April 13, 2016
Simply having a church safety team is not enough, especially if team members cannot respond properly to medical emergencies or threats against the pastor or members of the congregation. Team members must train continuously to master appropriate skills for the roles they’re assigned.
Begin initial training immediately when members join the team
Schedule an initial training session soon after bringing new team members into the fold. Subjects to cover with all team members should include:
Ongoing training should increase with responsibility
All team members benefit from regular training about emergency response procedures. Some team members, such as medical responders, may require additional certifications, for which you will have to arrange instruction from an expert trainer. Generally, training should increase as responsibility increases. Consider these ongoing training topics:
Use a variety of training tactics
People learn in different ways. Safety and security team training typically follows one or more of these formats:
Document training
Record the type of training and certification that safety and security team members obtain, not only to track training progress, but also to allow the ministry to defend itself legally in the event of a lawsuit involving the ministry’s response to an emergency. Maintain training records for at least five years after training completion.
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?