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Scene 1: It's Sunday morning and the worship service is in progress when someone walks up to the pastor and hands him a piece of paper. The note says, "We've just received a bomb threat."

Scene 2: Arriving at the church office one morning, you are greeted by two detectives from the local police department. One tells you, "Pastor, we've just arrested your associate pastor on a child molestation charge."

Scene 3: On Saturday morning, you're drinking a cup of coffee and scanning the newspaper when you notice your church's name in a story. To your dismay, the headline reads: "Food Poisoning Breaks Out After Church Potluck."

If you're saying that couldn't happen to your church, think again. These are all accounts of what really happened to churches. And to their chagrin, those churches and their pastoral staffs were caught unprepared.

What to Do with a Bomb Threat
Terry White was the church administrator at Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, when that church got a bomb threat. "We had to evacuate the church building," White says. "I quickly discovered that we had no idea of how to do it in an orderly way."

In the aftermath of the bomb scare, White, who is now vice president of communications for Prison Fellowship Ministries, wrote an emergency plan for the church. The document begins, "When the alarm goes off—," then proceeds with these instructions:

1. The pastor tells the congregation which exits to use, then gives instructions to parents with children in classes on how they should proceed.

2. Specified people are told to evacuate elderly or wheelchair-bound members.

3. Certain people are instructed to check all restrooms and classrooms to make sure everyone is out of the church facility.

4. The congregation is given instructions about fire alarms, the fire-control panel, and other fire-related devices. Specified people are also given appropriate steps to shut down any air-handling systems, such as heating and air conditioning.

5. Teachers and child-care workers are given instructions on how to evacuate their classrooms and where to go.

Wooddale Church's emergency plan was written for a fire or bomb threat, but it also includes instructions on what the congregation should do in case of a tornado.

Test the Plan
Writing a plan isn't enough. People also have to practice carrying it out. "You have to test it," White says. One of the best ways to do that, he suggests, is to do an emergency evacuation drill during or immediately after a morning service. "You might want to do this during National Fire Prevention Week, usually in October," White says.

Many churches, such as Calvary Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, recognize the need for giving their members advance instructions on how to proceed in case of an emergency. Every hymn rack at Calvary Church includes a brochure titled "What To Do," covering dangerous weather situations, natural disasters, and fire alarms.

Anticipate Crises
A church may face other disasters that can be just as scary as fire or a bomb threat. According to Mark DeMoss, president of the DeMoss Group, a Duluth, Georgia-based public relations firm that works with churches and Christian organizations, here are some crises your church might want to prepare for:

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