The Institute for Church Safety and Risk Management (ICSARM) is designed to provide risk management assessments and services for churches. While it is difficult to believe that such an organization is necessary, I am reminded of Paul’s words to a young preacher named Timothy as recorded in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 “1This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” The fact is that these days are NOT getting any better. And the church is not exempt from such growing perilous times.
When I graduated from Southwest Baptist University in 1983 and was ordained, it was virtually unheard of to hear about attacks in a local church. Once and a while you might hear of arson against a church, but even those were few and far between. And a child abduction from a church…totally unheard of. And yet today there is hardly a day that goes by that I do not receive some bit of news regarding some sort of attack against a local church and/or her leaders.
Just ten years ago in 1999 there were reported eight (8) cases of deadly force against someone within a church setting in the United States. Ten years later, in 2009, there have been at least 76 such reported incidents. That is an incredible increase. Similar statistics are shared relative to church arsons, church thefts, and child abductions within local churches. As such, “church security” ministries and groups are on the rise, and understandable so.
Churches today need to focus on treating the problem, NOT the symptom. Let me explain what I mean by that. If someone went to the doctor’s office with a terrible cough and the doctor prescribed cough syrup, that might seem fine. Then several months later he comes back with a much worse cough and after further testing being told he had cancer and only a week to live, all would be up in arms that the doctor “treated the symptom, not the problem.” Let’s draw another quick analogy. You go out to your car tomorrow morning and notice that the front right tire is low on air. You drive to the nearest gas station and put air in the tire and continue on your way. The next morning you find the same situation and take the same action. Later that day you have a blow out and wonder why. Well it is simple, you treated the symptom, NOT the problem.
I believe the same principle applies to the area of church safety and security. It is my contention that these are best handled under the umbrella of “risk management”. By its very nature, “risk management” is defined as “controlling the probability, and/or the severity, of a potential adverse event so that the consequences of that event are within acceptable limits.” Another definition of “risk management” is “the active process of identifying, assessing, communicating and managing the risks facing an organization to ensure that an organization meets its objectives.” In short, a proper risk management program is PRO-active as opposed to RE-active. While many companies are doing great service providing safety and security resources to aid churches in providing additional protection, too many of them are acting in a RE-active manner. It is the goal of ICSARM to be 100% PRO-active in all we do for churches to help them minimize their losses and exposure.
Teddy Roosevelt once said, “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are”. While he was speaking to reluctant troops preparing for battle at San Juan Hill, he may as well have been speaking at a church security conference. Another great leader, General Patton once said, “A good plan implemented today is better than a perfect plan implemented tomorrow”. Churches today need to focus on implementing plans and solutions NOW!
The complexities arise due to the fact that congregations vary in size and diversity. It is reported that there are more than 400,000 churches in the United States alone (not including synagogues and mosques) and an overwhelming majority these congregations have fewer than 100 members. In fact, estimates suggest that over 83% of these churches have fewer than 150 members and one or fewer staff members. We can’t just say you must have law enforcement persons on the team – most congregations have nobody with such credentials, and many (if not most) law enforcement agencies discourage (or disallow) off-duty officers to serve as part of a church security team. Likewise, those same churches simply cannot afford to pay for security services or extra-duty law enforcement. Therefore, most churches simple will not have any security initiatives. If they do, security will be by volunteer efforts with limited to no training.
And having served eight churches in a bi-vocational capacity (that is, having a full-time career while serving smaller churches) I expressly understand and can appreciate the needs of these smaller churches. The important thing is NOT to have the following attitudes:
IT WON’T HAPPEN TO US
This is a very typical mindset. We see this not only in business and with families, but also in churches. It is an attitude of complacency. The only problem is that there is most always a “first time.” And sadly enough, if a church is not prepared, that first time can be devastating. If you wait until something DOES happen, this is what is called RE-active planning. A PRO-active mindset plans and prepares for any mishap. While the planning and preparation is not a guarantee against something going wrong, it is a strategy that most often will minimize the impact of an event.
WE JUST CAN’T AFFORD IT
This is a very understandable concern. Especially based on the statistics above indicating 83% of the churches have 150 or few members and thus limited resources. While not every church needs a full-fledged security team and surveillance system, there are ways to implement a pro-active plan with minimal resources and few volunteers. It is just a matter of leveraging resources. As some have said, “you can’t afford to NOT have a risk management strategy.” In addition, often times a pro-active risk management strategy can reduce insurance costs and actually save a church money.
WE HAVE FAITH…NOT FEAR
One verse that actually gets quoted often when suggesting there is no need for a security team or security initiative is Matthew 10:28: “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Yet this verse is misapplied as relates to context. While God does not want us to have a compulsive behavior of fear, He does want us to exercise wisdom in our actions.
In my next few blog posts I plan to deal with this subject more in depth in a series entitled: “Silence the Alarmists…We need Faith, NOT Risk Management”. So stay tuned and STAY SAFE! And until we meet again, have a very safe 2010!!
Disclaimer. This post/blog does not constitute legal advice. You should consult a lawyer if you have any questions about any issues in this article that might impact your specific church. On-line legal information can become out-of-date and are subject to legal interpretation depending on particular facts and circumstances. ICSARM maintains a list of qualified Christian attorneys across the United States and Canada.
Michael Boutot is the founder of the Institute for Church Safety & Risk Management, LLC (ICSARM), a church consulting group specializing in insurance evaluations, risk management assessments and litigation management. Michael can be reached at michael@churchriskmanagement.org or via phone at (662) 322-6713. To learn more about ICSARM, visit http://www.ChurchRiskManagement.org.