WorshipSafe backend database utilizes IBM Lotus Domino software. This is the same encrypted software that the U.S. Navy utilizes for their secure encrypted email and backend database program. This software has been approved by the U.S. Military for backend database solutions and secure encrypted email utilization. The software also utilizes a 128 bit encryption software which is the equivalent encryption capabilities that financial institutions use for online banking transactions. As far as the security and redundancy of your uploaded data all WorshipSafe data is backed up to two different IBM Disaster Recovery centers daily.
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There are a few good reasons why are safety and security plan should be in writing as well as our policies and procedures towards preparation, awareness and response.

1. Lee Iacocca (business legend) states the following about the importance of putting something in writing. “The discipline of writing something down is the first step toward making it happen.” Obviously this statement is an insight on the obvious but the importance of having the organizations mission statement, goals and objectives, and policies in procedures in writing achieves quite a bit more than just getting down the road of implementing “a solution” vs. implementing “the right solution for our organization”. Additionally Iacocca states the following that is also very true, “ In conversation you can get away with all kinds of vagueness and nonsense, often without realizing it. But there’s something about putting your thoughts on paper that forces you to get down to specifics. That way it’s harder to deceive yourself, or anybody else”.

2. Knowing that we live in an ever increasingly litigious society the importance of having our plan, policies and procedures in writing cannot be overstated. Frequently an organization’s response will be said to be a “subjective”, emotional response based on lack of training and written direction. Having the plan, policies and procedures in writing will allow your organization to counter this claim stating that the response was an “objective” response based on policies, procedures and training that was in place prior to incident occurring.
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NO . . .. we are not. For those that argue that we are a very convincing biblical and common sense argument can be made as follows. First of all we see in Matthew 10:16, Nehemiah 4:9, Acts 20:28-31 and other verses God warns us that persecutions are coming and we are to prepare for this fact.

For those that argue otherwise a common senses argument can be made as well. It goes something like this . . . “Do you wear your seatbelt?” “Of course I do.” Do you teach your children to look both ways before they cross the street?” “Of course I do.” “Why do you do that . . . you are showing a lack of faith in God to protect.” This argument is then carried through by the person stating it saying this is not the same. YES IT IS! All you are doing as a church is acknowledging in advance that a crime or natural disaster IS NOT likely to occur but if it does we are going to be prepared according to one of several verses that provide biblical authority for doing so. As an organization we want to be the ones that people drive by and state “Did you hear what an impact that church is having?” not the one that people drive by and talk about how that church was negatively IMPACTED by the criminal act or natural disaster that we DID NOT PREPARE IN ADVANCE FOR.
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The President of Strategos has been involved in church security and safety since late 2006 with a large church in the Midwest that he is a member of. In addition to this Strategos has been providing education, preparation and response strategies to churches since late 2008.

In 2009 alone Strategos International conducted over 35 church safety and security courses where over 1,400 personnel attended, representing 350 churches from 18 states. Additionally Strategos personnel have consulted with numerous churches to provide assessments, recommendations, training solutions and policy and procedure development. This extensive experience BOTH from a consulting realm and from a real world application realm of actually serving on a large churches safety and security team provide us with unmatched experience of any provider in the industry. This experience combined with many years of law enforcement, military experience and instruction provide us with a unique capability to provide real world solutions that work BUT DO NOT compromise the “core mission” that a church strives for. That being to provide an atmosphere of comfort, refuge, worship and learning.
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The answer to this question is no you do not. You can prepare a safety and security plan to your church that establishes a “mission statement”, “risk assessment”, identifies your organization’s “goals and objectives”, “site survey”, research and develop applicable “policies and procedures” that fit into the identified goals and objectives and then source a separate training solution that will allow your organization to achieve the desired awareness and response capabilities that is desired or needed for your church. . . . OR you can utilize this one stop solution that will allow you to achieve the 3-step approach to providing a safe and secure worship environment for your members, visitors and children that enter your church walls.
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NO . . .. we believe and have repeatedly demonstrated through consulting, policy/procedure development and providing training solutions that IN FACT if done right a comprehensive, strategic approach will AMPLIFY the “core mission” that most churches desire.

We believe that all organizations are biblically, ethically and legally obligated to provide a safe and secure atmosphere that achieves “Faithful Worship in Uncertain Times!”. The approach that we recommend and have proved works in one that can be simply stated as increased “Capability Breeds (increased) Humility!”. In other words we believe that any approach that provides increased awareness and response capabilities to a church should be approached and implemented in a strategic fashion so that any response that may be needed is completed in a way that DE-ESCALATES a given situation or DE-ESCALATES the impact that will occur if a hazardous criminal or natural event does occur.

The bottom line is that people who do not feel safe within a given atmosphere or geographical location simply will not come to that location. Let’s be serious, many are already looking for an excuse why not come to church. Let’s not give them another excuse that may be utilized “I don’t feel like that church is taking my child’s safety or my safety seriously.”
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An organization will make the decision to prepare for any event or circumstance based on one or both of two reasons:
1. FREQUENCY – Is it likely to occur? Has that event occurred in other churches similar to our church?
2. IMPACT – If it were to occur what would the impact be to our church? Knowing that “preparation does not always equal prevention” we must also ask ourselves honestly what would the impact be if we did not prepare vs. the impact if something were to happen anyways if it did occur?

In an unscientific poll completed in 2009, 63% of those polled that attend church regularly stated that they did not feel that their church was prepared for a critical incident if it were to occur. If that is the prevailing perception.
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By CREATING a written plan, EDUCATING your organization’s staff and volunteer personnel and by selecting and TRAINING the right staff in the right positions, the result will be a much increased atmosphere of awareness.

It really does not matter what capabilities that your church or personnel have, if an increased sense of awareness is not achieved. Education, preparation and implementation result in a greater awareness to PREVENT and a greater effectiveness to RESPOND.

Not only will greater awareness increase the safety and security of your organization but even more importantly great awareness allows us to recognize those that are hurting or are being convicted by the message that your church shares. Imagine missing those opportunities to share the GOOD NEWS simply because our staff and volunteer personnel were not educated and trained on how to increase their skills of awareness.
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The natural and obvious result of:
• Creating a written safety/security plan
• Educating and training the appropriate personnel to carry out the plan with the appropriate policies and procedures
Will result in a much greater atmosphere of safety within your organization WITHOUT compromising the CORE MISSION of your church.
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The general CORE MISSION of your church may generally be described as follows:
• Providing an atmosphere of COMFORT, REFUGE, WORSHIP and LEARNING for visitors, members, staff and volunteers that may enter our church walls

If done correctly, preparing a safer and more secure worship environment will actually INCREASE the CORE MISSION of your church rather than detract from it.
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Liability can be simplified via a 2-step process:
• RECOGNIZING a need in advance, AND
• Responsibly PREPARING to meet that need

The decrease in liability results in organizations that have either already recognized the need or should have recognized the need based on the facts that violent acts against churches are dramatically increasing.
Additionally for those organizations that know they want to provide a safe and secure worship environment but don’t know what to do OR the solution that they are currently providing actually INCREASES liability exposure. The reason for this is that although they have the best of intentions, they simply have not yet acquired the knowledge or skills necessary to strategically meet the need while managing and decreasing liability exposure.

Liability is a constant balance with discernment of the following”
• Liability management of DOING SOMETHING
• Liability management of DOING NOTHING.
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