Is Your Church Ready to Respond to an Emergency?

Whether caused by nature — tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, wildfires, droughts — or people — mass shootings, protests, etc. — disastrous situations that once were unheard of or consigned to certain areas of the country and certain times of the year are occurring with regularity across the United States. Does your church have a plan of action and trained individuals who are ready to serve as emergency response team (ERT) members?

If the answer is “No,” DCBC will be offering a variety of ERT training and credentialing throughout the year to help get you on the road to being prepared. Email James Barbour, DCBC ERT Coordinator, at ERT@dcbaptist.org for information on how to apply to become ERT trained, and make sure that your church not only can respond to emergencies, but also has trained individuals who are “Ready to Serve!”

What is ERT

ERT members are identified by their church as the logical point of contact in their congregation, who is knowledgeable and resourceful to direct their church members in case of a local or national emergency or natural disaster. Team members would be available to serve in time of disaster, would receive training in disaster relief, and would become familiar with area and community resources prior to disasters happening. The team members would become local resources for the community to help respond to local emergencies. Then, it is envisioned that we can help other churches become better prepared in the event of a disaster.

What will this accomplish?

The reality is that most disasters happen quickly, and disaster response efforts are needed immediately to reduce the time and cost to recover from these disasters. Also, the frequency of weather-related (windstorms and flooding) disasters and those caused by people (mass shootings, protests) are increasing. As Christians, we cannot simply look away. 1 Peter 4:10 tell us: Each has received a gift Use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s grace.

WHAT can we do?

Some of our churches already are prepared and are identified as gathering points in the case of area disasters. This type of preparatory information is necessary for proper response to local emergencies. WE need to share the “Gift” with others in the Convention.