Churches meet regularly all year, but what happens in an emergency? Does your Church have an Emergency Messaging system to let the congregation know that the worship service has been cancelled or moved? This could be as simple as a mailing list that the pastors can use to get the word out. Or it could be a mobile phone alerting system that blasts a text message to the cell phone of every member.

There are lots of events that can impact the worship service. October is the final stretch of the Hurricane season. Storms come and will damage the Church building or community. Fires can sweep through the area, affecting property. Floods can make roads impassible. Earthquakes can damage buildings to the point where they cannot be used safely. Ice storms will make the roads and sidewalks dangerous.

By setting up an Emergency Messaging system, the Church can alert members to the hazard. If the service has been cancelled, then people can stay home and avoid the danger. If the service has been delayed, then people will know of the new time, after the danger has passed. In one situation, the service was streamed from the pastor’s home, so the message was to stay home and watch online! Keeping people safe is the responsible and prudent thing to do, but you have to let them know in advance. Otherwise, some brave souls will show up at the Church for worship and be disappointed!