Why An Informal Church Safety Plan is Not Wise Stewardship

Host Ron Wadley of Insurance for Texans launches a five-part church safety series. In this episode, he explains why informal security teams put Texas churches at risk. Using the story of Mary’s Waco church, he describes how a church with trusted armed volunteers but no written procedures, training logs, or use-of-force policies was non-renewed by its insurer for unmanaged risk. He notes underwriters increasingly view unwritten volunteer security as a liability that can lead to lawsuits if situations are mishandled. Wadley argues churches must adopt a formal, written security plan with a standard operating procedure (SOP) detailing use-of-force continuum, communication protocols, and incident reporting.. He discusses Insurance for Texans’ partnership with USCCA to provide training. Connect with our church insurance team at insurancefortexans.com Download your free copy of our book, The Promise of Certainty, at thepromiseofcertainty.com 00:00 Show Introduction 00:26 Series Kickoff Church Safety 00:38 Marys Informal Safety Team 01:10 Insurance Renewal Wakeup Call 02:21 Why Underwriters Reject Informal Teams 03:13 What A Defensible SOP Includes 04:16 Training Help With USCCA 05:08 Call To Action And Resources 05:42 Closing Mission Reminder