Friends and Safety:
FGConnections Summer 2005
Faithfully Caring for the Faithful
by Charles Bone
There always has been and may always be a general tension between completely trusting God for your care and doing those common sense acts that help ensure a safe, secure and ongoing ministry. Insurance has been an institution of human society for thousands of years, dating back to the Babylonians and Hammurabi’s Code. It is the process of transferring risk to another entity. Within religious organizations, insurance also has been around for quite some time, but often was thought of in terms of paying for property damage from a fire, storm, or other catastrophic act. Most faithful people can understand that concept.
A trend that has recently gained a lot of publicity, however, has to do with liability insurance. Religious organizations are finding themselves involved in situations where one party chooses to place blame on another party, and wants to be compensated. This is seen in such liableness issues as slander, wrongful termination, injury on the organization’s property, and physical or sexual assault/misconduct.
For years, few people felt it was necessary to sue a religious organization. But trends, especially in the last decade, show more and more people are taking advantage of the courts to settle their differences, even if it involves religious entities. And once these cases are in court, it is often found that far too many organizations are coming up short on their defenses, and they are being penalized for not meeting the reasonable standard of care that other public institutions must face. No longer can churches, schools, daycares, or other religious organizations defend themselves by saying they are exempt because of who they are. Courts are expecting that those who care for people of faith should be doing so by taking the proper preventative safety and security steps.
A recent survey by Christian Ministry Resources (CMR) indicates that nearly 80 percent of all houses of worship have no risk management policies in place. But like it or not, religious leaders and organizations must realize they will be held accountable not only to God, but by the legal system as well. The financial and spiritual penalties may be severe and impact the organization for years. With that in mind, its important to consider those areas of highest concern.
Property
Having property insurance coverage is a must. Should a fire, storm or other horrible event take place, you want the peace of mind of knowing your facilities will be restored. Frankly, many churches and meeting houses are historic. No amount of money can restore the history that is found in many buildings.
That’s why it is important not only to have insurance, but a clear plan as to how inspections and maintenance will take place. Bad wiring, flammable objects being placed close to a fire source, candles and a wide variety of other sources can destroy a building and its memories in minutes. But with a sound inspection and maintenance policy, such events could be minimized or prevented altogether.
Liability
Anytime someone enters your property, there is a chance that they could get hurt in some way. The most common instances are slips, trips, and falls. They happen all the time. Sometimes they can be prevented. Other times they just happen.
The tragedy getting the most media attention today is sexual misconduct. It’s one thing to have insurance coverage in the event that someone is violated. But as people of faith, we have a responsibility to take steps to protect our children from any predators that may want to do them harm.
Once again, not only do you want to have liability coverage to transfer the cost of the risk, but you want good, written policies and procedures in place to prevent the incidents from happening in the first place.
Security
Finally, not only should we protect our buildings and people, but also the physical property and resources that have been entrusted to our care. To do so, we need to do what we can, within reason, to lock up, secure, and keep watch over religious facilities.
Sadly, society has changed a great deal in recent years. With that, those who are criminally minded have come to realize what an easy target many religious organizations can be. We tend to leave our doors open and valuable equipment and funds readily available. We may think that securing such items is being unfaithful and untrusting. But we see many stories that point to people of faith “taking another way” to avoid harm, or “hiding their valuables” to keep them from thieves. Caring for the people, property and resources, therefore, could be viewed as a faithful act of stewardship.
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