March 30, 2016
Participating in a mission trip is a great way to make a positive difference in today’s chaotic world. Before your ministry leaves on its next missions adventure, make sure you are organized and equipped for a safe trip.
Here are six ideas to consider before embarking on your next mission trip:
1. Recognize the risks. When embarking on a mission trip, your team is likely to be exposed to unfamiliar risks. Some may involve vehicle accidents, particularly if you’re in a foreign country. Many others are associated with your mission activities—sermons, handing out tracts, biblical dramas, worship or healing services, and other religious communications that can result in allegations of emotional injury.
2. Get Organized. Appoint a team leader who will attend to the details of your trip and take the initiative to associate your team with a legitimate relief organization.
3. Stop before you go. If you are driving, be sure to have your church vehicles inspected before you leave. Repairs can be costly and tough to come by in other countries.
4. Keep the doctor away. Make sure everyone going on the trip is in good health. Require an up-to-date shot record and a signed medical release form from every team member. Prepare your team for potential injuries and be sure to identify a hospital or emergency room nearest your mission site in case someone on your team is hurt in the field.
5. Protect your valuables. Leave duplicate copies of important documentation at home in case you lose yours while traveling or need a back-up copy for some unexpected reason. Also, notify credit card companies that you are leaving the country so they don’t get suspicious of unusual activity on your card. Suggest that other team members do the same.
6. Consider coverage. Consider Brotherhood Mutual’s Faith Ventures foreign travel insurance for the trip. Make sure all team members have health insurance and additional accident and sickness coverage. Also, check to make sure that all church employees participating in the trip are covered by the church’s workers’ compensation insurance.
There are a lot of hats worn in any growing ministry – and we want to serve every one of them.
With the holiday season right around the corner, it’s wise for ministries to evaluate their fire safety plan. Whether your ministry is hosting a holiday party, prepping treats for charity, or running a community kitchen, make sure you’re well-prepared with these tips.
The holidays present unique opportunities and challenges for churches that aren’t typical during other times of the year. A lot of the ministries that I work with are seeing steady increases in attendance and are praying for a significant jump in Christmas service participation this year.
In this article, Brad Brown from Plan A Wealth Management gives a wonderful insight into why ministries might consider choosing a 403(B)(9) retirement plan.
As school is back in session, it’s important to make sure your school is equipped with the correct safety procedures. Thinking about your school’s physical security as a series of layers can help you find gaps in your plan. Transportation and volunteers are just two important aspects of your school safety plan to think about.
If there is one thing I have learned over the last decade while working private security and as a sworn peace officer, the more critical the incident, the more likely change will come out of it. Much like a pendulum, an incident occurs, and everyone cries for change.
Updating the lighting in your worship center with LED can offer significant energy savings while improving overall lighting performance.
We are so excited to welcome the newest member of the American Church Group of Colorado team, Lyndsie Glowinski.
Churches are increasingly becoming targets for cyber criminals. The most common attack is by sending “phishing” emails where the perpetrator poses as someone familiar to the ministry staff (like a senior pastor, deacon, elder, or someone trustworthy) and requests some sort of response.
Anyone who turns on the news, flips through a magazine, or browses the web can see that American society and culture are experiencing rapid transitions. Some ministries have valid concerns that issues surrounding societal shifts may expose them to negative publicity, governmental scrutiny, or litigation.
The questions become: when and how can ministries operate within their deeply held religious beliefs when they may conflict with others’ rights?