Protecting Your Church's Facilities, Assets and Guests

It’s almost a daily occurrence: there are news reports about a storm or wildfire that destroys homes, businesses, and churches. Other news stories report on vandalism or thefts in houses of worship. And unfortunately, reports of an armed individual harming church-goers is all too common. Whether financial, legal, or physical, your ministry faces different risks every day. The effective management of these risks (by avoiding, reducing, or transferring the risk) is vital to the health and success of your ministry.

This article discusses practical ways to reduce risks to your church facilities and assets, as well as the guests who attend your worship services.

This article will focus on three areas:

1. Protecting your building and equipment
2. Protecting your guests
3. Protecting your church with proper insurance

Protecting Your Building and Equipment

The facilities and equipment needed to effectively perform your ministry are a significant portion of your organization’s assets. They can also be very costly to replace. Here are some procedures that are designed to help protect and secure your building and equipment.

• Maintain a record of everyone who has a key or access code to the building.
• Make sure keys are retrieved or access codes are changed when volunteers or employees leave your organization.
• Maintain adequate outdoor lighting in your parking lot and near front and rear entrances.
• Keep church vehicles parked in well-lit areas.
• Keep offices, classrooms, and supply rooms locked when not in use.
• Perform a walk-though with a security expert or local police officer to assess vulnerable areas and find areas for improvement.
• Work with the local community to organize neighborhood cleanups and ask local police to patrol your area, especially at night.
• Consider joining or starting a Neighborhood Watch program. Establish relationships with neighbors and ask for their help in spotting and reporting suspicious activity.
• Consider installing a security system and video cameras.

Protecting Your Guests

The whole reason we are involved in ministry is to reach people. But having people attend your services each week exposes your church to multiple risks. Here are some practical steps that can help keep your guests safe and minimize those risks.

• Create a safety and security team.
• Train them how to identify and address people acting suspiciously.
• Teach them how to diffuse potential disruptions or dangerous situations, and when to call the law enforcement.
• Enlist the help of local law enforcement for training, tools, and an assessment of your security procedures.
• Establish procedures on what to do when an injury occurs, when a fire alarm sounds, or when a storm warning is issued.
  For example, when a fire alarm sounds, how will evacuation instructions be communicated to the attendees? How will children be evacuated while maintaining their safety and security? When a tornado warning is issued, is there a safe location in the building that can accommodate all guests? At what point should you send guests home?
• Document your plan of action, train your employees and volunteers, and post it in visible areas.

Protecting Your Church with Proper Insurance

If disaster strikes, is your insurance coverage adequate to replace missing or damaged assets and buildings? Now is the time to assess your insurance needs and make sure your coverage is adequate.

Here are some questions to consider as you review your insurance policies.

• Do you have enough property coverage to replace your facility and all contents if you sustained a total loss?
• Does your coverage address professional liability?
• Have you performed a regular inventory of equipment and vehicles to make sure insurance coverage is adequate?
• Does your policy cover embezzlement or theft by employees and volunteers? If you do sustain a loss, does the church have enough cash in reserves to cover any out-of-pocket requirements?
• Are staff and volunteers who drive church vehicles adequately covered? Be sure to check your state law or insurance company to determine if a commercial driver license is required for your church bus or van, and if there are other minimum age or training requirements.

Unfortunately, our churches face risks every day. Consider implementing some or all of the best practices to help reduce these risks, while increasing the safety of your members, assets and resources.

If you want to learn more about reducing risk in your ministry, visit these websites:

www.churchlawandtax.com
https://www.agfinancial.org/services/individual-services/individual-insurance