Creating a safer church means creating a strategic church safety plan. In our increasingly unpredictable society, churches must be more vigilant than ever. A strategic plan helps you evaluate, communicate, and mitigate safety issues in your church— wherever they might be hiding. Let’s go over three key steps to creating a plan that’s right for your church.
Understand the Need for Vigilance
Everywhere we go—church, school, stores, restaurants—we encounter people grappling with deep emotional and spiritual pain. Because of this, church leaders must engage in difficult yet essential conversations about church safety. Our worship, fellowship, and discipleship gatherings are open to all, which makes them vulnerable places. We owe it to our members and visitors to be as prepared as possible for everything from an injured church member, to a heart attack victim, to a weather threat, to an armed intruder. But that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Too often we prepare the best we can for physical safety, but we don’t use the same amount of effort to prepare for emotional and spiritual safety.
Address Difficult Issues
Churches face numerous issues, including domestic violence, child sexual abuse, drug addiction, and financial fraud. These problems not only affect our communities but also threaten our congregations. We must be strong enough to discuss our responsibilities toward those we minister to. As leaders in your churches, you have a responsibility to be willing to have hard,
but necessary conversations. Sometimes those conversations have to be about what we need to do to reclaim sanctuary in our churches. We don’t like to talk about domestic violence, child sexual abuse, drug addiction, or financial fraud. But those and other issues surrounding physical, emotional, and spiritual safety are happening to affect our communities. They are also happening in our congregations. The church desperately needs people who will be strong enough to have conversations about what our responsibility is to the people we minister to. People like you.
Form a Safety Team
To effectively address these issues, church leaders should form a dedicated safety team. This team should include diverse members from various backgrounds, each bringing unique perspectives and strengths.
- Pastor: Provides insight into the church’s mission, values, and the congregation’s spiritual and emotional needs.
- Security Expert: Offers knowledge on safety protocols, emergency response strategies, and risk assessments. Consider consulting local law enforcement if you lack in-house expertise.
- Legal Guru: Ensures your policies comply with legal standards, protecting both the congregation and the church.
- Healthcare Professional: Advises on medical emergencies, first-aid procedures, and health-related considerations.
- Tech Expert: Implements and manages security systems, surveillance equipment, and other technological solutions. They also guide internet and social media policies.
- Spokesperson: Communicates policy changes and decisions to the leadership, volunteers, and congregation effectively.
- Youth Volunteer: Provides insight into the safety needs of children and youth within the church.
- Building Maintenance Expert: Ensures the physical safety of the church premises, from tempered glass in windows to proper door locks and security systems.
Depending on your church’s unique needs, you might include additional roles. Embrace the diverse gifts within your congregation to build a robust safety team. Once your team is assembled, engage in collaborative brainstorming sessions. Develop practical, tailored church safety policies that enhance the well-being of your community. Include an anonymous survey to gather honest feedback from the congregation, ensuring you address all existing problems.
Time to Take Action
With your team, build a customized safety plan. This framework will guide your responses to potential challenges, ensuring you know what actions to take when needed. Always filter your planned responses through the eyes and heart of a shepherd. Change is uncomfortable. It’s much easier to do things the way we’ve always done them. But we must change our perception of risk. We can no longer afford to keep the mindset that “it can’t happen here.”
Empowering your church with a strategic safety plan ensures a nurturing and secure environment for all. I’d love to help you and your church create a plan to make your church a place where every member feels protected and valued. Contact me to schedule a FREE 20-minute coaching call to discuss security concerns at your church. Then ask me about how your church can get free training for staff and key volunteers.