About Christian Flatshare

Christian Flatshare (CFS) is a non-profit organisation which helps accommodation seekers to connect with their local church community.

CFS is fee to use, and is supported by its members (ahem).

Offering accommodation

Those with accommodation to offer should place Offered Accommodation adverts. You can change your advert, suspend it, and receive messages from those who respond to it. Adding photos is key and helps to get the best response.

Those placing Offered accommodation adverts can choose that they would prefer someone who, if asked, could provide a recommendation from a current or previous church staff member.

Finding accommodation

Those looking for accommodation should place a Wanted Accommodation advert. Once a Wanted is placed Offered adverts matching automatically highlight matching Offered Accommodation adverts and enables several other features of CFS. CFS offers those looking for accommodation the option to choose "Pal-Up" in their Wanted advert, which indicates they are willing to connect with others with similar accommodation needs to look for accommodation together.

Short-term accommodation

Offered an Wanted accommodation adverts posted for a period of 12 weeks or less are highlighted as being short-term adverts. This can be useful for all sorts of short-term requirements, and can be used for finding house-sitters too. There is not a separate category for house-sitting; those offering house-sitting opportunities or services should instead put that detail in the description of their advert. Short-term adverts can be filtered for in searches.

Facebook - CFS allows members to connect their account with Facebook, so that they can see friends in common with others using CFS.

Flat-match and Pal-up - Those with adverts can choose to receive emails about adverts which match their requirements.

Please see the FAQs for further details.

Advert types

House Share or Flatshare: accommodation shared with those at a similar age or stage in life (students, mature students and professionals).

Room Share: a bedroom shared with someone of the same sex.

Family Share: accommodation with a family with children, or a married couple (lodging).

Whole Place: an unoccupied house or flat.

Wanted Accommodation: adverts of those looking for accommodation.

Students, mature students, professionals; singles, married couples, families - CFS is for finding homes and is intended to serve the accommodation needs of the whole church community.

Christian Flatshare was founded following the experience of those moving to London, who shared a house with others who shared their faith, and were encouraged by the faith community - which offered encouragement, accountability and support. CFS was created to help others make similar connections, and is a resource for church communities (in the UK, US, CA, AU, IE and SA).

Connecting with the local church

Christian Flatshare helps accommodation seekers to connect with a local church community, and for churches to connect with those moving to their area.

Christian Flatshare can be used by members of a church to share their accommodation notices with those inside and outside their congregation, which can help connect them with those moving to the same area.

Where one lives is likely to be an influence in choosing which church to attend: by engaging in the accommodation process, a church leader can help facilitate the growth of the church in the immediate community. CFS sees accommodation as a doorway to the local church community.

CFS is operated as a non-profit organisation (see where does the money go?). The many tens of thousands of pounds required create and to promote Christian Flatshare have been given by those closest to Christian Flatshare as an investment in Christian community. Those using CFS may make donations to help meet our operational costs.

Should you have any enquiries about Christian Flatshare please contact us.

Church Support

CFS has been supported by the leadership of 483 churches and organisations since January2007.

Church support is key for Christian Flatshare.

Church and Christian organisation leaders can support CFS by requesting to be added to the Christian Flatshare directory. Those churches and organisations listed appear on CFS' accommodation maps, with links back to them. Church leaders can also:

• Share CFS with their church community
• Link their church website to Christian Flatshare
• Display a poster in church

Member Support

Christian Flatshare members can support best by:

• Sharing CFS with your church leader
• Displaying this lovely poster in your church!
• Reporting any problems (including spelling mistakes!)
• Clicking the Facebook "Recommend"...

Anyone can donate to Christian Flatshare to help meet CFS' monthly running costs (which are seldom met by donations alone). Costs are kept to a minimum, and web site administration is provided by volunteers.

Should donations ever exceed our annual operating costs, the excess will be given to selected charities (see where does the money go? for more information on financial matters).