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August 31, 2010ChurchSafety.com’s Top 10 Training Resources
What other church leaders are reading and using to keep their congregations safe.
ChurchSafety.com provides expert guidance and risk management information on a broad range of safety topics. We’ve compiled the Top 10 most-downloaded resources from ChurchSafety.com during the past year. Find out what other church leaders have read and used to train staff and volunteers and to develop a safe environment for ministry:
10. Confronting Gun Violence at Church
While the number of incidents involving guns at churches remains small, information and preparation are still vital. Begin by assessing the current security of your church. This download gives helpful advice on how to plan for the unexpected, whether or not your church should hire a security guard, and how to deal with the media in the aftermath of violence.
Children are often the most vulnerable members of our congregations, and their presence also presents some of the most serious liability risks. Most churches use minors to assist in various children's or youth programs. Screening these workers will help prevent youth-peer sexual harassment. Institutions can be found guilty of negligence in these cases for not providing security against such abuse. Learn practical steps to properly screen underage workers and access helpful templates for references and interviews.
8. Creating a Safety Team
When crisis arises, are you prepared? Don’t be taken by surprise next time. Learn to respond appropriately to situations ranging from common medical emergencies to crisis involving gunfire. Every church can benefit from forming a safety team that is trained to respond appropriately to various emergencies. This download will discuss the importance of having a team that can handle situations requiring security intervention, medical response, or evacuation.
7. Your Guide to Employee Handbooks
Thousands of dollars in discrimination suits are drawn from employers each year by disgruntled employees. Unfortunately, churches are not immune from these cases. Creating an employee handbook to officially communicate expectations can prevent misunderstandings and help keep both parties in good standing with one another. If updated regularly, an employee handbook can also offer valuable legal protection against civil court claims made by dissatisfied staff members. This download gives you ideas, templates, and even inspiration to draft your own handbook.
6. Best Practices for Receiving Charitable Contributions
This download is designed to provide practical help and clear understanding on some of the issues surrounding charitable contributions. Church leaders need to know the principles of legal giving and receiving to safeguard the coffers, as well as the church's reputation.
5. Hosting Large Events at Your Church
Has God blessed your ministry with the vision and ministry space to practice hospitality and put on large events? Large events are effective and memorable ways to extend your ministry. It is important to realize, though, that the more people you bring together in one place, the higher the probability of something unexpected occurring. You may encounter unwelcome visitors or unforeseen emergency situations that can take you by surprise and leave even the best of planners scrambling to address the needs of the moment. But with a little risk management planning now, you can feel confident that whatever situation arises, you’ll have the staff and contingency plans to address it.
4. Managing Church Facility Use
Like our own homes, the church is a place where we extend hospitality to family members and to guests. Churches need to develop policies and procedures that make their facilities available for additional use, and yet keep assets protected. This download will help you apply best practices to facilities management so that you can equip your church to host members and strangers in your facilities.
3. Understanding Wage and Hour Laws
Confused about wage laws? Wondering if your church needs to pay employees for overtime? Many churches have questions about the laws governing minimum wage and overtime pay, especially when it comes to paying employees covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). While the FLSA applies only to businesses and individuals who engage in interstate commerce, this standard is so broad that few church employees are exempt from it. This download will equip you with key knowledge of the FLSA and give you the tools to compute wages and keep legitimate records.
2. Dealing with Dangerous People
It only takes one. Disturbed or dangerous people can commandeer a service or ministry event with no warning. Planning for how to handle disruptive behavior that may or may not be dangerous can be a service to your congregation. Security teams, specialized procedures, surveillance cameras, limited office access, emergency buttons, and thorough screening procedures help empower and enable churches to keep staff and congregants safe. This download is designed to help you think through safety measures your church can take to ward off dangerous individuals from entering your church, as well as practical ways to respond to disruptive people in kindness.
1. Protecting Your Church from Crime and Violence
What happens when crime and violence breach the church doors? As you seek to minister to the desperate and hurting, are there ways to protect your congregation from those with sinister motives? The church should be a place of peace and a safe haven for worshiping and experiencing God's love and grace away from the conflicts of the world. This downloadable resource is designed to help you assess the security of your church and take proactive steps to prevent a crime or tragedy from occurring within your ministry.
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