July 12, 2007
Church Risk Management: Luxury Or Necessity?
Sometimes I wonder why church leaders would have to be reminded to protect what they've worked so hard to build and poured their heart and soul into. What is it that tells them they can ignore the risks and wait until tomorrow? Is there one thing, however small, that blinds them to the magnitude of problems posed by unnecessary risk in their ministries? Does that impediment then wrestle their spirit to the ground, binding their hands, all but forbidding them from taking important action?
From years of working with churches and their leaders, I have come to believe that money is the culprit. You read that right. In my experience, church leaders tend to put a price on if, when, how and how much they will do to establish an adequate risk management plan in their churches. They worry about the money it takes and often consider it too high a cost to pay.
Despite the clear biblical teachings on good stewardship, many focus almost entirely on the outreach side of ministry while ignoring the inherent perils of leading a church in a modern, litigious society. But, I believe that when God Calls men and women of faith into the ministry, He Calls them to to everything EXCELLENTLY! That means not ignoring the need to protect His church and His people from what can easily be avoided.
The truth is that an appropriate risk management strategy is not necessarily expensive or time consuming. At least not when done right. That is not to say that no costs are involved or that it will be extremely inexpensive. It does mean that when compared to the level of damage awards that juries are lowering on churches, the cost is relatively insignificant. To say nothing of all the time, effort, worry, stress, heartache, distraction, division and possible ultimate destruction that a lawsuit can cause your church. And that's before the dame award is handed down.
With all this in mind, here's how to implement an appropriate risk management strategy that will guide and protect your church for years to come:
First, keep in mind is that ministers, church staff and volunteers are not normally the best people to handle this task. This is a job for a qualified professional with years of experience and expertise in advising and protecting Christian churches and understanding their unique needs. When you're finally convinced that it's best to leave risk management to a professional, you can began to appreciate the need to set aside funds for this important need.
Second, a major aspect of good risk management is to have everyone focus on what they do well, and have them do it often. This generates expertise in all the different aspects of your ministry. This means that a minister ought to focus on ministry, outreach and shepherding. A board member ought to focus on board activities and an officer on his or her particular role. It's very tempting to identify one individual from your staff or volunteer corps and ask them to become the resident risk manager. That would not be appropriate. Of course, in the long run, everyone has a role to play in maintaining risk management and protecting the church. But, initially… you must put it in the hands of a competent person who can then train others on the specific role they must play.
Third, engage a professional and commission a legal and corporate audit of the church. This should entail literally hundreds of areas in which risk has been known to exist in the context of churches and ministries. The importance of a legal audit cannot be overstated. It's the equivalent of going to a doctor and saying, "I'm not feeling well although I can't tell you what, if anything, is wrong with me." The doctor would perhaps run tests and take a close look at many different areas of your body and its systems. This would lead to a specific and detailed diagnoses of what problems may exist and how they should be treated. And a side benefit of extensive testing is always knowing what is doing find and doesn't need to be messed with.
Fourth, a completed legal audit should lead into structuring appropriate Policies and Procedures to meet the specific needs of nonprofits, and of churches in particular. Thus, depending on the size of the church, you can end up with from 50 to 500 policies and detailed explanations of how the policies should be implemented… called "Procedures." A Policy is generally a simple and direct statement of the church's stance or belief in a particular area. The Procedure details how to carry it out. For example, a policy in the children's ministry may be like the following: "First church is committed to protecting all of its minor children involved in every aspect of First Church's Youth and Children's Ministry from the occurrence or possibility of inappropriate conduct, abuse, neglect or molestation being directed at, or perpetrated against them by any one else." The Procedures could say for example, "Step One: No one may serve in the youth or children's ministry of First Church unless and until they have been an official member in good standing of First Church for at least 6 months; Step Two: All paid staff and volunteers who may serve in the youth and children's ministry of First Church, or otherwise have direct contact with youth or children in the course of their work or volunteer activities with First Church, must undergo a background check, to include the following…; Step Three: No one working for pay or in a volunteer capacity in the youth and children's ministry of First Church is allowed to be alone with a minor at any time and for any reason. Everyone this policy relates to must follow the 2-Person rule where a child must always be in the presence of at least two qualified adult persons." Do you get the point?
Fifth, once a completed set of Policies and Procedures that meet your specific needs are in place, train everyone in your church to follow them "religiously" and consistently. The only thing worse than not having appropriate policies and procedures, is having them but failing to follow them. While this may suggest to some that perhaps it's best never to have them at all, nothing could be further from the truth.
Imagine yourself testifying in a court of law as a church leader who could have prevented a horrendous event that led to a lawsuit. Which answer do you think will resonate better with a judge or jury?
Answer #1: "I tried everything within my power to prevent this occurrence, including commissioning appropriate policies and procedures and training all staff and volunteers to enforce them as intended on a consistent basis. Unfortunately, in this isolated case, this particular individual failed to do so."
Answer #2: "No, we have no specific written policy on that matter. No, our staff and volunteers don't have any specific training in that area. In general, we are all good people and we really trust that people will do the right thing. It didn't happen in this case, but that should be on the individual who abused the child. Why should the church be liable?"
Let me just put it this way, even if both result in liability, the difference will be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not the millions, that are tacked on to the damages award when a jury hears the second answer. Which would you as a church leader like to leave as a legacy?
Now is the time for churches and their leaders to take risk management seriously. If it's not a matter of life and death, it's at least a matter of potential serious injury and life-long scarring of our youngest, most innocent and most vulnerable loved ones. Can you really put a price on that? For more information on risk management for churches, check out the Jesus Justice And Me, Legal Steward Seminar. And to God be the glory!
From years of working with churches and their leaders, I have come to believe that money is the culprit. You read that right. In my experience, church leaders tend to put a price on if, when, how and how much they will do to establish an adequate risk management plan in their churches. They worry about the money it takes and often consider it too high a cost to pay.
Despite the clear biblical teachings on good stewardship, many focus almost entirely on the outreach side of ministry while ignoring the inherent perils of leading a church in a modern, litigious society. But, I believe that when God Calls men and women of faith into the ministry, He Calls them to to everything EXCELLENTLY! That means not ignoring the need to protect His church and His people from what can easily be avoided.
The truth is that an appropriate risk management strategy is not necessarily expensive or time consuming. At least not when done right. That is not to say that no costs are involved or that it will be extremely inexpensive. It does mean that when compared to the level of damage awards that juries are lowering on churches, the cost is relatively insignificant. To say nothing of all the time, effort, worry, stress, heartache, distraction, division and possible ultimate destruction that a lawsuit can cause your church. And that's before the dame award is handed down.
With all this in mind, here's how to implement an appropriate risk management strategy that will guide and protect your church for years to come:
First, keep in mind is that ministers, church staff and volunteers are not normally the best people to handle this task. This is a job for a qualified professional with years of experience and expertise in advising and protecting Christian churches and understanding their unique needs. When you're finally convinced that it's best to leave risk management to a professional, you can began to appreciate the need to set aside funds for this important need.
Second, a major aspect of good risk management is to have everyone focus on what they do well, and have them do it often. This generates expertise in all the different aspects of your ministry. This means that a minister ought to focus on ministry, outreach and shepherding. A board member ought to focus on board activities and an officer on his or her particular role. It's very tempting to identify one individual from your staff or volunteer corps and ask them to become the resident risk manager. That would not be appropriate. Of course, in the long run, everyone has a role to play in maintaining risk management and protecting the church. But, initially… you must put it in the hands of a competent person who can then train others on the specific role they must play.
Third, engage a professional and commission a legal and corporate audit of the church. This should entail literally hundreds of areas in which risk has been known to exist in the context of churches and ministries. The importance of a legal audit cannot be overstated. It's the equivalent of going to a doctor and saying, "I'm not feeling well although I can't tell you what, if anything, is wrong with me." The doctor would perhaps run tests and take a close look at many different areas of your body and its systems. This would lead to a specific and detailed diagnoses of what problems may exist and how they should be treated. And a side benefit of extensive testing is always knowing what is doing find and doesn't need to be messed with.
Fourth, a completed legal audit should lead into structuring appropriate Policies and Procedures to meet the specific needs of nonprofits, and of churches in particular. Thus, depending on the size of the church, you can end up with from 50 to 500 policies and detailed explanations of how the policies should be implemented… called "Procedures." A Policy is generally a simple and direct statement of the church's stance or belief in a particular area. The Procedure details how to carry it out. For example, a policy in the children's ministry may be like the following: "First church is committed to protecting all of its minor children involved in every aspect of First Church's Youth and Children's Ministry from the occurrence or possibility of inappropriate conduct, abuse, neglect or molestation being directed at, or perpetrated against them by any one else." The Procedures could say for example, "Step One: No one may serve in the youth or children's ministry of First Church unless and until they have been an official member in good standing of First Church for at least 6 months; Step Two: All paid staff and volunteers who may serve in the youth and children's ministry of First Church, or otherwise have direct contact with youth or children in the course of their work or volunteer activities with First Church, must undergo a background check, to include the following…; Step Three: No one working for pay or in a volunteer capacity in the youth and children's ministry of First Church is allowed to be alone with a minor at any time and for any reason. Everyone this policy relates to must follow the 2-Person rule where a child must always be in the presence of at least two qualified adult persons." Do you get the point?
Fifth, once a completed set of Policies and Procedures that meet your specific needs are in place, train everyone in your church to follow them "religiously" and consistently. The only thing worse than not having appropriate policies and procedures, is having them but failing to follow them. While this may suggest to some that perhaps it's best never to have them at all, nothing could be further from the truth.
Imagine yourself testifying in a court of law as a church leader who could have prevented a horrendous event that led to a lawsuit. Which answer do you think will resonate better with a judge or jury?
Answer #1: "I tried everything within my power to prevent this occurrence, including commissioning appropriate policies and procedures and training all staff and volunteers to enforce them as intended on a consistent basis. Unfortunately, in this isolated case, this particular individual failed to do so."
Answer #2: "No, we have no specific written policy on that matter. No, our staff and volunteers don't have any specific training in that area. In general, we are all good people and we really trust that people will do the right thing. It didn't happen in this case, but that should be on the individual who abused the child. Why should the church be liable?"
Let me just put it this way, even if both result in liability, the difference will be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not the millions, that are tacked on to the damages award when a jury hears the second answer. Which would you as a church leader like to leave as a legacy?
Now is the time for churches and their leaders to take risk management seriously. If it's not a matter of life and death, it's at least a matter of potential serious injury and life-long scarring of our youngest, most innocent and most vulnerable loved ones. Can you really put a price on that? For more information on risk management for churches, check out the Jesus Justice And Me, Legal Steward Seminar. And to God be the glory!
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