Has your church leadership thought about what you would do if an armed shooter interrupted your worship service next Sunday morning? What would you do if the church were suddenly in the path of a tornado or blizzard during your Sunday morning gathering? What about if the church caught on fire or suffered some other disaster? Have you planned for how to move people to safety in the event of an emergency? Do you have the appropriate equipment to assist in medical emergencies or to monitor dangerous weather situations? Have you discussed the possible emergencies that may occur at your location and developed a plan to protect lives and property?
Whether you have 100 or 1,000 worshippers gathered on any given Sunday, it is important to be prepared for emergencies. While the church is usually seen as a place of safety and often serves others in response to disasters, it can also be affected by domestic terrorism or natural disasters. Are you prepared to protect all that God has entrusted to your church?
Besides the obvious need to preserve human life, church buildings are often home to valuable assets, including computers, livestream equipment, video recording systems, sound systems, musical instruments, and more. An Emergency Operations Plan, which your insurance company may require, will help protect those assets and plan for how to continue essential operations following a disaster.
FEMA developed the Guide for Developing High-Quality Emergency Operations Plans for Houses of Worship in 2013, and the need is even greater today due to increasing gun violence. This publication contains guidelines for preparing for an emergency across five mission areas: Prevention, Protection, Mitigation, Response, and Recovery.
If your church is located in the greater Indianapolis area and you do not have an official Emergency Operations Plan, Mission Partner Strategies is available to partner with you to assess your risk and develop a plan that adheres to governmental recommendations for multiple unforeseen emergencies. Call (317-436-3963) or email (sheri@missionpartnerstrategies.com) today for a free consultation as your first step toward adopting this vital plan for the safety of your church, including people and assets.
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