White Papers

All organizations are subject to some level of risk. Being prepared in the event of a disaster not only can reduce a loss, but can make the difference between life and death. This document has been created to provide a basic level of understanding for those who need to create an emergency response plan. It is not intended to be comprehensive, nor complete for your organization. Creating a plan requires an in depth knowledge of your environment, combined with a risk assessment that identifies the risks to which your organization may be subject. The complexity of the plan will be directly proportional to the size of the organization and facilities.

The purpose of this document is to inform and not alarm those responsible for church/school ministry. This is a compilation of data from various sources that seeks to provide general information on responding to emergencies. Information in this document that is in the public domain that is not under copyright is attached as Appendices. All church ministries are granted permission to use this document in support of the Great Commission.

In order to adequately protect your facilities, personnel, and visitors, an emergency response process must be created. Since every church or school is different each emergency response plan is different. While some common elements may exist between plans, it is necessary to perform other tasks outside of this discussion paper.

This discussion document covers evacuation and shelter in place; it is not intended to cover all emergency response situations. Other areas must be considered, including but not limited to: computer systems, facility restoration, records recovery, etc.