How churches can prepare to help people in a disaster

• Decide what to do if the pastor is away.
  
• Train staff and members on what to do in an emergency.
• Decide how you will help your community in a disaster ahead of time. Pray about it. Put someone with the gift of administration in charge of preparing to do it. Some churches will do a lot and some will do just a little. But all should do something.
• Network with other churches before trouble hits. This way you can help each other in time of need. Nobody cares about denominations at such times.
  
• Keep a list of local resources, such as shelters, aid organizations, places to stay, etc. Make a stack of copies before trouble starts, or the first person will take your only copy and you can't print more without power. There will always be someone who needs this even when times are good.
• Have a stack of physical maps for out-of-area emergency responders.
  
• Designate a Disaster Readiness Coordinator. This is one accessible person who can act as liaison to your local Office of Emergency Services (OES), the Red Cross, CERT, and any other organizations you wish to maintain contact with. Your coordinator should contact these organizations ahead of time to establish a relationship.
• Designate a Security Coordinator (often the head usher or retired law enforcement officer) who makes security policy and arrangements whenever the doors are open. Remember that everyone's back is to the door, anyone could come in and go anywhere. Also, weirdos do occasionally cause problems; having a person or team trained to handle it is a must. After a disaster, having your own security is essential.
  
• Every coordinator should have an assistant being trained to take their place. Nobody is available 24/7 or does the job forever.
• Train ushers with fire extingishers, first aid, and CPR. The fire department will gladly handle extingusher training. Fire protection companies often have a supply of expired extinguishers that can't be refilled; they will give you some for training if asked nicely (these extinguishers can't be used for fire protection, only training). The Red Cross does first aid and CPR training. Renew training as directed.
• Delegate! Delegate! Delegate! If you don't designate people to do these jobs, the few leaders you have will have to do them after everything goes wrong. They will quickly become overwhelmed and burned out, and little ministry will be done.
• Make a continuity plan to help your church survive, and even operate, after a disaster. Many good ones are available on the Internet.
  
• Encourage personal and family disaster readiness. Many organizations make continuity plans but fail to encourage family readiness. If just a third of the workers don't show up, little will get done.
  

Simple preparations

• Know what your insurance covers. Do an insurance review and decide what you need. After trouble hits, don't sign any repair contracts until you know who pays for what (this type of mistake can end your church).
  
• Make a church emergency plan, and put the disaster readiness coordinator in charge of it. There are many organizations that will help you make one. If you don't know who else to ask, ask your local Office of Emergency Services or Red Cross. There are many examples on the Internet. Make a plan, keep it simple, practice the plan, keep it up to date, and involve the appropriate people.
  
• Include other agencies when you practice your plan. For example, involve the fire department in your fire drill. Involve as many other agencies and churches as possible.
• Most pastors resist having a fire drill, but the ones who reluctantly do it are really glad they did, and start doing them annually. They uncover all sorts of unexpected problems.
• Most organizations wait for the toilet paper to run out before buying more. Never do this. Buy in bulk, and it is time to buy again when you are down to a three weeks supply.
• Create a food bank. There is always someone out of work and needing food even in the best of times. The food bank is priceless in the worst of times. Keep a few can openers that don't need electricity.
• Keep a box of respirators. A respirator is a dust mask with two strings. They are good to have for repairs and great to have when things go wrong.
• Keep some sturdy gloves for when work needs to be done.
• Designate a person to collect and sort unsolicited donations of stuff (the Donations Coordinator), and a predetermined room for the donations. Without a coordinator, you won't get what you need until after its over. Some donations of cash or stuff have strings attached: they can only be used for certain things. The donations coordinator needs to make sure the donations are not misused (the consequences include lawsuits, criminal charges, and being smeared in the press). Some churches chose to refuse unsolicited stuff or donations with strings attached, the coordinator diplomatically turns them away and accepts what can be accepted.
  
• Designate a person to manage spontaneous volunteers, the Volunteer Coordinator. If you aren't prepared for them, managing these people will take up most of the pastor's time. The coordinator must know what needs to be done and where everything is. If you take spontaneous volunteers, know that your church will be held accountable for their injuries and misdeeds. Weirdoes show up, and so do good people with valuable skills you need. The volunteer coordinator needs to screen out certain people (if policy says so, this includes all spontaneous volunteers).
  
• After a disaster, people are desperate to contact friends and relatives. They also want all the local news they can get. Designate a Communications & Media coordinator to manage your comm & media resources. The coordinator needs to make sure any pictures used or released don't show faces of anyone who hasn't given consent (preferably written). Some people get weird and sue over this (they lose, but you will spend a lot of money).

Simple disaster supplies

• A first aid kit
• Some shoelaces
• A bag of socks
• Feminine supplies
• Baby supplies
• A sewing kit
• Safety pins
  
• Sunblock
• Some disposable rain ponchos
• A few blankets
• Plenty of liquid soap
• Some towels and washcloths
• Combs
• Disposable razors
• A jug of unscented bleach
• Post-its and pencil stubs
• Paper clips
  
• Stuff to make signs
• Simple tools and supplies to repair a building
  

Some more expensive preparations (not appropriate for some churches)

• Set up a kitchen. These are also handy for church functions.
• Keep a generator that can run some lights, a computer, the refrigerator, the copier or printer, and a few other essential machines. Get a generator a little bigger than what you think you need, it's worth the money.
  
• Have a well or a way to purify water when the water is out. If the water is out, the gas and electricity may be too.
  
• Partner with the city/county OES (Office of Emergency Services) and Red Cross to use the building as a shelter.
• Add some plumbing so a shower-head can be screwed in somewhere on short notice. Never underestimate how important an emergency shower is.
  

What churches should know

• After a disaster, everyone affected should register with FEMA before the deadline. If a problem arises later, people who didn't register aren't eligible for help. Examples include black mold that takes hold of a house in the summer following the disaster, or damage that isn't discovered until later.
• The city & county Office of Emergency Services (OES) and the Red Cross would love to partner with your church before disaster strikes. There are many ways you can help each other.
  
• Team Rubicon (http://teamrubiconusa.org/) shows up quickly when disaster strikes, and can send a work crew to help your church.
• http://www.wheaton.edu/HDI/Resources
  

Links for church emergency readiness