Managing risk in
the local church is no longer optional. The church has been and will continue to be
the subject of major litigation as well as violence and natural disasters. Though the primary duty of the pastor is to
teach and proclaim the timeless truths of God’s Word, he is also obligated to
protect the vulnerable and the innocent who have been entrusted to his care.
The image of the
shepherd, prominent in the Old Testament and a role which Jesus adopted for
himself, is the image of risk management protecting the church. It is first recognizing that risks do exist,
just as Jesus said that the thief comes to kill, steal, and destroy. The thief is there to do harm, and the
Shepherd is determined to provide security and safety for those who are under His
guardianship. With these facts in mind, would you like to start a new safety and
security ministry at your church?
The first thing you need learn is that a great many people are
skeptical of such a ministry. It may
sound illogical but some think it might be un-Christian to start a safety and
security team. They may feel it reveals
a lack of faith. “God protects us” and
“We must trust in His sovereign protection.”
While I agree with these statements, I also believe that God has
chosen to work through His people. (See Nehemiah 4:7-18) Just as God uses pastors to preach the Gospel
and servants to care for widows, He uses Sheepdogs to protect the flock. When God led the Israelites into the Promised
Land, He could have laid waste to every enemy there but instead He chose for
the Israelites to pick up their swords and with His help, defeat the enemy. So the very first step in starting a new
Safety and Security ministry is to craft your proposal in a way that speaks to
busy pastors and hesitant congregations.
Pastors and ministry leaders need to know that a Safety and
Security ministry eliminates safety and security distractions. Every week the Church is visited by people
that have not embraced Christ and others that have not embraced a fully
righteous lifestyle. In fact,
temptations can sometimes take-hold and even the best “Christian” can sin
against God and the Church. The
consequences for the person, the victim and the congregation can be
devastating. Crime and Scandal will
destroy a good church very quickly. A
Safety and Security ministry serves to prevent and/or mitigate the consequences
of crime.
For the rest of the congregation, it is important for you to start
small. What I mean is you don’t want to
start with pistol-packing congregations bent on fighting off a violent attack. For one, it’s not very likely your church will
experience an active shooter event anytime soon. Second, it scares people to talk about
violence. Instead, first consider having
a risk assessment done. Then begin
building your team.
Depending on the reception you receive from the congregation
regarding this plan, you might want to start with Fire Safety and Response. And build from there. We are all programed from a young age to
think fire safety. Who would argue about
developing a fire evacuation plan for your church? Start there, conduct a few fire drills, and
allow people to see the wisdom of your ministry.
Next, develop a manual of policies and procedures, and train your
team to respond to medical emergencies. With
the aging population, it is likely that someday soon a person in your
congregation may have a heart attack or other medical emergency. Having people trained and equipped to handle
the event may very well save a life.
While First-Aid and CPR certification will cost you some money, one saved life is worth far more. Once
you have been successful in Fire Safety and Medical Emergencies you can expand
the ministry. For now, start having
these conversations at your church. Build agreement and build a vision for your
new ministry and church.
At the end of the day churches need to integrate faith with wisdom
and action. It's time for Christians to
become educated about what's going on in the world, to be prayerful, and then
to be prepared. And those things will
make a difference.
Churches can and should encourage armed citizens to get more
in-depth training on tactics and using their weapon effectively and
safely. While volunteer security teams
are a good possibility, they should receive on-going training so they can
maintain their effectiveness.
In addition, always make sure you understand the laws in your
state before implementing any of the strategies presented here. The goal is to protect the innocent, by
level-headed, well-trained, effective measures, within the scope of laws of
both God and man.
I would like to recommend
a 5 step plan:
1) An
immediate security assessment of the church or place of worship and their
properties by an experienced
security consultant. The assessment results serve as the initial step in
developing any type
of action plan.
2) The formation of a safety and security
committee of members of the congregations.
3) Examine current emergency crisis plans,
and make updated changes that reflect what is current around
the surrounding community.
4) Implement security technology; cameras
systems, access control, communications, notification systems
and other types.
5) I am in favor of assigned individuals
caring weapons in churches or places of worships. I also recommend
a written agreement with the Sheriff’s department or local law enforcement to
have a full
time deputy sheriff or police officer in uniform with a vehicle assigned during
all service hours.
Being proactive and seeking preemptive measures are the
best ways to protect not only the house of worship, but the congregation. And training could be all the difference in a
life-altering situation. The world has
changed in the past few decades making it important to think strategically
about church safety. The bible says we should not have a spirit
of fear, but we should use common sense and wisdom in our approach and planning
for the unexpected.
What church safety measures do you have in place?
I hope that this discussion has caused you to be more
aware of the potential for violence and other emergencies in the church. If you would like to have a comprehensive
risk assessment done for your ministry I would be happy to meet with you to
discuss the details. I would love to hear
your opinions in the comment section below.
Be Safe!
Russ Sharrock
I have made available to anyone interested a FREE series of Do-it-Yourself
forms that can be printed for your use:
1) A Safety & Security Risk Assessment form.
2) Church Emergency Plan Template
3) General Fire Safety Checklist
4) A Bomb Threat Checklist
5) A Bomb Threat Distance chart for various types of explosive
devises to be referred to in the event of a bomb threat evacuation. These
are minimum distances to evacuate away from the area of blast.
They’re Word documents so you can make any changes necessary to fit
your church size and needs. I will be adding new forms as time
allows.
For a copy of any of the Do-it-Yourself forms, or if you have any
questions, you can contact me at: integritysecconslt@mail.com
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