Crisis Action Planning October 27, 2014

Safety & Security A Crisis Action Plan (CAP) incorporates all aspects of a church’s safety and security. Each year threats to safety are evaluated for specific areas of vulnerability and are ranked in accordance with their likelihood of occurrence. Each vulnerability is carefully considered utilizing expert advice from local Law Enforcement, Bomb Squads, Emergency Management offices, Fire Departments and Intelligence Agencies. Procedures are then implemented to prepare for and/or prevent each potential threat. A training and evaluation program should be established to monitor established goals. Training is provided for all staff and volunteers, as well as local first responders. %

Church Reputation A proper Crisis Action Plan does not stop at safety and security threats as mentioned above; it also takes into account the threats posed to a church’s reputation. There are an indeterminate

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Church Violence

In the last 10 years there have been 489 Deadly Force Incidents at places of worship across the country resulting in 228 deaths according to Carl Chinn, a faith based security expert. Many crises can be prevented or minimized by putting simple security measures in place.%

Distraction-less Environment

The goal of church crisis planning is to provide an environment where people can come to worship and not be distracted by worry’s of their children in the nursery, their car in the parking lot, or their tithe in the offering plate.%

Protecting our Most Valued Members

Children’s departments require special care. Lockdown, evacuation, and check-in and check-out are all procedures that should be clearly explained and rehearsed to workers and parents.

WHY YOUR CHURCH NEEDS A CRISIS ACTION PLAN

Safety | Reputation | Stakeholders

Crisis Action Planning October 27, 2014

number of crisis that a church and community can face. Fiscal mismanagement, and inappropriate pastoral relationships, are only two of the many areas that can affect a church’s reputation and the parishioners ability to grow. Being prepared means taking into account every possible liability to growth and preparing ways to prevent their occurrence. A CAP can also designates a trained spokesperson with pre-written statements to help handle media relations during a crisis. %

Stakeholder Interest A church has many stakeholders; parents, teachers, staff, members, youth, visitors and the local community all have a vested interest in how well a church is run. It is important to demonstrate to all these stakeholders that all their time and money is going to a church that takes every threat to growth seriously. This plan should give people peace of mind and a sense of pride that they are prepared for whatever the future might hold. It should attract visitors by ensuring that their most treasured children are safe and secure during services; and it should be a pride of the community - a shining example of a well run organization.

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Is Your Church Prepared for any Type of Crisis?

Church’s face an indeterminate number of crisis each year:

• Fiscal Crisis - inadequate funding of programs, or misuse of funds

• Inappropriate Pastoral Care relationships

• Plagiarism and dishonesty

• Natural Disasters - Natural disasters including tornados, floods, severe summer or winter storms can affect churches and communities.

• Domestic crises that are brought to church - unauthorized pick up of children

• Fire evacuation plans - where and how parents pick children up from evacuation site; how nursery workers evacuate non-walking children etc.

• Active shooter incidents and lockdown procedures

• Elderly health afflictions and the flu