Safety and risk have been, and will continue to be, part of ministry.  You take risks everyday.  Each day that you open the church doors, you open your ministry to potential risks such as:

• personal injury from trips and falls

• damage to property

• theft or embezzlement of money

• child abuse

• lawsuits from disgruntled employees and

• many others

By examining the risks we can determine which ones enhance ministry and which ones cause harm.

Starting a new program or ministry in your church is always a risk. There is the risk of it being successful or not.  Many ministries today are successful because someone took a risk when they launched the program and it ended up enhancing the church ministry as a whole.

Other kinds of risks can cause harm.  Let's take a look at some of these.

The protection of assets such as cash, equipment, securities, valuables, etc., is a basic management requirement for all churches, whether large or small.  Unfortunately, in most churches the internal control of assets has traditionally been weak.  Many churches are victimized each year resulting in loss of assets that have a direct impact on ministry.Child Sexual Abuse has reached epidemic levels across our nation.  Not a day goes by where we don't read or hear about a newly publicized case of abuse. Child molesters will continue to exist in our society.  They can strike any church, including yours, regardless of your size, wealth, or location.  Some of the major church insurers have experienced more than 100% increases in sexual abuse claims. Although the topic of sexual abuse is difficult for many churches to discuss, there is too much at stake for your church to ignore this issue.Another risk to churches today is that of potential lawsuits regarding employment.  Years ago we would have never heard of someone suing an employer, let alone the church.  Today lawsuits brought against churches are on the rise and becoming far too common.  Lawsuits stem from disgruntled employees who feel they were treated unfairly regarding compensation, promotions, benefits, termination and other areas.