How to Train Disaster Volunteers in Your Church

Five steps for building and preparing a disaster ministry team.

Having a disaster ministry is the best way your church can prepare for future events and care for those impacted by disasters in your community. I have previously written about how to start a disaster ministry at your church, but setting up the ministry is just the beginning: you need to train volunteers to keep the ministry running and be ready to assist when disaster hits.

Below are some key principles to keep in mind.

Communicate the Vision

The process of volunteer development begins before you ever start recruiting.

Having a robust theology of disasters—understanding why disaster response and survivor care matters to God and to your church—and communicating it clearly to your church is the foundation of all you will do in this ministry.

Successful volunteers will understand why this ministry is important and how it connects to their faith. Volunteers need a sense of purpose and ownership to remain motivated in their service and to grow spiritually through it.

Once the groundwork has been laid, find opportunities to keep communicating the vision on a regular basis. When disasters hit locally or appear in the news, connect them to the work you’re doing in your own disaster ministry.

Once your ministry has a few disaster responses under its belt, invite responders and survivors to share their testimonies of how they saw God at work in the midst of catastrophe.

These are great ways to help people understand the importance of this kind of ministry and demonstrate what your church is preparing for.

By keeping your church and your volunteers excited and engaged, you’ll help keep the dust from collecting on your plan.

Build a Leadership Team

As you begin to build the volunteer ministry, identify a “champion”—someone to help others stay motivated in their commitment to a safety plan in the church. This person should have a strong commitment to disaster ministry and will be the point person for all your volunteers.

They should be someone your church can count on: a self-starter, someone others respect, someone with strong leadership skills as well as a passion for serving others in times of crisis and a giftedness in that area.

This person should be specifically recruited, approved, and empowered by senior leadership in your church.

Then you will want to assemble a team of 6-10 volunteers to form the disaster ministry team.

This group will be in charge of assessing your church’s disaster risks and setting ministries in place to prepare for and respond to those risks. They should be representative of all the ministries and operations of your church.

If your church is small, one way to achieve this could be to bring together a group of already-active leaders from across your existing ministries.

Disasters impact every area of your church, and a diverse team will most effectively understand how your existing ministries can be used in this context.

Additionally, you never know who will be impacted personally by a disaster, so a leadership team approach ensures that even if one or more leaders are directly affected, there will be others ready to lead.

Connect Gifts with Needs

Spend time as a leadership team developing the expectations you have for volunteers.

What will their distinct roles be?

How will they know what is expected of them—and if they have done well?

Clarity on the front end helps get the right people in the right roles and offers them a path to success in those roles.

When people hear “disaster ministry,” they may assume they need to learn a whole new set of skills—or that because they aren’t an emergency response professional, they don’t have much to offer. This couldn’t be further from the truth!

Just as one of the best ways to start a disaster ministry in your church is to take a look at what your church already does well and consider how you can pivot this ministry to a disaster context, the same is true for volunteers.

Help them identify what they already know to be their ministry gifting and calling—what they already do well—and then think through how that can be adapted or used in a disaster situation.

Do they have an interest in children’s ministry? Financial assistance? Facility management? Food preparation? Visiting with shut-ins?

All of those interests and gifts can be used in disaster contexts, and they draw from ministries that probably already exist in your church and can easily be employed when disaster hits.

Additionally, it is helpful to seek out any “first responders” you have in your church: medically trained people like doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and law enforcement officials like police, firefighters, and EMS professionals. Their expertise can be instrumental in helping train others, and their skills will be vital in a disaster response situation.

Prepare the Heart

Preparing action plans and skills is important, but so is preparing the heart.

Humility is one of the most important qualities a volunteer can bring to disaster ministry.

Scripture is clear that humility is essential to service.

Jesus instructs his disciples that “[a]nyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all” (Mark 9:35). He also preaches it publicly, saying, “The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted” (Matthew 23:11-12).

Humble helpers are able to listen well and accept their own limitations. They don’t assume they know the best way to help, but they are able to pay attention to what is going on in the situation and listen to the survivors, offering help that actually helps.

Practice, Practice, Practice

As with any new task, practice is important in figuring out what works and learning and mastering the required skills.

Fortunately, you don’t have to wait for a disaster to give volunteers the practice they need to be prepared in a real-life situation.

Encourage your leadership team to volunteer with established response organizations (e.g., Samaritan’s Purse) or with ministries that serve the vulnerable in your community (e.g. homeless ministries) to learn the ropes and gain practical experience they can then bring to your ministry.

Connect with local emergency management or CERT teams who can help you set up practice response drills for volunteers.

Take advantage of the many regular webinars and online courses in disaster emergency management skills offered by FEMA.

Offer first aid classes to gain basic emergency medical skills. Begin engaging and connecting with your community through service projects that not only help volunteers practice skills, but they build relationships that may lead to more collaboration when a disaster hits.

Further Reading

For specific, technical tools and resources to build training and evaluation plans, FEMA has put together this helpful guide. For more on building a disaster ministry and training volunteers, see the Disaster Ministry Handbook, which I co-wrote.

Jamie D. Aten is a disaster psychologist and the founder and executive director of the Humanitarian Disaster Institute at Wheaton College in Illinois.

The High Costs of a Sexual Abuse Claim

Prevention, right coverage are critical to protecting churches.

Sexual abuse of a minor is the number one reason churches end up in court.

It’s a statistic that’s been true for a number of years, according to attorney Richard R. Hammar. And churches must do all they can to prevent this type of tragedy. But churches also must be wise and purchase the right kind of insurance that will help cover any legal action that might occur because of abuse or alleged abuse on their property or during church-related events, trips, or activities.

Based on interviews with church insurance experts, attorneys, and a risk management specialist, we offer five guidelines to help churches of all sizes make sure they are financially prepared should the unthinkable ever happen.

1. Your general liability policy probably does not cover abuse claims.

“Some churches may not be aware that their typical church liability coverage doesn’t cover sexual abuse or misconduct,” said Eric Spacek, risk management and loss control director for GuideOne Insurance.

Since there’s typically an exclusion for allegations of child abuse in the general liability coverage, he said that churches need separate sexual misconduct coverage. While the agent or broker who sold the insurance should have explained what is or isn’t in the policy, churches still may be unaware of, or have certain misconceptions about, what’s actually covered by a general liability policy, he said.

To illustrate the point:

  • Last year, a federal appeals court affirmed that an insurer need not cover a $4.35 million civil verdict awarded against a church for two teenage girls sexually assaulted by the church’s former pastor, Law360 legal news service noted. The court found that the church’s policy clearly excluded coverage for any claims of sexual misconduct of an individual.
  • In a review of a child abuse case in the July/August 2017 issue of Church Law & Tax Report, Hammar wrote, “The Ohio Supreme Court ruled that an exclusion in a church’s insurance policy for criminal or intentional acts precluded coverage not only for the person committing the wrongful act, but also for the church, even though it was being sued for negligence.”

This means churches must seek additional insurance to help cover a potential future claim. The amount of coverage needed depends on the size of the church and the scope of its youth programs. For a small church with limited exposure, a policy with coverage as low as $50,000 might be purchased for $50 to $100 a year. For a larger church, a policy with seven-figure coverage might require a premium costing several thousand dollars a year.

Attorney Frank Sommerville’s advice on how much coverage to buy: as much as the insurance company will sell you, “because the incremental cost difference between the lowest policy limits and the highest they’re willing to sell is usually not that much money.”

In some cases, buying two sexual liability policies—the first policy covering damages up to a certain amount and an umbrella policy covering any damages over a certain amount—may be cheaper than a single policy, attorney Richard J. Mathews said.

2. Read the fine print of your sexual liability policy.

Some specific questions to consider when evaluating a sexual liability policy:

  • Is the policy based on claims or occurrences?

An occurrence policy states that an insurer will pay for any incidents that happen during the coverage year, regardless of when the claim is made, said Scott Figgins, vice president of underwriting for Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company. “So let’s say I have a Sunday school teacher who molested a 2-year-old child [in 2017], and that child doesn’t come forward for 15 years,” he said. “It doesn’t matter, as long as that occurrence happened between January 1st and December 31st of 2017, that policy [the church had that year] will always respond to it.”

The long tail of many allegations is a critical incentive for churches to save the original insurance policies forever in case a claim arises decades later, added Sommerville, who serves as an editorial advisor for Church Finance Today.

On the other hand, Figgins said, “A claims-made policy says that you have to bring the claim during the period of time that the policy is enforced.”

Also, some insurers specify that their sexual liability policy only provides coverage if a perpetrator’s first act of abuse occurred during the policy period. For example, if the policy were enacted on January 1, 2017, and acts of abuse were alleged beginning in 2016 that continued into 2017, they would not be covered.

Other policies cover all acts that happen during the policy period, regardless of whether it’s the first time or the tenth time the perpetrator has abused a specific minor, said Judy Frymark, sexual misconduct claims specialist with Church Mutual Insurance Company.

Failure to carefully read and understand language of a policy, Frymark said, “can be very financially catastrophic for the church” if a policy doesn’t cover all acts during the policy period.

  • What locations are covered by the policy?

Mathews, a former general counsel for the Boy Scouts of America, said it’s important that the policy cover claims arising out of any location—not just the church building or a formally sponsored church event. This was a lesson he learned during his time with the Boy Scouts.

For example, would a sleepover at the youth choir leader’s house be covered?

“Insurance companies, nothing against them, are always going to look for a legitimate basis to indicate the coverage was not in effect,” Mathews said. “They’ll say this wasn’t church property, it was just this guy who assumed he could do this. … So you need to make sure that it is not only the sanctioned activities that are in the bulletin or come directly from church leadership [that are covered].”

  • Does the coverage for legal defense costs fall inside or outside of the sexual misconduct liability insurance limits?

This question is crucial because defense costs “can run into the thousands of dollars over the course of litigation,” GuideOne’s Spacek said. “If the defense costs are inside the insurance limits, then the amount available to pay for settlement or judgment of a sexual misconduct claim will be reduced by the amount of the defense costs.”

For example: “If you have a $2 million policy, and defense costs come out of that $2 million policy, you may only have $1 million or $1.5 million to pay claims out,” said Sommerville, who has represented hundreds of churches in sexual abuse cases.

  • What specific types of abuse are covered?

Brotherhood Mutual’s Figgins said it’s a myth that sexual abuse claims only arise out of adult-child relationships.

“It may not just be an adult with a child,” Figgins said. “It could be a child with a child, a teen with a child, an adult with an adult situation where they feel like they were coerced into something they didn’t want to do either through psychological manipulation or through an improper counseling situation.”

The bottom line, stressed Figgins, is to have the kind of coverage that would handle whatever type of sexual misconduct situation could possibly occur.

  • What are the occurrence and aggregate limits?

An occurrence limit would be the amount that an insurer would pay for a single claim—typically $1 million or so for a larger policy. An aggregate limit would be the maximum amount the insurer would pay for multiple claims during a policy period—for example, a $3 million total for all claims during the policy period.

3. Check the insurance policy’s requirements for implementing risk-management and prevention policies.

A failure to follow guidelines can invalidate insurance claims. Legally speaking, such a failure constitutes gross negligence, which is not covered by a policy, Sommerville explained.

For instance, some insurers recommend that churches impose a six-month waiting period before allowing new members to teach Sunday school or otherwise work with children. Church Mutual’s Frymark said the reason for this is that “often sexual predators are not willing to wait that period.”

If churches adopt such a six-month rule and then don’t enforce it, it could cause problems both in terms of damages awarded against a church and/or an insurer covering the damages, said Patti Malott, executive director of Upright Ministries, a Texas-based nonprofit that advises churches on safety and security matters.

Also, “some insurance companies may require you to run background checks on all the volunteers,” Sommerville said, “and if you never run a background check, [a claim] won’t be covered if allegations of sexual misconduct are made against the volunteer.”

If a church knows someone has a troubled past and allows that person to serve with children, it could invalidate insurance claims. For instance, if a church learns someone is on a sex-offender registry list, but allows the person to serve because the church believes the individual has changed, only to discover that person commits a future act in the course of serving at the church, “some policies would have exclusions for that type of thing. That’s a fairly common exclusion,” Figgins said.

4. Don’t assume that child sexual abuse couldn’t happen at your church.

Churches tend to exhibit a high level of trust and want to extend grace to people, Sommerville said.

Mathews agreed and said, “Churches don’t recognize the danger and the widespread nature of [child sexual abuse]. I think it’s like anything else: We all think it’s never going to happen to us.”

Sommerville recalled a 200-member church that he urged to conduct criminal background checks on all its volunteers and staff. The first time the church did so, it found it had two registered sex offenders volunteering with children.

But he said churches are becoming more aware of the dangers—and of the fact that the dangers aren’t just strangers, but also individuals who are known to the congregation and those whom most members would never suspect.

“I think what’s getting churches’ attention is the size of the settlements and the size of the rewards that juries are giving plaintiffs when churches don’t properly screen their volunteers and workers,” Sommerville said.

Criminal background checks on potential volunteers and staff are important, especially if the insurer requires them, the experts said. But they stressed that many perpetrators never have been caught and, thus, there will be no record.

“The reality is, with the vast majority of cases we’ve had over the years, if you would have run a criminal background check the day before, you would have found nothing,” Figgins said. That reinforces the need for interviews and qualified references during the selection process, and vigilant supervision practices of all staff and volunteers.

5. Remember it’s about more than money—it’s about protecting people and the church.

The experts stressed that while preparing to financially manage a potential problem is vital, and insurance coverage is a critical component of that preparation, prevention is more important. Churches must be vigilant to protect children—and their entire congregation.

“I can’t tell you how many times a church has been substantially damaged by [revelations of child abuse],” Figgins said. “There’s loss of membership, pastors are forced out, deacons and elders turn over. Just dealing with the associated fallout from an emotional perspective, both in the family and the victims, and potentially the perpetrator’s family who may attend there—it is a no-win situation. Thinking of it just in terms of ‘How do I protect myself from a dollar perspective?’ really is not the right mentality to have.”

Supreme Court

Public Benefit Programs Available to Churches

Excluding church from playground funding solely based on its religion violates First Amendment, Court says.

In a historic ruling (Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer, 2017 WL 2722410), the United States Supreme Court has ruled that a state program providing free playground surfacing to any school or preschool—except churches or other religious organizations—violated the First Amendment’s protection of the free exercise of religion.

Background of the case

The Trinity Lutheran Church Child Learning Center is a preschool and daycare center open throughout the year. Established as a nonprofit organization in 1980, the center merged with Trinity Lutheran Church in 1985 and operates under its auspices on church property. The center admits students of any religion, and enrollment stands at about 90 children ranging from ages two to five.

The center includes a playground that is equipped with the basic playground essentials: slides, swings, jungle gyms, monkey bars, and sandboxes. Almost the entire surface beneath and surrounding the play equipment is coarse “pea gravel.” Children often fall on the playground or tumble from the equipment. When they do, the gravel surface can cause injuries.

Missouri Dept. of Natural Resources denies request for grant funding

In 2012, the center sought to replace a large portion of the pea gravel with a pour-in-place rubber surface by participating in Missouri’s Scrap Tire Program. Run by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to reduce the number of used tires destined for landfills and dump sites, the program offers reimbursement grants to qualifying nonprofit organizations that purchase playground surfaces made from recycled tires. It is funded through a fee imposed on the sale of new tires in the state.

Due to limited resources, the department cannot offer grants to all applicants. Awards are given on a competitive basis to those scoring highest, based on several criteria, such as the poverty level of the population in the surrounding area and the applicant’s plan to promote recycling. When the center applied, the department maintained a strict and express policy of denying grants to any applicant owned or controlled by a church, sect, or other religious entity. That policy, in the department’s view, was compelled by the following provision in the Missouri Constitution:

That no money shall ever be taken from the public treasury, directly or indirectly, in aid of any church, sect, or denomination of religion, or in aid of any priest, preacher, minister, or teacher thereof, as such; and that no preference shall be given to nor any discrimination made against any church, sect, or creed of religion, or any form of religious faith or worship.

Center deemed ‘categorically ineligible’ due to religious status

In its application, the center disclosed its status as a ministry of Trinity Lutheran Church and specified that the center’s mission was “to provide a safe, clean, and attractive school facility in conjunction with an educational program structured to allow a child to grow spiritually, physically, socially, and cognitively.” After describing the playground and the safety hazards posed by its current surface, the center detailed the anticipated benefits of the proposed project: increasing access to the playground for all children, including those with disabilities, by providing a surface compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act; providing a safe, long-lasting, and resilient surface under the play areas; and improving Missouri’s environment by putting recycled tires to positive use. The center also noted that the benefits of a new surface would extend beyond its students to the local community, whose children often use the playground during non-school hours.

The center ranked fifth among the 44 applicants in the 2012 Scrap Tire Program. But despite its high score, the center was deemed categorically ineligible to receive a grant. In a letter rejecting the center’s application, the program director explained that, under the state’s constitution, the department could not provide financial assistance directly to a church.

Center claims First Amendment violation, sues

Trinity Lutheran sued the director of the department in a federal district court. The church alleged that the department’s failure to approve the center’s application, pursuant to its policy of denying grants to religiously affiliated applicants, violated the First Amendment’s guaranty of the free exercise of religion.

The district court dismissed the church’s lawsuit, and a federal appeals court affirmed. The appeals court concluded that while Missouri could award a scrap tire grant to Trinity Lutheran without running afoul of the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution, “that did not mean the Free Exercise [of religion] Clause compelled the State to disregard the antiestablishment principle reflected in its own Constitution.” Viewing a monetary grant to a religious institution as a “hallmark of an established religion,” the court concluded that the state could rely on an applicant’s religious status to deny its application. The church sought review by the United States Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court’s Decision

In a 7-2 ruling, the Supreme Court ruled that the church’s exclusion from the tire program violated its constitutional right under the First Amendment to the free exercise of its religion. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts began his opinion by observing that “this Court has repeatedly confirmed that denying a generally available benefit solely on account of religious identity imposes a penalty on the free exercise of religion that can be justified only by a state interest of the highest order.”

Court leans on Everson v. Board of Education (1947)

The Court cited its 1947 ruling in Everson v. Board of Education, 330 U.S. 1 (1947), in which it upheld a New Jersey law enabling a local school district to reimburse parents for the public transportation costs of sending their children to public and private schools, including parochial schools. The Court explained that a state “cannot hamper its citizens in the free exercise of their own religion. Consequently, it cannot exclude individual Catholics, Lutherans, Mohammedans, Baptists, Jews, Methodists, Non-believers, Presbyterians, or the members of any other faith, because of their faith, or lack of it, from receiving the benefits of public welfare legislation.”

The Court noted that in recent years it had rejected challenges to “neutral laws of general applicability” based on alleged violations of the free exercise of religion, but it stressed that “we have been careful to distinguish such laws from those that single out the religious for disfavored treatment.”

For example, in Employment Division v. Smith, 494 U.S. 872 (1990), the Court rejected a free exercise claim brought by two members of a Native American church denied unemployment benefits because they had violated drug laws by ingesting peyote for sacramental purposes. The Court concluded that “the Free Exercise Clause did not entitle the church members to a special dispensation from the general criminal laws on account of their religion. At the same time, we again made clear that the Free Exercise Clause did guard against the government’s imposition of special disabilities on the basis of religious views or religious status.”

Court shifts focus to Missouri DNR’s ‘anti-religion’ policy

Turning to the anti-religion policy of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, the Court observed:

The Department’s policy expressly discriminates against otherwise eligible recipients by disqualifying them from a public benefit solely because of their religious character. If the cases just described make one thing clear, it is that such a policy imposes a penalty on the free exercise of religion that triggers the most exacting scrutiny. . . .

The Department’s policy puts Trinity Lutheran to a choice: it may participate in an otherwise available benefit program or remain a religious institution. Of course, Trinity Lutheran is free to continue operating as a church . . . . But that freedom comes at the cost of automatic and absolute exclusion from the benefits of a public program for which the Center is otherwise fully qualified. And when the State conditions a benefit in this way, [our prior cases] say plainly that the State has punished the free exercise of religion: to condition the availability of benefits upon [a recipient’s] willingness to surrender his religiously impelled status effectively penalizes the free exercise of his constitutional liberties.

The department argued that merely declining to extend funds to Trinity Lutheran did not prohibit the church from engaging in any religious conduct or otherwise exercising its religious rights. Rather, it had simply declined to allocate to Trinity Lutheran a subsidy the state had no obligation to provide in the first place. And such a decision did not meaningfully burden the church’s free exercise rights.

Court notes Free Exercise Clause ‘protects against indirect coercion or penalties’

The Court conceded that the department had not “criminalized the way Trinity Lutheran worships or told the Church that it cannot subscribe to a certain view of the Gospel.” But, as the department itself acknowledged, the Free Exercise Clause protects against “indirect coercion or penalties on the free exercise of religion, not just outright prohibitions.” As the Court put it more than 50 years ago, “[i]t is too late in the day to doubt that the liberties of religion and expression may be infringed by the denial of or placing of conditions upon a benefit or privilege” [Sherbert v. Verner, 374 U.S. 398 (1963)]. The Court noted that

Trinity Lutheran is not claiming any entitlement to a subsidy. It instead asserts a right to participate in a government benefit program without having to disavow its religious character. The imposition of such a condition . . . inevitably deters or discourages the exercise of First Amendment rights. The express discrimination against religious exercise here is not the denial of a grant, but rather the refusal to allow the Church—solely because it is a church—to compete with secular organizations for a grant. . . . Trinity Lutheran is a member of the community too, and the State’s decision to exclude it for purposes of this public program must withstand the strictest scrutiny.

The Court noted that “only a state interest of the highest order” could justify the department’s discriminatory policy, and no such interest existed. Instead, “the Department offers nothing more than Missouri’s policy preference for skating as far as possible from religious establishment concerns. In the face of the clear infringement on free exercise before us, that interest cannot qualify as compelling.”

Chief Justice Roberts’ conclusion:

Nearly 200 years ago, a legislator urged the Maryland Assembly to adopt a bill that would end the State’s disqualification of Jews from public office: “If, on account of my religious faith, I am subjected to disqualifications, from which others are free . . . I cannot but consider myself a persecuted man. . . . An odious exclusion from any of the benefits common to the rest of my fellow-citizens, is a persecution, differing only in degree, but of a nature equally unjustifiable with that, whose instruments are chains and torture.”

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has not subjected anyone to chains or torture on account of religion. And the result of the State’s policy is nothing so dramatic as the denial of political office. The consequence is, in all likelihood, a few extra scraped knees. But the exclusion of Trinity Lutheran from a public benefit for which it is otherwise qualified, solely because it is a church, is odious to our Constitution all the same, and cannot stand.

Ruling Affirms Church Participation in Government Programs

This case recognizes, as the Court noted, that churches are members of the community, too, and cannot be excluded from government benefit programs solely on the basis of their religious status. The Court stressed that it had “repeatedly confirmed that denying a generally available benefit solely on account of religious identity imposes a penalty on the free exercise of religion that can be justified only by a state interest of the highest order.”

This ruling reinforces the constitutional validity of church participation in many kinds of government programs generally available to other non-religious groups. These include, as the Court ruled in the Everson case (noted above), some forms of government assistance to school children, including those attending private secular and religious schools.

Sister publication Christianity Today provided additional news coverage of the Supreme Court’s ruling. To go deeper on matters of church and state, check out the “Liability & Church and State Issues” section of ChurchLawAndTax.com’s Legal Library.

Richard R. Hammar is senior editor of the Church Law & Tax Report newsletter and ChurchLawAndTax.com.

Richard R. Hammar is an attorney, CPA and author specializing in legal and tax issues for churches and clergy.

Do Donor Envelopes Substantiate Contributions?

Discover how to substantiate contributions for tax purposes and why offering envelopes no longer suffice under IRS rules.

Last Reviewed: January 22, 2025

Q: I recently attended a “tax compliance” seminar for pastors and church bookkeepers. The presenter said that members’ charitable contributions are not tax-deductible unless they are submitted in an offering envelope that meets strict requirements. Of course, he offered to sell “compliant” envelopes to the audience for an exorbitant fee. Could you please confirm my understanding that offering envelopes are not required in order for a contribution to be tax-deductible?


How to Substantiate Contributions: What the IRS Requires

Offering envelopes are not required to substantiate contributions for tax-deduction purposes. The IRS now requires all cash contributions, regardless of the amount, to be substantiated by one of the following:

  • A bank record, such as a canceled check or an electronic funds transfer statement;
  • A written communication from the charity, which must include the charity’s name, the date of the contribution, and the amount of the contribution; or
  • Payroll deduction records.

Offering envelopes do not meet these requirements. Therefore, they cannot be used to substantiate cash contributions. The information presented at the seminar you attended was incorrect and should be disregarded.

Why Offering Envelopes No Longer Substantiate Contributions

In the past, offering envelopes were helpful for substantiating cash contributions of less than $250. However, changes in tax law have eliminated their use for this purpose. Now, donors must rely on bank records or written acknowledgments from the charity to claim a tax deduction for cash contributions.

For example, a church member who regularly gives cash in offering envelopes cannot use those envelopes to substantiate their contributions. Instead, they must rely on periodic receipts provided by the church. If the church fails to issue a written acknowledgment containing the required details, the donor will be unable to deduct their contributions.

The Benefits of Offering Envelopes

Despite no longer being valid for tax substantiation, offering envelopes still serve several important purposes for churches, including:

  • Helping churches connect cash contributions to individual donors;
  • Promoting privacy during the collection of contributions;
  • Allowing donors to designate specific programs or projects for their gifts;
  • Providing a weekly reminder to members to make contributions and honor pledges; and
  • Reducing the risk of offering counters misappropriating loose cash.

Best Practices for Substantiating Contributions

To ensure compliance with IRS requirements and to help donors substantiate their contributions, churches should:

  • Issue periodic written acknowledgments to donors, including the charity’s name, the date of each contribution, and the amount;
  • Educate donors about IRS rules for substantiating cash contributions;
  • Maintain accurate records of all contributions for internal tracking and reporting purposes.

Frequently Asked Questions

What documentation is required to substantiate cash contributions?

Donors must have a bank record, a written acknowledgment from the charity, or payroll deduction records to substantiate cash contributions.

Can offering envelopes be used to substantiate contributions?

No, offering envelopes do not meet IRS requirements for substantiating contributions and cannot be used for tax-deduction purposes.

Why should churches still use offering envelopes?

Offering envelopes help churches connect contributions to individual donors, promote privacy, and reduce the risk of mismanagement of loose cash.

What should be included in a written acknowledgment?

A proper acknowledgment must include the charity’s name, the date of the contribution, the amount, and a statement indicating whether goods or services were provided in exchange for the gift.

Richard R. Hammar is an attorney, CPA and author specializing in legal and tax issues for churches and clergy.

Public Accommodations Laws: Potential Effects on Churches

To answer this question, churches must be well-versed in federal, state, and local laws.

Overview: The Hitching Post Case

The case of Hitching Post Weddings v. City of Coeur d’Alene explores how public accommodations laws may affect churches and religious wedding services.

Background

  • A Christian couple, both ordained ministers, purchased the Hitching Post chapel in 1989 and operated it as a for-profit wedding service.
  • In 2014, they formed Hitching Post Weddings, LLC, and declared it a religious corporation in their operating agreement.

The agreement stated that:

  • They operated the business as an extension of their religious beliefs.
  • Its purpose was to promote one-man-one-woman, biblical marriage.
  • They did not offer services inconsistent with this purpose.

They implemented policies reinforcing the chapel’s identity as a religious corporation.

  • The plaintiffs had consistently refused to perform same-sex wedding ceremonies, citing religious convictions.
  • In 2013, the City of Coeur d’Alene passed Ordinance § 9.56, prohibiting discrimination in public accommodations based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Coeur d’Alene Ordinance Explained

Ordinance § 9.56 defines “public accommodation” broadly, covering:

  • Venues open to the public for services, events, or rentals
  • Places selling food, offering lodging, or providing personal services
  • Educational and recreational facilities

It exempts:

  • Religious corporations, associations, educational institutions, or societies
  • Facilities used strictly for religious purposes

However, it does not clearly define “religious corporation.”

  • May 2014: A federal judge declared Idaho’s same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the decision.
  • June 2015: The Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that states must recognize same-sex marriages.

Plaintiff Concerns

  • Plaintiffs temporarily closed the Hitching Post in October 2014, fearing prosecution under the ordinance.
  • They later reopened but continued declining same-sex ceremonies.
  • They filed a lawsuit against the City, alleging violations of their constitutional rights.

City’s Response

The city attorney clarified:

  • If Hitching Post was operating as a legitimate nonprofit religious corporation, it was exempt from the ordinance.
  • The city would not prosecute any religious organization lawfully exercising First Amendment rights.
  • The city argued the lawsuit was premature because no enforcement action had been taken.

Court’s Ruling on Standing

To sue in federal court, plaintiffs must show:

  1. A concrete, actual, or imminent injury
  2. A direct connection between the injury and the ordinance
  3. A likely remedy from court intervention

The court ruled the plaintiffs lacked standing because:

  • They had no concrete plan to violate the ordinance.
  • The city made no threats or enforcement actions.
  • There was no history of ordinance enforcement against similar organizations.

The court granted the Motion to Dismiss.


Implications for Church Leaders

Churches often ask whether public accommodations laws apply to them, especially regarding:

  • Sermons or teachings rejecting same-sex marriage or gender identity
  • Denying use of church property for same-sex ceremonies
  • Limiting access to programs based on gender identity or sexual orientation

To assess risk, consider:

  1. Is the church a place of public accommodation?
  2. What forms of discrimination are banned in your jurisdiction?
  3. Can the church assert a constitutional defense under the First Amendment?

How Public Accommodations Laws Define Churches

There are typically three approaches:

  1. Full exclusion – Some laws clearly exempt churches.
  2. Conditional exclusion – Churches are exempt only if they avoid commercial use of their facilities.
  3. Full inclusion – Some jurisdictions include churches regardless of how facilities are used.

Case Example: Massachusetts

  • In 2016, Massachusetts added gender identity to its nondiscrimination laws.
  • The state initially classified churches as public accommodations.
  • After legal pushback, officials clarified that churches may qualify—but only when hosting public, secular events.

Several courts have recognized First Amendment protections for churches:

  • Fort Des Moines Church v. Jackson (Iowa, 2016): The court ruled that sermons are protected religious activities.
  • Presbytery of New Jersey v. Florio (3rd Cir. 1994): Affirmed that religious practices are exempt from public accommodation laws.

Conclusion

General Guidelines for Churches

  1. Private Use = Less Risk: Churches not open to the public for secular, revenue-generating events are less likely to be deemed public accommodations.
  2. Public Invitations = More Risk: Churches offering public access—especially for non-religious events—could fall under public accommodation laws.
  3. Revenue Matters: Churches charging for use of facilities are at higher risk of classification as a public accommodation.

⚠️ Important:

Laws vary by jurisdiction. Legal counsel should always be consulted to evaluate risk and ensure compliance.

Church leaders must remain informed about local and state laws, especially as they evolve. Legal guidance is essential for navigating these complex issues.

Richard R. Hammar is an attorney, CPA and author specializing in legal and tax issues for churches and clergy.

Some Churches Keep Their Budgets Rolling

Navigating unexpected ups and downs with an alternative budget.

Last Reviewed: May 8, 2025

Many American churches approach budgeting as a formal, annual process, aligned with a fiscal year. But in reality, there’s no legal requirement for budgeting to follow this rigid format.

⚠️ Important: Always check your church’s governing documents—such as articles of incorporation, bylaws, or denominational polity. These may require formal annual budgeting, even if state law does not.


Moving Toward Dynamic Budgeting

Thanks to advances in technology and access to real-time financial data, churches now have the ability to monitor and forecast finances more dynamically than ever before.

Some churches are choosing to supplement or even replace the traditional annual budgeting model with more flexible alternatives.

Benefits of a dynamic budgeting approach:

  • Adjusts to changing revenue expectations;
  • Responds more quickly to unexpected challenges;
  • Supports churches experiencing rapid growth or crisis.

This approach allows church leaders to make ongoing financial decisions rather than waiting for a new fiscal year.

Whether to retain or abandon the formal annual budget is a governance decision, possibly involving the church board or membership, depending on your church’s structure.


The Importance of Budgeting Policy

A popular alternative to annual budgeting is the rolling forecast or rolling budget.

How it works:

  • The church forecasts finances for the next 12 months;
  • Forecasts are updated quarterly (or at another regular interval).

While flexible, this method presents challenges if the church uses its budget for expense control.

To stay on track, consider adopting policies such as:

  • Requiring a minimum cash flow surplus each quarter or year;
  • Setting quarterly or annual benchmarks toward long-term financial goals;
  • Formalizing spending constraints to promote responsible stewardship.

Such policies provide a framework for financial discipline, even within a more fluid forecasting model.


Budgeting as a Tool for Stewardship and Oversight

Even without a formal annual budget, churches can and should use forecasting tools to support internal control and oversight.

Best practices:

  • Compare actual results with forecasted amounts regularly;
  • Use discrepancies to evaluate financial health and adjust spending;
  • Treat the budget or forecast as a living document—not a static report.

This ongoing review process strengthens internal control and reinforces a culture of financial accountability.


📘 This article was originally adapted from Church Finance by Michael E. Batts. We’ve used a combination of AI and human review to make this content easier to read and understand.

Michael (Mike) E. Batts is a CPA and the managing partner of Batts Morrison Wales & Lee, P.A., an accounting firm dedicated exclusively to serving nonprofit organizations across the United States.

How Churches Can Balance Staffing Costs and Ministry Growth

Managing church staffing costs while growing a ministry is a challenge for many church leaders.

Last Reviewed: January 31, 2025

Darrell Mims, executive pastor of World Victory Church in Duluth, Georgia, has a simple rule for making decisions about money and staffing: if the money isn’t in the budget, then just say no.

Overspending is obviously the last thing any financial manger wants to do. But how do financial managers help balance the need to build a ministry and keep the costs down? How do financial managers help leadership teams make staffing decisions that follow sound policies and keep the budget out of the red?

Church Finance Today asked financial managers at small and large churches and experts in church finance. They shared a number of helpful insights.

Calculate and evaluate staff costs

Most churches should evaluate staff costs at least once a year at budget time, said Dan Busby, president of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. Churches generally spend between 35 and 60 percent of their budgets on staffing. Church size, local cost of living, and ministry philosophy all play a role in determining the right percentage.

Most churches calculate personnel costs as a percentage of expenses, said CPA Vonna Laue, a Church Finance Today advisor. This helps determine how much of a church’s resources are spent on compensation and benefits. If churches want to calculate the costs as a percentage of income, they should exclude designated giving since it often fluctuates based on other campaigns and projects, Laue said.

Whichever calculation is used, a church should know the percentage first so that it can decide whether to spend more to hire additional staff.

World Victory’s Mims says that the process for hiring starts with a ministry evaluation: can this job be done with a volunteer? If it needs to be a staff role, how many hours of work are needed, and how much should the person be paid? If the leadership decides a new position should be added, Mims looks at what the position will cost and whether that cost fits in the budget. Hiring new staff, said Mims, might mean cutting back on other program expenses.

Make certain compensation is fair

Treasurer Laura Youderian mostly worries about getting the pastor’s salary right—the main staffing cost at River of Life Church in Cincinnati, a small church where many ministry roles are filled by volunteers or part-time staff.

Youderian is also an assistant professor of economics at Xavier University, which shapes how she sees the question of staff compensation. For example, prior to becoming a minister, the church’s pastor had made more money in his previous vocation. That’s something to keep in mind when setting the pastor’s salary, she said. If you set it too low, it could cause a pastor to look for other options.

“I think about his value outside the church,” she said. “Our pay has to be enough for him to not think about doing something different.”

Budget for changes in staff

Libertyville Covenant Church, north of Chicago, recently needed to hire a new organist when the former organist passed away unexpectedly. She’d been a church member, and charged less than the going rate. As a result, the church only budgeted $3,000 per year for an organist. However, the true going rate was $10,000 a year. That left the church without many options, said John Bethancourt, Libertyville Covenant’s treasurer.

The church places a high value on its music program and wanted to get a talented organist, but they couldn’t find a part-time organist. So it was going to cost them.

“Sometimes you’re going to have to pay more to get the right person,” he said.

Complicating matters was the timing—the church was halfway through the budget year. Funds were already allocated. So Bethancourt went back to the church leadership and told them they couldn’t afford to hire an organist every week, unless giving increased. And unless giving grew the next year, there might not be enough to fund an organist in the future.

In the end, several members of the congregation chose to make up the difference in the budget to hire a full-time organist. But the lesson learned is helpful: churches need to research the going rates of a position before hiring someone, let alone budgeting to pay them.

Consider outsourcing

Outsourcing can make sense for churches, especially when it comes to support operations like bookkeeping or building maintenance, said Stan Reiff, a partner with the accounting firm CapinCrouse.

Churches don’t always have in-house expertise to take care of those tasks. And even if they do, those tasks are often time-intensive. Why let a volunteer who is a CPA do the books, when an outside bookkeeper could handle those tasks, he said, leaving the CPA free to do more big-picture thinking.

Case Study: Blending Volunteer Work with Paid Staff and Outsourcing

Matt Self had his hands full when he first became treasurer for Church of the Redeemer in Nashville.

The 15-year-old church of 400 still functioned as a church plant when it came to finances. Self’s predecessor helped count money, complete payroll, and prepare financial reports, with the help of an outside bookkeeper. Along with stretching the limits of what one financial person could do, the arrangement raised internal control concerns because one person handled all of these financial areas.

That left little time for long-term planning. When Self took the volunteer job in 2015, the church’s finances were not organized in a sustainable manner. Also, the church changed a policy that year so that the volunteer serving as treasurer turns over every few years, which could make the transition between volunteers difficult, Self explained.

Self sensed it was time to beef up the church’s policies and procedures and operate more like an established congregation rather than a start-up.

Working with the church’s elders, Self helped transition some of the tasks that the volunteer treasurer had been handling—like writing checks—to the parish administrator.

Then in 2015, the church also decided to add more outsourced bookkeeping from an accounting firm. That firm now prepares the monthly financial reports, which Self then reviews and presents to the board. Without bookkeeping responsibilities, he’s freed to do more planning and budgeting.

“I told [the elders] we were going to spend more money in order to get better service,” Self said. The relatively small amount of money involved—a few thousand extra dollars a year—made it an easy decision.

Increased time for long-range planning has come in handy for Self. The church recently wanted to make one of their staff members—who’d worked on a one-year project—a permanent part of the staff. To pay for that change, the church’s elders wanted to tap into their reserves.

Self had a better idea. He reviewed the church cash flow over the previous three years and saw that the church could add a staff person without dipping into reserves, as long as giving remained consistent. Self had always budgeted conservatively, and had only planned on spending about 90 percent of the money that came in.

For the current budget, the church raised both its planned expenses and projected giving, and asked church members to increase their giving to meet the new budget. If the new giving didn’t meet the goal, the church would still be okay—because the church could afford to pay for the new staff person with the amount of money it usually received on a yearly basis. In a pinch, it could cut back on nonstaff expenses, or tap the reserves as a last resort.

—Bob Smietana

Often you can hire an expert, such as an executive pastor or CFO, on a part-time basis, said Reiff. Hire them for just the time you need, then have a less-expensive staff person or outsourced firm do the rest of the work.

“You should outsource until it is cheaper to bring it in-house,” advised Reiff.

Outsourcing can also provide additional funds for ministry, said Terrence Chavis, a financial consultant and former executive pastor at Concord Church in Dallas. Finding an outside firm that can handle support duties is relatively easy, he said. Finding good ministry staff is harder.

“If we have to choose between hiring a children’s pastor and an accountant, I am going to lean toward hiring the children’s pastor,” he said. “There are plenty of organizations where I can outsource the accounting.”

Find solutions when the budget is tight

Part of a financial manager’s job is saying no to bad decisions, said Chavis. But another part is to find ways to expand the church’s ministry.

Let’s say, for example, a church really does need to create a new position, yet there’s no money to do so. Chavis says a financial manager needs to help the church explore other options.

There are always options, he stressed. Hiring a new full-time staff member may mean cutbacks in other areas, such as programming. He’d also look for other alternatives: could the church hire an intern from a local seminary or college to do a project?

Pastors, he said, are wired to see people’s needs and try to meet them. A financial manager can help a pastor meet those needs in a sustainable way.

“You have to appeal to the sense of meeting the need,” he said. “We can still meet the need, [but] it may not look like what you pictured.”

For more on issues related to personnel costs, check out more resources available on ChurchLawAndTax.com or ChurchLawAndTaxStore.com:

Vacation Bible School: 9 Safety Tips

How to prepare for this significant summer event.

Last Reviewed: February 14, 2025

Is your church ready for Vacation Bible School? Has your children’s ministry team started preparing? If you haven’t thought about it yet this year, consider this your warning: it’s time to start planning.

Here are a few things to consider throughout this month:

  1. Set a date. If you don’t have Vacation Bible School on your church calendar yet, it’s absolutely key that you put it on there now.
  2. Develop a plan for screening volunteers. Children’s safety is the most important factor when it comes to VBS. In order to make sure the children attending it are safe, you need to be certain the adults working with them can be trusted in their roles.
  3. Start gathering volunteers. While it may be too early to meet with everyone you hope will help with VBS, it is important that you get a small team of lead volunteers together who can help you plan and make this year’s VBS a success.
  4. Decide on a theme and order a curriculum. Curriculum is pivotal when it comes to how successful your event will be. Be sure to order a curriculum that fits with your church’s setting and the age groups you’re trying to reach. Also, when deciding a theme, consider your volunteers and the space you have available.
  5. Distribute information. Once you’ve decided on a date and theme, it’s time to get the word out. Start by putting information in your church bulletin, on the church website, and on any other calendars around the church building. After your church community is aware of the event, brainstorm some ways to let the wider community know: putting flyers up at a local coffee shop, sending invitations to friends, or even something creative and artistic, like chalk signs on sidewalks.
  6. Create a VBS calendar. Create a calendar for the week of VBS. As you plan what will happen each day, create to-do lists and ask the rest of your volunteers to help based on your needs.
  7. Review waivers and release forms. Your church likely uses waivers or release forms for VBS participants. Make certain you understand these documents. They can be helpful, but there are legal limitations. Perhaps most importantly, leaders shouldn’t develop a false sense of security about the needs for good supervision, good decisions about the safety of activities, and good precautions to take to help ensure the well-being of participants.
  8. Ensure you have a medical emergency plan. To be prepared for a medical emergency, you’ll need to have a basic First Aid kit at the VBS location; you’ll also need an emergency contact form for each child in case of a serious emergency.
  9. Plan for the possibility of overflow. Hopefully, you’ll have the problem of having too many people at your church for VBS. If that’s the case, you’ll want to consider issues like the best use of the parking lot and how to direct drop-off and pick-up traffic.

What Should My Church Do with Old, Uncleared Checks?

Sometimes, a check is written but never cashed. Tips on how to handle these old, uncleared checks.

Last Reviewed: January 17, 2025

Q: Two checks written by my church more than a year ago have not been cashed and are assumed lost. Since I can’t track down the payees, I want to remove these checks from our records so they no longer show up as uncleared. Any suggestions for how best to do this?


If the payees do not cash them, you must turn the check amounts over to the state as “unclaimed property” after the passage of a certain amount of time. If you don’t, you will be guilty of breaking “escheatment” rules.

These rules vary from state to state. Here is a website that provides guidelines for most states.

Frank Sommerville is both a CPA and attorney, and a longtime Editorial Advisor for Church Law & Tax.

Cell Tower Leasing for Churches: Benefits, Challenges, and Key Considerations

The benefits and challenges of cell tower leasing for churches, plus expert tips for making informed decisions.

Last Reviewed: January 21, 2025

Competing for greater market share with the promise of better-than-ever coverage, cellular companies are constantly seeking new places to construct cell towers. This means pastors and church financial directors may frequently be approached by companies hoping to build antennas into steeples, disguise them as crosses or bell towers, or attach them to spires. For many, this raises the question: is cell tower leasing for churches a wise decision?

These arrangements often promise substantial lease fees—potentially hundreds or thousands of dollars per month—for cash-strapped churches. However, they also come with possible pitfalls, such as hidden tax burdens, community opposition, and restrictive leases that limit future property use. Below, we explore these key considerations in depth.

Pluses and Minuses of Cell Tower Leasing

While leasing church property for cell towers can provide significant income, it is not without its challenges. A quick internet search reveals examples of churches involved in disputes with neighbors over whether cell towers alter the neighborhood’s character. Others resist the towers due to concerns about electromagnetic radiation, though the federal government and numerous studies have largely dismissed these fears.

Despite initial opposition, many neighborhoods grow accustomed to cell towers over time. For example, Sarah Graham, financial administrator at The Church at Green Hills in La Habra, California, noted no controversy over the T-Mobile-operated tower on her church property, disguised as a cross, which generates $24,000 annually.

Maintaining Control of Church Property

Churches satisfied with their leasing arrangements often credit strong contracts that preserve their control over property. Casey Hale, an attorney specializing in church-related legal matters at Brown & Streza, warns that poorly negotiated agreements can create long-term issues. Churches might find themselves locked into unfavorable terms, limiting property use or resulting in below-market rental rates.

“In dealing with carriers, you want to be as shrewd as snakes,” said Steve Kazella, founder of Tower Genius, a cell tower lease consulting firm. Kazella recommends consulting experts with knowledge of zoning, tax codes, and the wireless industry to ensure favorable agreements.

Understanding IRS Rules and Tax Implications

On the tax side, issues often stem from property tax regulations, which vary by state, and the complexities of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rules. Under IRS guidelines, income from activities unrelated to a church’s ministry may be subject to unrelated business income tax (UBIT). Dave Moja, a CPA and tax consultant, offers these key tips:

  • Check with local government to determine whether property taxes apply to the area where the tower will be constructed.
  • If the church owns the building outright and the IRS deems it “real property,” rental income may be exempt from UBIT.
  • If the church rents land for a tower, it may owe UBIT if the property is debt-financed.
  • Work with tax advisers to navigate local, state, and federal regulations effectively.

Dealing with Zoning Boards and Neighbors

Zoning and community acceptance are other important considerations. Kevin Donohue, partner at Tower Genius, notes that churches are often viewed favorably by zoning boards for cell tower projects, particularly when antennas are concealed. Addressing community concerns early can also smooth the process.

Seeking Expert Guidance

Churches should never enter cell tower agreements without consulting experts. Real estate agent Dominic Dutra, who advises nonprofits on cell tower leasing, cautions that poorly structured contracts can result in loss of property control, unexpected taxes, and insufficient income. Churches should thoroughly evaluate whether leasing aligns with their ministry goals and long-term plans.

“Does it do anything for us beyond the income?” Dutra advises asking. “Or does it constrain what we want to do with our property on a long-term basis?”

FAQs: Cell Tower Leasing for Churches

1. Are cell tower leases taxable for churches?

It depends. Churches may owe unrelated business income tax (UBIT) if the income is unrelated to their ministry, especially if the property is debt-financed.

2. Do cell towers lower property value?

Opinions vary, but well-disguised towers or antennas often have minimal impact on property values over time.

3. How much income can a church earn from a cell tower lease?

Lease income varies widely but can range from several hundred to several thousand dollars per month, depending on the location and carrier.

Yes, always. Experts can help navigate zoning, tax laws, and contract negotiations to protect the church’s interests.

By seeking expert advice and carefully weighing the pros and cons, churches can make informed decisions about cell tower leasing and ensure their property remains an asset to their ministry.

Caring For Refugees is More Than Just a Calling For Churches

Resources to engage your church in responding to a refugee crisis.

The local church has a critical role to play in caring for refugees. Loving the stranger is core to our calling as Christians—and it’s part of the church’s DNA. The Bible commands us to “love those who are foreigners” (Deuteronomy 10:19) and care for the vulnerable (Matthew 25:40).

Many Christians have long been committed to serving refugee populations both here and abroad. It is part of God’s call to pursue justice for the oppressed and to welcome the stranger in our midst.

As a ministry leader with limited time and resources, you fortunately don’t have to start this process from scratch. Christian organizations, researchers, and ministries have been doing this work for decades. They’re eager to share what they’ve learned with local churches and equip them.

The Humanitarian Disaster Institute researches refugee camps and develops partnerships with various aid and relief organizations. Here are some resources I use in this work that I hope will help you, too.

Books

If you’re looking for a deeper dive into the subject, start with these books.

Statistics

Reliable, relevant information is a key starting point for any ministry. With the recent surge in “fake news,” finding facts from trusted sources is more important than ever.

Videos

Refugees aren’t just statistics—they’re real, individual people with unique stories of loss, trauma, resilience, and hope. Videos are a great way of understanding the depth of their stories and how our work can enter into those stories.

Advocacy Websites

When you’re looking to take action and aren’t sure how to proceed, these websites offer practical steps you can take.

Ministry Resources

These ready-to-go resources will offer helpful guidance as you start refugee ministries in your church.

Christian Organizations

Many organizations that work with refugees have been partnering with local churches for decades, and their official websites are filled with valuable information and resources.

Resettlement

  • World Relief: This organization helps resettle refugees once they arrive in the United States, and they have many opportunities (with varying levels of commitment) for churches to partner with their work.
  • International Association for Refugees (IAFR): IAFR has established relationships with churches and pastors in refugee camps and is doing influential work with refugees— both before and after resettlement.

Advocacy

  • World Evangelical Alliance Refugee Task Force: This task force is focused on “facilitating a coordinated response from the global to the grassroots level,” which includes mobilizing churches and advocating on behalf of refugees.
  • World Vision: World Vision’s strong fundraising ability and their presence in developing countries allows them to offer assistance to huge numbers of refugees internationally. The organization also has a robust church engagement arm.

Medical supplies and services

  • Medical Teams International: This organization sends medical supplies and care to vulnerable people around the world, including refugees and displaced people.
  • MedAir: This organization provides international emergency services to meet physical needs in crisis areas and to assist in recovery efforts.

Trauma and theological training

  • Humanitarian Disaster Institute: At the HDI, we have partnered with IAFR on conducting trauma and theological training in the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya, and we have worked with World Relief on a number of projects over the years—both here in the Chicago area and globally. Last year, we cohosted the GC2 Summit, an event to help the church show the love of Jesus Christ to refugees and refugee communities. Refugee care was a focus of our 2016 annual conference and will be again at our 2018 Disaster Ministry Conference. In addition, we’ve published research and trainings around multiple refugee care and humanitarian aid topics.

May you be blessed in your efforts to demonstrate God’s love for the most vulnerable “strangers” among us.

Dr. Jamie D. Aten is a disaster psychologist and the founder and executive director of the Humanitarian Disaster Institute and Disaster Ministry Conference at Wheaton College (Wheaton, IL).

Taking the Next Steps

Action steps your church can take to implement or strengthen your child-protection program.

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Spokesperson David Staal wraps up the training and offers action steps your church can take to implement or strengthen your child-protection program.

Responding to an Allegation

The story of how one church handled an allegation of child sexual abuse.

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What would your church do if it were faced with an allegation of child sexual abuse? This video depicts the story of how one church handled this situation. Experts add insights to this first-person story.

Supervising Scenarios: What Would You Do?

Interactive segment teaches principles of good supervision.

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This fast-paced, interactive segment teaches principles of good supervision. It helps children and youth volunteers think through common scenarios of supervision.

Legal Requirements: The Church’s Responsibility to Protect Kids (with Richard Hammar)

Richard Hammar explains legal requirements for protecting children in your ministry.

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Viewers receive more training by the most trusted name in church law—Richard Hammar. In this segment, he explains legal requirements for protecting children in your ministry, plus practical tips on how your ministry can meet the “reasonable standard of care.”

Screening & Selection: The Candidate (a short film)

Teaches leaders how to interview a candidate, conduct a background check, and check references.

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This segment creatively teaches leaders how to interview a candidate, conduct a background check, and check references. Participants will see and hear what the screening and selection process should look like.

Screening & Selection: Your First Line of Defense

Richard Hammar’s teaching session on the importance of proper screening and selection of staff and volunteers.

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Richard Hammar, noted church attorney and CPA, and one of the creators of Reducing the Risk, presents a powerful teaching session on the importance of proper screening and selection of staff and volunteers. This segment provides a five-step plan for reducing liability.

Sexual Abuse in Faith Communities—an Expert Roundtable

Five experts who deal with different aspects of sexual abuse in the church.

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This presentation features five experts who deal with different aspects of sexual abuse in the church, ranging from a psychologist who helped create his church’s child protection program to an insurance claims manager who understands the legal impact of sexual abuse allegations. By sitting in on this group’s discussion, viewers gain insight into the issues surrounding child sexual abuse in ministries today.

A Victim’s Story

The true story of a victim of clergy abuse.

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This segment presents the true story of a victim of clergy abuse. It should help sensitize leaders to the human cost of sexual abuse in ministry settings.

Child Protection as the Foundation of Your Ministry

Children’s ministry director David Staal introduces churches to the problem of child sexual abuse in the church.

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Children’s ministry director David Staal introduces churches to the problem of child sexual abuse in the church. This segment gets people invested in solving this safety issue by engaging them, heart and mind. It should be the first presentation that you view and show.

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