What is?
Your Church
deciding to:
Prepare
Your Church
deciding to:
Connect
Your Church
deciding to:
Respond
A Georgia Department of
Emergency Management
preparation platform for
churches
Why?
Virginia has Shootings
Why?
Virginia has Floods
Why?
Virginia has Tornados
Why?
Virginia has Hurricanes
Why?
Virginia has Earthquakes
Why?
Virginia has terror attacks
Why?
Virginia has Massive Electrical
Outages
Why?
Virginia has Plane Crashes
Why?
Virginia has Massive Vehicle
Crashes
Why?
Virginia has Industrial Accidents
Why?
Virginia has trees
Why?
Virginia has Fires
Why?
Virginia has PEOPLE
Why?
Virginia needs Christ
Most churches
and
organizations fail
to prepare for
any kind of
disaster and miss
ministry
opportunities
Titus 3:1b - “…to be ready for
every good work.”
Titus 3: 14 – “And our people must
also learn to devote themselves
to good works for cases of
urgent need, so that they may
not be unfruitful.”
WHY NOT JUST DR?
• At least 80% of those trained never
respond
• Empowering the local church to
respond, multiplies the impact
• All responses are local in nature
• God has called the church to minister to
their neighbors
Faces of Ready Church
“GO” teams meet the crisis needs
in their Jerusalem under the
authority of the local church.
Ready Church “GO” teams are well
versed in Disaster Relief protocols
and procedures.
Faces of Ready Church
A Ready Church responds outside
their Jerusalem under the direction
of their State Disaster Relief Leader.
They meet the full requirements set
forward by the fellowship’s National
Disaster Relief Leadership.
Faces of Ready Church
A Ready Church responds to
international needs under the
direction of fellowship’s foreign
mission board.
Meeting all the requirements set
forward by the board.
Faces of Ready Church
A Ready Church responds to meet
the construction needs of other
churches, families and other entities
under the direction of the local
church, state convention/association
or other parthers.
Faces of Ready Church
A Ready Church participates in the
long term rebuilding efforts after a
disaster under the direction of the
church’s fellowship or the
impacted State Convention.
Benchmarks of
excellence
Evangelism
Safety
Spiritual First Aid
Structure (ICS)
Feeding
Committed to Respond
Debris clean-up
Construction/Rebuild
Prepare
Get:
Trained
Connected to respond
Develop:
A Strategic Plan
“GO” teams
Connect
• To the people in your community that can
help you respond
• To the people in your community that
may need your assistance
• To your connecting national fellowship
that can enable you to be prepared
Respond
• The church develops strategy for
response to the needs of the local
community
• The church establishes protocol to
come to the church’s facilities when
disaster occurs
Ready Church Plan
•
Should assess the most
likely disaster threats
•
Should be flexible and adaptable
•
Should consider the needs of
individuals and families
•
Should include specific ministries and target
strategic areas where the church can have real
impact
•
Should remember, “ministry is the act of serving”
•
Should include training for members in ministering
to those caught in crisis
Organizing for
Disaster Response
• Develop a “Go” team
• Contact local emergency management to
assess hazards
• Talk to other churches and disaster
organizations to assess needs and identify
gaps of ministry
• Identify ministry points of contact
• Develop ministries that fit the giftedness of the
church body
• Train team to enable effective response
“Go” Team
•
•
•
•
•
•
Response Leader or IC
Logistics Coordinator (Officer)
Operations Coordinator
Volunteer Coordinator
Evangelism Coordinator
Administrative or Planning
Coordinator
Church facilities:
•
•
•
Bulk distribution center:
(food, clothing, supplies)
Child-care center
Communication center
• Command
center
• Feeding site
• Information
center
• Shelter for
victims
• Shelter for
volunteers
• Staging area
Ready Church Response
 Identify and train volunteers to care for children, the elderly,
sick or disabled
 Identify bilingual interpreters to assist those who speak
another language
 Participate in ministries such as receiving and organizing
donated goods, bedding, bulk food, clean-up, and household
supplies
 Provide logistical support to trained disaster relief volunteers
such as housing and meals
 Cooperate with community disaster agencies
 Develop and organize clean-up or repair crews,
such as chainsaw, debris clean-up,
flood relief, and roof tarp teams
 Organize and participate in re-build efforts
Ready Church
Response
 Contact and minister to church shut-ins, elderly, disabled, and
single mothers following disasters by developing a vulnerable
phone list pre-disaster.
 Offer your church as a resource center for helping agencies to
assist affected victims.
 Train Chaplains to provide spiritual care to those affected by
disaster and those serving as responders. KY Baptist Disaster
Relief offers training for Disaster Relief Chaplains.
 Connect to a local school and train to be prepared for school crises,
such as school shootings, suicides, accidents, pregnancy
counseling, etc.
 Consider making your church available as an American Red Cross
shelter.
 Collect and distribute blankets, clothing vouchers, or furniture to fire
victims, or teddy bears and children’s blankets to affected families
The “Go” Team should
plan and lead in 3-4
events yearly to:
 Increase response
effectiveness
 Maintain strategy
focus
 Grow team unity
 Develop community
relationships
“Go” Team Ideas
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Conduct a Block Party
Appreciation meal for policeman or fireman
Build playground for school or park
Home repairs for single mothers
Yard and gutter clean-up for widows
Plan and conduct Wild game banquet
Distribute water or lemonade at a
community event
Assist with school backpack program
Volunteer or prepare a meal for
homeless ministry
Participate in disaster relief response
exercises
Ready Church
Provides a
tremendous
opportunity to
share the help,
healing and hope
of Christ
“Dear children,
let us not love
with words or
speech but with
actions and in
truth.”
(1 John 3:18)
www.sbcv.org/ready-church