Updated Information that concerns the churches of Christ
We feel that one of our most importand goals is to provide important information that concerns your congregation. Keep this webpage bookmarked so that you can come find up to date information that could affect the matters that a congregation must deal with. This information will help with decisions on loss control and being Good Stewards of the Lord's funds.
I interviewed Jim May, an elder from the congregation, about the church’s experience. Mr. May told me that if his story could help someone, he wanted me to share it. He doesn’t want your church, like his, to have to say “hindsight is 20/20.”
The Story
In January of 2016, someone left a food warmer on in the church kitchen overnight which started a fire. It ruined the kitchen and part of the main worship building.
Mr. May was unprepared for the length and uncertainty of the process. It was 6-8 months before the completion of the repairs. Imagine the difficulty of conducting regular worship when you don’t know when you’ll have a regular place to meet. The congregation also had many questions that were hard to get answers to, and when the insurance company asked for necessary information, they didn’t know or couldn’t readily supply the information.
Mr. May was unprepared for the length and uncertainty of the process. It was 6-8 months before the completion of the repairs. Imagine the difficulty of conducting regular worship when you don’t know when you’ll have a regular place to meet. The congregation also had many questions that were hard to get answers to, and when the insurance company asked for necessary information, they didn’t know or couldn’t readily supply the information.
The Lessons
Mr. May and his congregation learned that the best way to handle a devastating loss is to be prepared beforehand. The lessons Mr. May wants to share with you are these:
- Have an emergency plan.
- Practice the plan.
- Make an inventory.
- Understand the claims process before you have a loss.
In the event of a loss, it’s also important to know your responsibilities. This expedites the recovery process. Here are the steps Sulphur Well should have taken after the loss to make the process easier.
- Prevent further damage to the property.
- Report the loss, and get a claim number.
- Record every conversation, i.e. who said what would happen by when.
- Find your insurance policy and read the "reporting a claim" section.
- Submit an inventory of what was lost, because it is the congregation's responsibility to prove the loss
It was easy for Mr. May and the Sulphur Well congregation to see how they should have prepared. We want to encourage you to look at your congregation’s preparedness. Ask the difficult questions now, and use the answers to create a plan.
Things for You to Consider before Disaster Strikes
- What is your plan in the event of a disaster?
- Is it documented in a safe location other than the church building?
How will you communicate to the congregation when a major loss occurs?
Insights of Camp Director
John Moore, Polishing the Pulpit, 2016.
These are the notes I took from a lectureship. My favorite idea is in bold below.
- No Junior counselors, kids in high schools who are in leadership positions.
- o use them, but in a different way
- What is a success camp portrait?
- o It’s conversions and restorations
- Prayer and Purpose
- o Ephesians 3:14-21
- o in prayer-how will that spiritual growth come?
- o we want to strengthen the inner man
- o careful of using rules devoid of a relationship
- o rules without relationships equal rebellion
- o Demonstrate it in our own lives
- Management and Leadership Skills
- o paper
- o applications
- o communicaiton
- o get help if you are disorganized
- Pre-Camp Meetings
- o get the right people on the bus
- o brain storming sessions
- Qualified Staff that are deeply spiritual
- o find people who want to be there. not the people who are available
- o pair the old with young counselors
- Reliable leaders in key areas of responsiblities
- o if you handle the logistics of the camp, the spiritual needs go to the back burner
- o God’s word is powerful but we have the responsibility to wield the powerful sword, don’t leave it to chance
- o find spiritual people
- A daily schedule that has campers busy, engaged and active
- o when the day ends, they will fall asleep.
- o Stay busy with activities.
- Ideas and Insights
- Begin and end the day with a devotional
- o every day starts with invoking God’s aid
- o big circle at night called “family time” used for role call
- o and organized dismal
- § send the young ones early, High School Kids stay and sing again.
- § who wants to share something positive that they saw positive happen today?
- § What did God do in your life today?
- § group activity with purpose
- Begin and end the day with a devotional
- Focus on spiritual needs of the campers
- Engage them with good ciricullum
- Christ centered approach
- o forbid pranks, zero tolerance, send them home.
- o was it Christ like to pull pranks on kids?
- o An adult feared a Chrisitan camp because of the effect some pranks had on him a long time ago
- o destroying property isn’t beneficial
- Teens assigned KP duty to match them up with the older kids who had KP.
- Emphasis on singing
- o added a signing class into the schedule daily-find the right person to teach it.
- o in class there’s a focus on spiritual
About three years ago a preacher lost his library: books, sermon notes, and classroom material. Afterwards it was valued around $53,000. It's replacement could have been easy had he done one thing.
Preacher's Personal Property is that one thing. On your policy there is a baseline limit in a church specific policy for $25,000. If you have a lifetime of material, it will be well over that amount per our example.
Depending on the value of the property changes the amount it cost to cover it. It's challenging to give a simple answer to a complex question. It does not drastically affect the premium when it comes time to pay.
Take a look at your policy and see what the current limits are for 'Preacher's Personal Property'. If you have question about how to find it, give us a call. We will show you where it is.
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