Start Well by Guarding Your Ministry with Church Risk Management

If you’ve just begun working at a church or a Christian nonprofit, the right time to start guarding your ministry and its impact is now. It’s important to identify the risks your ministry may face as soon as possible and evaluate church risk management strategies. Reducing risks now allows you to focus on building a legacy of a life spent serving the Lord.

Church leaders must develop a risk management mindset to prevent losses and protect people, especially the most vulnerable in the congregation.

What top three risks should you be aware of?

Identifying risks means setting aside intentional time to consider property and ministry involvement to identify hazards that could cause property damage, bodily injury, emotional injury or financial loss. While there are multiple threats to churches, three top risks include:

1. Property Risk

Poor conditions of church property could result in costly claims and potential injuries. It’s important to perform routine maintenance and help ensure safety. Here are some questions to help you consider church property issues:

• Are sidewalks well-lit, dry and covered with non-slip material?
• Are parking lots safe?
• Is playground equipment well maintained?
• Does the playground have proper padding material, signage and fencing?
• Do stairwells with more than three steps, including your baptistery, have a handrail?
• Do falling hazards have guardrails?

2. Liability Risk

This type of risk can cause suffering to a third party, exposing the church to a lawsuit for bodily injury or other damages. Consider the following issues that require church risk management:

• Do staff and volunteers refrain from high-risk activities?
• Is a system in place to help ensure children return only to authorized parents?
• Is there a plan for custody issues at church?
• Are background checks performed on all workers and volunteers?

3. Employee Risk

A church relies on its employees to help carry out its mission. However, there are risks involved related to the following:

• Does training exist to promote employee safety?
• Are employment policies in place to defend against wrongful termination claims?
• Are there protocols for reporting incidents such as sexual harassment and discrimination?

Six Steps to Risk Management

Managing risk is an ongoing effort that requires diligence and attentiveness. Here are six steps to risk management:

Step 1: Identify risk. In addition to the three risks mentioned above, other common risks include — but are not limited to — financial, transportation and reputational risks.

Step 2: Create a risk management plan. One by one, develop detailed plans for natural disasters, child sexual abuse, medical emergencies, sports injuries, theft and embezzlement, kidnapping, counseling liability, church discipline and more. Establish policies and live by them — it’s just as critical to follow the guidelines as it is to create them.

Step 3: Analyze risk. To evaluate how likely these risks are to cause injury or loss, get outside perspectives from other pastors, an insurance agent, the fire department and the police department.

Step 4: Prioritize risk. Develop a risk management team, think of worst-case scenarios and prioritize risk treatment based on the likelihood of loss or injury.

Step 5: Treat risk. Take steps to reduce the likelihood or severity of loss or injury related to hazards.

Step 6: Monitor risk. Review your risk management plan periodically, gather feedback and make modifications as necessary.

We’ll Be Your Advocate in Ministry Risk Management

We understand that it can feel overwhelming to address church risk management when beginning your ministry work. That’s why, at GuideStone^®, we come alongside you in every season of ministry to identify and mitigate risks — so you can focus on the Lord’s calling in your life. For more information, contact us at AgencyServices@GuideStone.org or (214) 720-2868, Monday through Friday, from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CT.

This article is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be construed as legal advice. Readers should use this article as a tool, along with best judgment and any terms or conditions that apply, to determine appropriate policies and procedures for your church’s risk management program.