In the days of the Old Testament, it was the role of the prophet to warn the people of God about impending dangers. In the Christian church of today, that role often falls to the church administrator, whose job it is to foresee threats that would put a congregation at risk—risk of liability, injury, abuse or theft.

But without proper training, administrative leaders can “wade into deep water unknowingly,” said Cheryl Valdebenito of Tampa, Fla., finance manager of the Presbytery of Tampa Bay.

“From finance to insurance to physical facility, if churches aren’t on top of their game, they can suffer significant loss and wonder, in hindsight, what happened that they weren’t prepared,” said Valdebenito.

On Oct. 21, administrative leaders nationwide will be helping each other do a better job of protecting their congregations from those threats. National Church Administration Day has taken as its theme “Risk Management: The Cost of Ministry.”

Sponsored by the National Association of Church Business Administration, NCAD is a peer-learning event in which seasoned church leaders share their expertise with anyone—whether clergy or laity—performing administrative duties in any congregation, with the goal that all churches become more effective and responsible.

During last year’s inaugural National Church Administration Day, organizers saw the critical need for training in risk management, said Phill Martin, deputy CEO of NACBA, based in Dallas. “Part of the cost of doing ministry in a dangerous world is preventing, minimizing and preparing for these threats—that is, risk management,” Martin said.

“As a risk manager for a church insurance company, I see tragic, preventable situations happening at churches all too frequently,” said Eric Spacek of GuideOne Insurance, “from fires caused by lack of maintenance, to heartbreaking incidents of child sexual abuse, to the all-too-common situation of someone falling and getting hurt on the property due to a hazard there.”

Spacek called church risk management “the missing ministry” to emphasize that it is indeed a ministry of stewardship and it is absent in all too many churches.
The idea behind National Church Administration Day is for seasoned church leaders to share their expertise with anyone—whether clergy or laity—performing administrative duties in any congregation, with the goal that all churches become more effective and responsible.

This year NCAD will offer professional advice in the four critical areas:
· Property risks—enforcing building codes, providing liability insurance.
· Personnel risks—ensuring personnel policies are appropriate and applied.
· Congregational risks—properly screening and training volunteers, providing security.
· Financial risks—properly handling offerings, developing a financial-operations manual.

“Far too often our organization receives the call after an incident rather than before,” said Patti Malott, founder and president of Upright Ministries of Spring, Texas, which counsels churches about avoiding personnel and sexual-abuse lawsuits. “It is heartbreaking to see church leadership switch their focus from ministry to damage control over the results of a disgruntled employee or allegation.”

Source: http://www.nacba.net/Pages/NationalChurchAdminDay.aspx