June 9, 2022
Five tips for traveling abroad safely
If you are planning your first volunteer or ministry trip abroad, it is important to know a few guidelines for traveling safely. There are some common pitfalls new travelers often struggle with that can be prevented with a little preparation. Here are 5 easy steps you can take to prepare yourself for traveling abroad safely.
Five steps to take:
Get Travel Insurance
No Matter where your mission takes you, travel insurance is essential. Faith Ventures has affordable travel insurance options that come with single or multi-trip plans for foreign and domestic mission travel as well as access to 24-hour emergency services while you travel.
Limit the Amount of Cash you Carry
Cash makes you an easy target; avoid carrying large sums of money with you or flashing cash during a purchase. Use credit or debit cards whenever possible (be sure to notify the companies you will be traveling overseas). Save on ATM fees by taking out cash at purchase time from supermarkets and gas stations.
Educate Yourself about your Destination Country
Get information on travel alerts and country-specific warnings, laws, and customs before you leave. You may need to change your dress, abide by curfews, or adhere to media restrictions. If you break the law while traveling, your U.S. passport cannot help you avoid arrest, and the U.S. embassy cannot get you out of jail.
Protect your Passport
Keep your passport in your front pocket or in a travel pouch inside your clothes. You can find hidden money and passport holders like these to keep your valuables out of sight. If your hotel asks to hold your passport during your stay, make sure you request documentation. Always keep a photocopy of your passport ID page and visa.
Keep Loved Ones Aware of your Location
If you are traveling to a high-risk area or if you are traveling solo, it is important to keep friends or family back home aware of your itinerary. You can do this by sending them a list of your locations and addresses along with how to get in contact with you. Or, even better, get a location-sharing app like one of these to allow a trusted friend/family member to keep tabs on your location.
To learn more about the mission travel protection that Faith Ventures can provide, click here.
This summer is shaping up to be a banner year for churches offering Vacation Bible School (VBS) or summer day camps. After a couple of years of cancellations, mask mandates, and social distancing, that is refreshing and encouraging news.
As we prepare to welcome droves of children into our summer activities, we want to make sure that we do everything we can to make their experience enjoyable, memorable, and safe.
If you are planning your first volunteer or ministry trip abroad, it is important to know a few guidelines for traveling safely. There are some common pitfalls new travelers often struggle with that can be prevented with a little preparation. Here are 5 easy steps you can take to prepare yourself for traveling abroad safely.
As we enter the middle of 2022 amidst uncertainty in many areas, we continue to look at ways our ministries may be exposed. Inflation has reared its ugly head into the economy, and it has a massive effect on the construction industry, trickling into areas that matter to you and your ministry.
Cyber security is increasingly crucial in our technologically advanced world. Scammers use many schemes when attempting to steal your data, but you can outsmart them by understanding their methods.
Most ministry leaders don’t realize there is funding available to non-profit employers including churches, schools, colleges, and camps. This post includes some highlights about the credit and guidance on where to start to see if your ministry is eligible.
If your church is anything like mine, Vacation Bible School (VBS) is a big deal. Not just because it is central to our ministry’s outreach to young families, but because of the important role that VBS plays in the spiritual formation of children.
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. Though child abuse may not be something you could ever imagine happening within your ministry, sexual abuse of a minor is one of the top five reasons churches end up in court, according to Church Law & Tax. Studies also show that a child is much more likely to be sexually abused by a trusted adult than a stranger.
When severe storms strike, they can produce high winds and tornadoes. Damaging winds can wreak havoc on your ministry’s property and to buildings. A high wind event can crash debris through your windows, strip your siding, down trees on your parking lot, peel shingles off your roof, and fling back the flashing.
Thieves are taking advantage of soaring precious metal prices. Take steps to protect your ministry’s vehicles and property.
As the Director of Ministry Safety for our agency, I am dedicated to finding ways to help safeguard ministries like yours.
As temperatures plummet, the risk of freezing pipes jumps. Frozen pipes can cause costly messes that could also put your ministry on hold while you clean up.
On behalf of our agency, I recently participated in one such training which focused on strategies and tactics for responding as a single officer to an active safety threat in a school building.
If you’re anything like me (and maybe the rest of the world for that matter), you’re grateful to put the craziness of the past year behind us.
Preparing for this Christmas season may require additional creativity, due to the uncertainty of what COVID-19 may bring in our local community.
A mid-November deadline in the Boy Scouts of America’s (BSA) bankruptcy proceedings may have you wondering what the organization’s bankruptcy filing means for your ministry if you ever hosted or chartered Boy Scout Troops.
On October 10, 2020, in Denver, Colorado, a 30-year-old private security guard who was hired to protect a Denver news crew while covering protests was involved in a deadly shooting that claimed the life of a 49-year-old man.
Organizations that obtained Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funding through the CARES Act can have their loans forgiven, turning them into grants. To qualify, each borrower must file a forgiveness application with its PPP lender, proving that it followed the rules. If your church, school, college, or camp meets all the criteria, 100% of its loan can be forgiven.
Lessons learned from the front line of a wildland fire.
Four major wildfires are burning across Colorado, fueled by dry vegetation, drought and wind.
Ministries are creatively scrambling to continue their operations and safely engage their congregations with an array of online technologies during the coronavirus pandemic. Unfortunately, hackers are ready to take advantage of the confusion with scams designed to steal valuable data or siphon funds from your ministry. Learn how to keep your ministry safe from scams.