FREE 10+ Church Emergency Action Plan Samples in MS Word | Google Docs | Apple Pages | PDF

A church when defined as a structure is a building used for Christian worship. It is place or area of gathering, open to those who share the same faith. At times it holds a large celebrations during special occasions or there are certain days of the week were ceremonies are held. And areas that hold large gathering of people such as buildings are highly susceptible to unwanted incidents and emergencies of all sorts. Such as natural calamities, fires, human threat, and etc. This is why it is imperative that these religious institutions develop a church emergency action plan in order to address issues of emergencies that could possible happen within the church. Read more about this in our article below and if you want to get started with your emergency action plan check out our free church emergency action plan samples as well.

10+ Church Emergency Action Plan Samples

1. Church Emergency Action Plan Template

2. Church Emergency Action Plan

3. Church Medical Emergency Action Plan

4. Sample Church Emergency Action Plan

5. Church Water Emergency Action Plan

6. Baptist Church Emergency Action Plan

7. Church Fire Emergency Action Plan

8. Church Coronavirus Emergency Action Plan

9. Standard Church Emergency Action Plan

10. Church Room Emergency Action Plan

11. Basic Church Emergency Action Plan

What Is a Church Emergency Action Plan?

Emergencies has no given time nor place in which it would occur. It comes to all of us so suddenly and sometimes too swiftly that we are either too shock or traumatize to do anything else. Churches are not exempted to such, most especially at times it holds a large number of people. A church emergency action plan may not entirely deflect any incidents but the least it can do is to lessen damages, injuries and prevent loss of life. It should contain procedures and appropriate response that would direct and prepare the religious community whenever an emergency would occur. Although a church has many duties and priorities, the safety of the community should also be paramount. This emergency plan needs to be organized in detail so that if something happens, everyone is prepared to act.

How To Develop a Church Emergency Action Plan?

The response to many emergencies will include similar components, but they will also have unique components that will require careful planning and execution. So before you are able to complete the details of your church emergency action plan it is important to assess and identify the emergencies most likely to impact your organization. This would mean checking the following:

• Location of your church, if it is prone to any onslaught of natural calamities such as earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding. Not only that, you need to assess if the surrounding area is safe from any human threat.
• Building structure would have to regularly checked and maintained, ensuring that it is sturdy enough to hold a large gathering of people.

All these are deciding factors as to how you would develop your church emergency action plan. As it is also important to recognize that some emergency responses will have radically different recommendations than others. Now every emergency action plans may differ from the others considering the factors, however there are general components that are equally important that must be included in your church emergency action plan including the ones below:

I. Evacuation Procedures and Escape Routes

The first thing to consider in any given emergency is how to escape, where to hide or evacuate. Considering the nature of the emergency it is important that your action plan has this set of steps as to where people should go or hide for that matter.

II. Roles and Responsibilities

You must be able to sort out a team with different roles and responsibilities who will be able to responsibly and actively response during and after an emergency. Assign employees and volunteers to lead evacuations from different areas of the building. This will also include a representative team from all parts of the church to take over reorganization.

III. Emergency Supplies and Equipment

It is important that all emergency equipment such as fire extinguishers, sprinklers, evacuation areas and exit signs are visible without any obstruction. Ensure that first aid kits are complete and basic emergency supplies are enough. Identify other equipment needed available for fire protection, communications, and emergency power.

IV. Conduct Training and Promote Awareness

Making people aware of the danger and threats that can lead to an emergency is important. So ensure that your emergency response team have the proper training and right information they need on how to handle emergencies. And it is also advisable to conduct emergency drills if it permits, or raise awareness to the members of the congregation on how to deal with real life emergency situations.

V. Communication and Contact Numbers

A church mobile app or contact list can be adapted to keep communication lines open between different members of the church. Contact information to be used in case of an emergency should be provided. This information includes who should be contacted in the case of a sudden event as well as phone numbers of the employees, volunteers, and congregants of the church. Don’t forget contact information to police, fire department and other relevant emergency response agencies.

VI. Assess and Update

Although we do not want any sort of emergencies to occur, but if they do make sure to assess how it happened, how did the congregation respond and the aftereffects. Such data would help you reorganize and update your emergency action plan as to aligning the best possible solution that can help prevent it from happening again or if not lessen any damages or loss.

FAQs

By effectively developing a church emergency action plan this will ensure that safety of your church and congregation, making it a more secure place of worship.