Meeting - The best thing you can do is to get people on board to help. Remember that the more volunteers you have, the better. Even little children can help. You'll need a committee that will be in charge of enlisting volunteers for the following jobs.

  •  A committee to put out the word that volunteers are needed. That same committee would arrange for posters and flyers that give all the information for your work day. The day before the actual work is to be done, a reminder call to volunteers will be useful.
  • Volunteers that will arrange for baby sitting so that more adults can join the work party.
  • Volunteers to provide water, snacks and even a meal at the end of the day.

Clearing Day - A good method to make sure all of the land is covered is to have a long line of people that goes from one side of the property to the other. If you'll be clearing the land this summer, consider starting very early in the day so you can beat the heat as much as possible.

  • Little ones can take plastic bags and begin by throwing away papers, beverage cans and other litter. Consider having a large trash receptacle on site.
  • The next row of people will be those who remove stones and small plants. They'll need spades, shovels and wheelbarrows.

The Big Jobs - Save your strongest teenagers and adults for the hardest part, tree clearing and tree stump removal.

  • You'll need gas-powered or battery-powered chainsaws to cut the trees down and tractors for the last part of the tree removal.
  • Consider saving the trees for firewood that can be sold to fatten up your building budget.
  • If the workers will leave about three feet of the trees in place, the remaining stump can be used for leverage. That's where the tractors come in. The tractor blade will push the remaining part of the tree over, root and all, and your land will be totally cleared.

Best wishes on planning your work party in preparation for your new church building.


Share