“Keep an axe in your attic.” You will probably not need that piece of advice that generations of New Orleans residents have learned as a part of their hurricane preparedness. (During the flooding that followed Katrina in 2005, that axe or hatchet saved the lives of hundreds who hacked their way onto their roof and were rescued from the floodwaters.)
If we assembled a representative group of New Orleans pastors who came through that hurricane, their suggestions would include the following:
1) Get emergency contact information on every church member and store it in a portable file. You particularly want next-of-kin information—people who would know how to contact the member in case of a disaster or evacuation. That file must be continually updated, otherwise it’s useless.
2) If you live in a flood plane, move your church’s primary computers to a secure area on the second floor.
3) Form a “rapid response team,” made up of a few key church leaders with skills, judgment, and experience for dealing with emergencies. In the event of a disaster, these are the decision-makers. Get training for them, then meet with them periodically.
4) Set aside money for an emergency. It could be used to tide the church over during a period when the congregation is unable to meet, to assist members in evacuating or in returning from evacuation, or in their recovery from any kind of disaster.
5) Partner with a church of similar size in a nearby state. Each agrees to host the other’s members in case of any kind of catastrophe. Maintain periodic contact between leaders in order to keep the relationship alive.
6) Consider securing a cell phone from outside your immediate area. That way, if a disaster knocks out the local towers—as happened in Katrina—you still have phone service.
7) Set up a church website and make sure key people know how to access it and enter information. In the weeks following Katrina, this was our greatest asset for staying in touch with our people.
