People run to the
closest church in times of trouble.
The wise church prepares for them however they can.
Updated 04aug24
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You will help your community
the same way you did before the emergency, but more people will
need that help afterward.
Your church must
have a disaster plan of some type; It's the difference between
service providers and victims.
Preparations
that even churches without buildings can make
- Decide what to do if the pastor is away.
- Train staff and members on what to do in an emergency (there are
suggestions below).
- Decide how you will help your community in a disaster ahead of time.
Pray about it. Put someone with the gift of administration in charge
of preparing to do it. Some churches will do a lot and some will do
just a little. But all should do something.
- Network with other churches before trouble hits. This way you can
help each other in time of need. Nobody cares about denominations at
such times.
- Keep a list of local resources, such as shelters, aid organizations,
places to stay, etc. Make a stack of copies before trouble starts, or
the first person will take your only copy and you can't print more
without power. There will always be someone who needs this even when
times are good.
- Have a stack of physical maps for out-of-area emergency responders.
- Designate a Disaster Readiness
Officer. This is one accessible person who can act as liaison
to your local Office of Emergency Services (OES), the Red Cross, CERT,
and any other organizations you wish to maintain contact with. Your
coordinator should contact these organizations ahead of time to
establish a relationship.
- Designate a Security Officer (often
the head usher or retired law enforcement officer) who makes security
policy and arrangements, and handles security emergencies. Remember
that everyone's back is to the door, anyone could enter and go
anywhere. Also, weirdos do occasionally cause problems; having a
person or team trained to handle it is a must. After a disaster,
having your own security is essential.
- Designate a Safety Officer. This person
understands and advises on safety regulations, spots safety hazards,
and handles safety emergencies should they arise. Latent safety issues
like an impassible fire door or potential trip hazard easily combine
with a sudden emergency to cause injury and lawsuits.
- Every officer should have an assistant being trained to take their
place. Nobody is available 24/7 or does the job forever.
- Train ushers with fire extinguishers, first aid, and CPR. The fire
department will gladly handle extinguisher training. Fire protection
companies often have a supply of expired extinguishers that can't be
refilled; they will give you some for training if asked nicely (these
extinguishers
can't be used for fire protection, only training). The Red
Cross does first aid and CPR training. Renew training as directed.
- Delegate! Delegate! Delegate! If you don't designate people to do
these jobs, the few leaders you have must do them after everything
goes wrong. They will quickly become overwhelmed and burned out, and
little ministry will be done.
- Make a continuity plan to help your church survive, and even
operate, after a disaster. Many good ones are available on the
Internet, from the Red Cross, and from FEMA.
- Encourage personal and family disaster readiness. Many organizations
make continuity plans but fail to encourage family readiness. If just
a third of the workers don't show up, little will get done. This is
true for all organizations, not just churches.
Simple
preparations
- Know what your insurance covers. Do an insurance review and decide
what you need. After trouble hits, don't sign any repair contracts
until you know who pays for what (this type of mistake can end your
church).
- Make a church emergency plan, and put the disaster readiness
coordinator in charge of it. There are many organizations that will
help you make one. If you don't know who else to ask, ask your local
Office of Emergency Services or Red Cross. There are many examples on
the Internet. Make a plan, keep it simple, practice the plan, keep it
up to date, and involve the appropriate people.
- Include other agencies when you practice your plan. For example,
involve the fire department in your fire drill. Involve as many other
agencies and churches as possible.
- Most pastors resist having a fire drill, but the ones who
reluctantly do it are really glad they did, and start doing them
annually. They uncover all sorts of unexpected problems.
- Most organizations wait for the toilet paper to run out before
buying more. Never do this. Buy in bulk, and it is time to buy again
when you are down to a three weeks supply.
- Create a food bank. There is always someone out of work and needing
food even in the best of times. The food bank is priceless in the
worst of times. Keep a few can openers that don't need electricity.
- Keep a box of respirators. A respirator is a dust mask with two
strings. They are good to have for repairs and great to have when
things go wrong.
- Keep some sturdy gloves for when work needs to be done.
- Designate a person to collect and sort unsolicited donations of
stuff (the Donations Coordinator),
and
a predetermined room for the donations. Without a coordinator, you
won't get what you need until after its over. Some donations of cash
or stuff have strings attached: they can only be used for certain
things. The donations coordinator needs to make sure the donations are
not misused (the consequences include lawsuits, criminal charges, and
being smeared in the press). Some churches chose to refuse unsolicited
stuff or donations with strings attached, the coordinator
diplomatically turns them away and accepts what can be accepted.
- Designate a person to manage spontaneous volunteers, the Volunteer
Coordinator. If you aren't prepared for them, managing these
people will take up most of the pastor's time. The coordinator must
know what needs to be done and where everything is. If you take
spontaneous volunteers, know that your church will be held accountable
for their injuries and misdeeds. Weirdoes show up, and so do good
people with valuable skills you need. The volunteer coordinator needs
to screen out certain people (if policy says so, this includes all
spontaneous volunteers).
- After a major disaster, people are desperate to contact friends and
relatives. They also want all the local news they can get. Designate a
Communications & Media
coordinator to manage your comm & media resources. The
coordinator needs to make sure any pictures used or released don't
show faces of anyone who hasn't given consent (preferably written).
Some people get weird and sue over this (they lose, but you
will spend a lot of money).
Simple
disaster supplies
Keep a box of essential
supplies for just in case. They are helpful for normal operations, too.
And you can never tell if or why some church members will be unable to
go into their home for a few days.
The most important decision is where to store it. You want it to be
available in times of need, but not so available it is found to be
empty.
- A first aid kit
- Some shoelaces
- A bag of socks
- Feminine supplies
- Baby supplies
- A sewing kit
- Safety pins
- Sunblock
- Some disposable rain ponchos
- A few blankets
- Plenty of liquid soap
- Some towels and washcloths
- Combs
- Disposable razors
- A jug of unscented bleach
- Post-its and pencil stubs
- Paper clips
- Stuff to make signs
- Simple tools and supplies to repair a building
Some
more expensive preparations (not appropriate for some churches)
- Set up a kitchen. These are also handy for church functions.
- Keep a generator that can run some lights, a computer, the
refrigerator, the copier or printer, and a few other essential
machines. Get a generator a little bigger than what you think you
need, it's worth the money.
- Have a well or a way to purify water when the water is out. If the
water is out, the gas and electricity may be too.
- Partner with the city/county OES (Office of Emergency Services) and
Red Cross to use the building as a shelter.
- Add some plumbing so a shower-head can be screwed in somewhere on
short notice. Never underestimate how important an emergency shower
is.
What
churches should know
- After a disaster, everyone affected should register with FEMA before
the deadline. If a problem arises later, people who didn't register
aren't eligible for help. Examples include black mold that takes hold
of a house in the summer following the disaster, or damage that isn't
discovered until later.
- The city & county Office of Emergency Services (OES) and the Red
Cross would love to partner with your church before disaster strikes.
There are many ways you can help each other.
- Team Rubicon (http://teamrubiconusa.org/)
shows up quickly when disaster strikes, and can send a work crew to
help your church.
- http://www.wheaton.edu/HDI/Resources
Links
for church emergency readiness
Afterward
I was once
in an unenviable position because a church did none of these things.
Equipment at the rented building was malfunctioning during a service.
If I acted and turned off the equipment without authority, everyone
would be really mad at me. If I did nothing the church was at risk of
injury and lawsuits. A safety officer with authority to act was
needed.