Is your church ready for the unthinkable? Unfortunately, church violence has happened more than once, with incidents making the news too often. So it’s probably a pretty good idea to make sure your church is ready for the worst case scenario, but let’s see if you are.
19% of you are ready for any situation. You’ve got a disaster manual in case of fire, violence or screaming babies, and nothing is going to throw you off your game.
29% of you are a little bit less sure. You’ve got a plan in place, but you’re not sure everyone has a great grasp of it or that it’s thorough enough for the worst of scenarios.
Another 28% of you keep putting it off, even though you plan to make one. Fortunately for your marketing, your name isn’t published here, but it could bring great peace to some attenders knowing you already have a plan in place.
And a final 24% just believe God will protect you, and there’s no need for a plan. Which is why you keep your money in a big stack on the altar and don’t check the background or credentials of staff members, right?
Most of our articles, rants and discussions take a turn towards light-heartedness, but this isn’t one of those times. This is a serious subject, and just as you have the responsibility to protect your finances, staff and vision, you have a charge to protect those who attend your church. We’d love to hear about some of your stories and plans in the comments.
This week, we’re turning to Twitter. Do you support pastors encouraging attenders to use Twitter during services?
Mike Hunter
May 6, 2009
Have you seen Trey Morgan’s blog this week? He’s raised $12,000 to feed the hungry in Honduras who live in a city dump.
see it here: treymorgan.net
Stan
May 6, 2009
Our church has nothing like that in place at all. We are in a small, rural community. So most of our people just assume that this kind of stuff doesn’t happen to small town churches, it happens in big cities where all the crime is. While this is a big misnomer, it is where we are. I think maybe it’s about time to get serious about it. Churches are no longer “sacred” ground respected by all persons. They are open to attack and crime just like schools and public service buildings. There is no more “sacred” turf. Time to get serious about it. Good post.
Andy
May 7, 2009
Our church is a medium sized church, around 800 on a Sunday and we have realized that we need to put some plans in place to keep it safe.
You can download my church’s Emergency Response plan at:
http://freecmstuff.com/downloads/administrative-forms-and-documents/
Hope that can be a help and guide to some other churches!
Joshua Cody
May 7, 2009
Hey Andy, thanks a ton for this resource!
Matt Branaugh
May 8, 2009
We have a free training download on this very topic available at ChurchSafety.com:
http://www.churchsafety.com/topics/emergencies/violence/protectingyourchurchfromcrimeviolence
We pray it helps!
Matt Branaugh
Editor, Your Church magazine
Christianity Today International
Twitter: @MattBranaugh
Matt Branaugh
May 8, 2009
Sorry–looks like the URL got cut off. You can find “Protecting Your Church From Crime and Violence” under the “Emergencies” section of ChurchSafety.com.
http://www.churchsafety.com/topics/emergencies/
violence/
protectingyourchurchfromcrime
violence
Adam Whechel
May 18, 2009
Recently we hired one of our regular attendee’s for security any time we have service. He’s 6’2” weighs 260 lb. all muscle, he’s trained in green beret military takedowns and self defense, wears plain clothes, and carries a gun, (we’ve made sure that he’s legally allowed to carry it) and no one from our church knows about the gun, except staff. We also have a small camera behind the pastor that we are recording to mini DV and it captures 100 ft in front of and on both sides of the pastor, so that if the person tried attacking our pastor and got away.. we have his face on our camera.
JIMMY MEEKS
January 9, 2012
Over 230 people have been murdered while on church property since 1999. In addition, over 136 people have been found dead on church property. And the sex crimes against children while at church or under the care of church workers is unbelievable. Go to safeatchurch.ORG for more info