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Introduction
Risk management is the scheme the prudent administrator takes to foresee dangers in the
environment of the church or organization and the actions taken to prevent them or address the
consequences in case they occur.1 In the world today, leaders have to consider the level for risk
management and take the necessary action needed to accost situations. The church/ministry must
have trust- without it the ministry cannot move forward. The foundation of trust in a church,
however, is more complex than in other organizations.2 The church should resist the temptation
to change outcomes or policies,3especially when something is not right. Church should act
quickly on crisis, to create plan so there would not be anymore risks. Each ministry tactics needs
to be analyzed, continue to educate, redevelop the focus, so that the ministry become more
effective. My paper will analyze, the preparedness of the risk, addressing of the risk and the
conclusion.
The preparedness of the Risk
Administrators must be constantly attuned to the dynamics of risk management that
address the safety and securing of the individual(s) who participate in the activities of the church
organization.4 All the church resources must be the level of protection to ensure the mission and
purpose of the church as well as the organization is sustainable.5 www.biblegateway.com, A
prudent man forseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple passion, and are punished.
(Proverbs 22:3 KJV).6
1 Robert H. Welch, Church Administration: Creating Efficiency for Effective Ministry. 2nd ed. (Nashville, TN:
Broadman & Holman, 1995). 15.
2 Thomas G. Bandy, Strategic Thinking: How to Sustain Effective Ministry. (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2017).
11.
3 Ibid., 33.
4 Welch, Church Administration: Creating Efficiency for Effective Ministry, 281-282.
5 Ibid., 282.
6 www.biblegateway.com
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Safety
Our ministry is a regular size church. Once a month the leaders come together and talk
about the issues among the church or things that happen at another ministry to come together
with ways to preventing the same issues from happening in our ministry. I can stay our ministry
takes proper precautions when it comes to risk. I can speak on another ministry, (my husband
was the quest speaker). This happened January 2023, I can recall walking through the entrance
way to the sanctuary- we walked in, and my foot went through the rug, not knowing under the
rug was a hole. I had to catch the door to keep from falling. (Thankfully I was not hurt.) I spoke
with the usher (which was my mother), she said that is why they have a rug to cover the hole and
keep people from falling. I told her they need to get the floor fix because another person would
have gone to the hospital and file an insurance claim. I did let them know if I slip again, I will be
filing a claim. As of last Sunday, the floor still not fixed and the usher now stands over the hole.
(I guess that is their safety plan)
But I spoke with my husband who is the overseer of the ministry, he and others that is a
part of the organization for pastors (along with the pastor of that ministry) held a meeting to
come up with a plan to have the floor repaired. The church is, in part, a group of people who
regularly gather for activities such as worship, learning, engaging with issues of community,
mutual nurtures, planning, managing and decision-making.7
Lightening
Our ministry had issues with lighting to the point when it rains it would affect the lights
(we were renting at the time). The lights would flicker on and off and making a humming sound.
We were not able to use the lights on one side of the sanctuary (it was to the point it effects the
7 Mervyn Davies and Graham Dodds, Leadership in the church for people of hope. (New York, NY: T&T Clark
International, 2011). 27.
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sound in the church. We reported to the owner, not sure how the building was up to code and
passed inspection. The only thing the owner would do was send one of her electrician friends to
fix the problem.
There would be times when services had to be cancel due to safety hazard-we did not
want to take any risk or get a law suit. We did have insurance on the building and following the
policy in play. I can say this we moved out in September 2020 and the building is still empty
guessing it is not up to code. Our ministry kept insurance on the building, we were renting and
the building we purchased. According to Welch, there are four types of insurance that churches
and nonprofit organizations should have: (a) liability, (b) property, (c) finance bonds, and (d)
workers compensation.8 Insurance protects a church when action or claims are made against the
ministry.
Flooding
When it comes to our church building, we brought it, not knowing the levee behind the
property would cause issues. When it rains tends to flood that area, which will often get inside
the church. We had to call the insurance agent to access the area regarding flood insurance and
the necessary steps that need to prevent the rain from going inside the building. Because, at first,
we did not know it was a flood-zone once the floors in the sanctuary were redone all the proper
steps was done as well not to have any risks of something happening again. Everything is
operating and the problem has been fixed.
When addressing church risk
8 Welch, Church Administration: Creating Efficiency for Effective Ministry, 273.
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(1) Articulating the requirement to provide a safe environment for both members and
visitors or organizations.9 (2) Come up with a program for insurance that addresses the principal
areas of liability, property damage and fiscal protection.10 According to McClintock churches
should develop policies that protects: a congregation needs to develop is an ethics policy for
ministry professionals.11 The ethics policy is a set of ethical standards that details the
professional’s responsibilities to those served, other professional, the congregation as a whole,
the profession itself, and the community at large.12
Policies protect the organization as well as individuals within the church. We must
continue to do our God-ordained work, we have entered a day when we must develop the
vigilance of Nehemiah.13 Most insurance protects the church when action or claims are made
against the organization by an individual who has received some form of physical, fiscal, or
mental injury.14 They are: when the injury can be attributed to an individual who is responsible
for his intentional actions; when injury can be attributed to an individual because of negligence.15
When it comes to safety that should be every church priority. Addressing the issues with
the flooring, lightening, and flooring- something is fixed and others in the works. Flooring- a
meeting was called about making plans to fix the floor. A license repairmen came out and gave
the estimate as to what needs to be done. And a time frame (the church did not file a claim- it
will come out the church budget. Lightening- I cannot speak on the lights because we have
moved out the building due to safety risk and the building currently still vacant.
9 Welch, 273.
10 Ibid., 281.
11 McClintock, 107-108.
12 Ibid.,
13 Welch, 261.
14 Ibid., 262.
15 Ibid., 274.
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Conclusion
When it comes to church risk- leaders need to be looking for areas that are high-risk. (a)
By doing a walk through to see things that could possibly be a hazardous that can cause an
accident. (b) Also, doing a check list weekly to ensure everything in proper order and working
correctly. How to control risk? (a) Prevention- stopping what could possibly lead to accident; (b)
Implement policies- risk management enables leaders to protect people, prevent incidents, and
proved to a jury you extend a reasonable level of care if the church gets sued.16
www.agfinancial.org/resources, insurance is not a substitute for quality risk management,
however; it enables the church to pay for unexpected events without financially crippling the
ministry.17 Church risk assessment helps to ensure that reasonable precautions are in place in a
church to keep it safe.18 In particular, identify the steps that needs to be taken in order to comply
with the health and safety regulations.19
16 Ibid.,
17 www.agfinancial.org/resources
18 www.ecclesiastical.com/risk-management/church-risk-management
19 www.ecclesiastical.com/risk-management/church-risk-management
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