For Jamie Barth, accommodating unique insurance requests is pretty common. A large Texas church hosts a Christmas pageant including live animals — camels, lions, a small elephant, and sheep for the manger. The church hires an outside company to provide the animals. The need for separate insurance coverage never occurs to church leaders; it only […]
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By RaeAnn Slaybaugh With rates near historic lows, it makes a lot of sense for a church to consider refinancing its debt right now. Like many houses of worship, Reston Bible Church (RBC) in Dulles, Va., wanted to take advantage of this lending climate while the opportunity existed. In particular, Executive Pastor Bruce Campbell was […]
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By Kirk Evans We live in trying times, in an era when hatred sometimes boils over into violence against strangers. What was once your safe place — your church sanctuary — is not immune to violent attacks. Criminals can come into your service, armed with intent to murder. To protect what is sacred, you must […]
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At New Life Church of Arkansas, becoming debt-free — while continuing to expand across the state — are co-equal priorities. Here’s how it’s doing both successfully. At the financial helm of one of the nation’s fastest-growing churches — with 18 campuses across Arkansas — Finance Director and CFO Trip Leach has his hands (blessedly) full. […]
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The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear another important First Amendment case in early December, and the experts are saying the Court’s decision in this case could well complete the job of allowing churches and their schools and other affiliates to participate fully in government grant and subsidy programs. As Church Executive readers might […]
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As shifts in society and politics unfold, organizations that serve youth are recognizing new risks related to child sexual abuse. Many states have enacted reviver statutes that now open your ministry to claims stemming from incidents that might have happened decades ago. For a variety of reasons, many victims of child sexual abuse do not […]
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While the effects of sexual misconduct can devastate the victim and the victim’s family, the damage does not stop there. Just one incident or allegation of sexual abuse can destroy the trust, credibility and reputation of an organization for years. Further complicating an incident of abuse or molestation are the legal costs of a lawsuit, […]
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Working with more than 6,700 southwestern US houses of worship, we’ve unfortunately seen many church sexual abuse cases in our 38 years in business at Church & Casualty Insurance Agency [ www.ccia.com ]. The coverage and risk management landscape surrounding sexual abuse has changed greatly over the years, and I’d like to address four key […]
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Church is considered a safe place for healing and to grow in grace. It’s especially disheartening and scary when we see headlines that a predator has made their way into a church with the intent of hurting a child or vulnerable adult. We are likely to see more and more cases coming to light as […]
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Contractual risk transfer is a very important tool in any church executive’s risk management toolbox. However, because of its complexity, it can open the church to more risk if not used properly. Religious organizations routinely use third parties when the risk of an operation might be beyond their willingness to take on — for […]
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