At the end of the Second World War, churches joined the ranks of the "deep pockets." Litigators initiated personal injury suits against them. Since then a large market has opened for proceedings against churches as well as expanded coverage by liability insurance carriers.

Can a church avoid risk? Yes, by not existing! The key today is determining what risks the church will accept and then manage in order to maintain a safe and secure environment for the thriving work of ministry.
 

The Goal of Risk Management 

First, your church must consider the goal of risk management. According to James Cobble, Jr. and Richard R. Hammar in their landmark work, Risk Management Handbook for Churches and Schools, "The goal is to empower congregations and schools through acts of leadership and caring to differentiate good risks from bad risks, and to the extent possible, eliminate those things that harm people and ministry." Caregiving leadership works to establish an atmosphere where every member is aware of risk and seeks to maintain safe and caring (healthy) environments.

Second, your church must achieve the development, proper authorization, implementation, and enforcement of policy and procedure for every ministry department. This is critical for managing risk. The engagement of legal counsel is vital. The church's attorney should review every policy and procedure before implementation to make certain it is not violating existing corporate law.

In policy development, your church must consider the areas where you are likely to face litigation. They include the following: defamation, child abuse, sexual misconduct, fraud, undue influence, invasion of privacy, and clergy malpractice.

Today, a church must be vigilant when differentiating good from bad risks. There are countless areas to consider. Not only must church leaders take into account potential deadly lawsuits, but also practical everyday matters. These matters include, employment issues, such as the use of church-owned cell phones, computers, automobiles, the reimbursement of expenses, and housing allowances for clergy. Additionally, there are ministry issues, such as, background checks for all paid and unpaid volunteers, the training and supervision of children's workers, as well as whether to use or not use workers under the age of eighteen. It does not take long to find a horror story where a church closed down due to an unwanted, unplanned, and preventable incident.

Consider the church where the non-custodial parent of one of the children in the nursery demanded that the attendant release his child to him and the attendant granted that request before checking with the parent who had placed the child in the nursery. Not only is there the potential of negligence on the part of the church, but assisting with the kidnapping of the child! Found negligent the church may acquire an unwanted reputation as an unsafe place for children.

Consider the church that failed to do a background check on a volunteer driver who had a record and was involved in an accident causing loss of life. Will this church face a lawsuit? Is this church negligent of "respondeat superior" (an employer is responsible for the actions of employees performed within the course of their employment)? What do you think?

Most churches are in an "at-will" employment category. The church may hire and fire an employee for any reason and not inform the employee of that reason; however, once the employer informs anyone connected or not connected to the church the at-will status is lost, a dismissed employee may choose to sue the church for wrongful dismissal. There have been increasing employment lawsuits in recent years and there will be more. Your church must consider the human resources information that the business world has addressed to remain up-to-date, or fall prey to an assortment of employer / employee litigious issues.

At one time, the members of a church board were exempt, and would not be named in a lawsuit. However, most liability carriers that cover churches, include Directors and Officers (D & O) coverage. It is no longer just a rider to a policy due to the increased number of board members sued along with the church corporate entity.

With the augmented use of copy machines, the violation of copyright laws has increased. The church is in the cross hairs as a major offender. Moreover, with the Internet and proliferation of church web sites, the issue of copyrighted material and the offense of copyright law are open to debate. Unfortunately, most of the debate is in the courtroom.

No Excuses

There are numerous materials accessible to churches today that will assist in the preparation and implementation of a comprehensive program of risk management. In addition, insurance carriers provide checklists to help manage facilities, programs, and equipment, insuring the minimization of risk, and in some cases, even its elimination. Often these checklists, policies, and procedures are available for downloading from the companies' websites to members and even non-members. With these and other helpful materials there is no excuse for a church, no matter the size, to be unprepared in facing and adequately dealing with the risks associated with ministry.

Risk management is good stewardship of church resources. Church Doctor Ministries has added an "expert witness" with experience helping churches in court cases. CDM has also added a specialist in risk management, for the preventative measures that can help keep your church out of court. This is a Church Doctor who analyzes the inherent risks and adequately diagnose the status of the church relative to those risks. This Church Doctor provides a thorough, written review that includes recommendations for developing or improving your church's program of risk management.