American Church Group - Colorado

The summer is almost over and if you are in church ministry, your program year is about to kick into high gear (if it hasn’t already).  For ministry staff, that means the search for volunteers is on.  Volunteers are the lifeblood of churches without whom our ministries would simply cease to exist. 

When the Affordable Care Act passed in 2010, Health Insurance was no longer something you could dabble in... you had to go "all in" or you would be left behind.  We made a strategic decision to stay squarely focused on building our brand in the Property and Casualty space and we knew that we could re-enter the benefits space when the timing and people were right.  

I’m going to make a bold statement, and it may ruffle some feathers. About half of the churches I encounter are committed to regular training for their safety team. And about half of those churches regularly incorporate live scenario training into their training program. Here’s the rub: most of the scenario training that I see people lead is moderately effective, or worse, it’s completely ineffective and confidence eroding.

If you serve on or lead an armed security team, or your ministry has an armed security team, you must fully understand the huge responsibility that comes with that decision. The following incident can provide a cautionary tale for all of us to learn from.

Although it's summer, now is the perfect time to take preventative measures to reduce these costly and time-consuming claims.

Of all the liability claims that Brotherhood Mutual pays out each year, bodily injury and medical claims are at the top of the list. If your ministry hasn’t experienced a slip-and-fall incident resulting in an injury, it is just a matter of time until you do.

For most churches, and many nonprofits, the end of the school year signals the end of the ministry year.  Many of those same churches and nonprofits have fiscal year ends as of June 30.  This is a great time to review what is commonly called your organizational “governance” documents. 

As I sit here in Kansas watching the news and reports of severe weather in my State and those States that surround me, I must remind myself, “there is not much I can do about this.” As a “fixer” this is difficult for me. The storms are going to roll in and at least we have the weather service who helps prepare us to “stay out of the way.”  To answer my own question, we cannot avoid weather related claims.

Remember the days when hackers were imagined as shadowy figures living in their parent's basements, playing video games, and eating Doritos while crafting scam emails? Well, that image is now outdated. The world of cybercrime has evolved, and it's both sophisticated and terrifying. According to a recent annual cyber claims report from an insurance carrier called, Coalition, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), received more than 880,000 complaints of cybercrime in 2023 with reported losses of $12.5 billion.

If your church or nonprofit engages in short-term, summer mission trips, this time often signals the beginning of fundraising projects. Before you appeal for donations, it is important to review the rules of what the IRS calls “deputized fundraising” making sure you have the proper policies and procedures in place to maintain compliance. Failure to maintain compliance could result in the loss of your tax-exempt status.

With Valentine’s Day upon us and the official May-to-October wedding season not far behind, many couples are searching for the perfect wedding venue.  Schools and performing arts organizations are looking for end-of-year performance and graduation venues.  Your church or nonprofit facility might be the perfect match.  Engaging the opportunity has stewardship and community outreach benefits.  But opening your facilities to other activities and users involves risk.  A Facility Use Policy sets the standard for your facility use.   A Facility Use Agreement implements that standard.  To be effective,  leaders must answer three questions.

The focus of this article is to address some of the risks and liabilities associated with having an armed safety team. Click here to read PART ONE.

Over the last few years, our agency has continued to grow and expand across the Midwest & Rockies, now spanning six states: Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Colorado, and Wyoming. Serving over 3,000 ministries and nonprofit organizations, we are deeply grateful for the opportunity to support you.

Do you ever feel like some words just get overused?  I do.  I live in a house with two teenagers and a sweet little boy who watches everything they do.  The word "literally", gets used in 80% of sentences...  It isn't even impactful anymore.  It means nothing.  Because if they didn't use that word, I would just expect that most of what they were saying was metaphoric in nature.

The new year signals the end of one payroll year and the beginning of another.  As you process employee W2s and independent contractor 1099s, take time to evaluate a critical aspect of your ministry business risk management program: proper worker classification.  While the percentage of the American workforce comprising “contingent workers” (independent contractors, contract employees, temporary employees, leased employees) was rapidly increasing before COVID, since COVID and the acceptance of the remote workplace, use of contingent workers has skyrocketed. You probably have several on your payroll.

Over the last few years, I have had the opportunity to speak with several thousand church safety team members across the country. By far the most common question I get from this group is “Am I covered if something bad happens?” This is not a question that only pertains to armed safety team members. Truth is, anyone who serves in the protection of a ministry should be asking that question. The purpose of this article is to help ministries be better informed and more prepared in advance of an incident occurring.

We’re encouraging all customers to stay ahead of the freezing weather by signing up to receive Extreme Freezing Weather Text Alerts from Brotherhood Mutual. It’s new. The alert also links to actions you can take immediately to prevent or minimize damage to your buildings before forecasted weather arrives.

Join us for a comprehensive, one-day training for all! Tailored breakout sessions cover complex HR topics for administration and provides in-depth training, including a deeper review into de-escalation, for the security team. In the afternoon, unite in a deep dive on child safety with proprietary insights the anatomy of an abuse claim and protecting our youth.