Civil Unrest

In light of recent events and in preparation for re-opening, now is a good time for churches to review policies, procedures, and disaster preparedness plans as a ministry. Let’s look again at the fictitious story of The People’s Church for an update on how their ministry is doing in the wake of civil unrest, in the midst of COVID-19.

“I’m so grateful we have cameras to monitor the exterior of our building,” one member said. “Agreed,”  said another, “…we should also consider hiring a licensed security firm to handle emergency situations.” What about our windows and doors, should we consider boarding them up?” Another responded and said… “We should connect with our local authorities (FEMA, local police, fire, and city officials) to work together on our safety strategy.”

They checked Insurance Board’s website once again to research options for consideration, and decided they would remove easily accessible objects around the church that could be used to breach the building, (like benches, bricks, stones or ladders) as well as illegally parked vehicles, which they decided to have towed. Their Insurance Board Representative sent an email that recommended The People’s Church take video inventory of their building, its current condition, and all of the assets. They were advised to develop systems to temporarily move the business operation of the church, should that become necessary. Other considerations were offered to secure valuables, and develop a recovery plan. The People’s Church took heed to the warning about securing their house of worship, and agreed to have an incident response team to identify entry and exit points to be used in emergencies, and to ensure that employees are familiar with procedures for shutting off utility services in emergency situations.

The People’s Church is known for being an institution that stands up for Human Rights, they acknowledge that Black Lives Matter, for God loves everyone…. and now they are more prepared should civil unrest reach their doors.

Insurance Board protects your ministry by offering resources to support it. View the full article on Protecting Your Church – Considerations in the Wake of Civil Unrest.