Most schools have established fire emergency plans and practice fire evacuation drills on a

regular basis. Generally, a school’s location has also strongly influenced emergency planning

needed in the event of a crisis brought on by natural elements, like earthquakes, tornadoes,

hurricanes and floods. But, is your school really prepared for the myriad of disasters it might be

exposed to?

Churches are notorious for minimal security. And while acts of violence at church are rare,

recent shootings at churches and schools beg the question: What can leaders do to protect their

people? Based on experience in the pulpit and on the police force, here are four steps you can

take to reduce risk—and possibly save lives—at your church.

Large events, like camp meetings, convocations and camporees, to name a few, require

additional preplanning and scrutiny to ensure that all potential risk exposures are identified and

risk management and/or safety measures are put in place to prevent injuries or other losses at

those events. Knowing in advance what events take place on a regular basis or will occur

infrequently at some time in the future, provides time for the Conference to develop action plans

for special events that can be pulled from the shelf when needed, and modified as necessary for

an upcoming event, regardless of leadership changes.

Every day, Seventh-day Adventist volunteer missionaries, relief workers, students, church

employees and their families prepare to travel to various locations around the world. Upon

arrival they are engaged in a wide variety of work—missionary projects, relief efforts, attending

meetings, etc. Getting there safely, and staying safe in unfamiliar locales, requires good

preparation and maintaining a constant awareness of one’s surroundings.

While many family outings may be run loosely, church sponsored activities must have a variety

of controls in place to protect its members and church assets, as well. To avoid tragedy, water

activities require careful preparation and planning, good supervision, the implementation of

safety precautions and the use of any applicable safety equipment.