Community of Faith - ACOF Safety Manual Signature

SAFETY MANUAL

SCOPE
This is a procedure manual to be used as a guide for the safety of all Community of Faith campuses. This manual documents expectations for all those who play a crucial role in the COF safety procedures.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
These guidelines outline the measures to be taken to reduce risk and equip
Community of Faith to handle situations including but not limited to: a lost child, medical emergency, de-escalation of hostile individuals and an evacuation or shelter in place order. Wisdom is better found in preparation than in hindsight.
GENERAL SAFETY ROLES AND EXPECTATIONS
A. ONSITE LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER
● Will have a cruiser parked outside of the campus
● Will be in attendance 30 minutes before, during and 30 minutes after service
● Will be on radio before, during and after service to respond to issues for escalated and threatening situations
● Will mingle inside the church while on patrol
● Will be called upon for escalated and threatening situations
B. SANCTUARY LEAD
● Will position themselves in the rear of Sanctuary and be vigilant to any
incident and able to respond
● Will remain on radio before, during and after service and respond to issues
including but not limited to those listed below.
● Will respond to any safety incident/distractions to de-escalate or redirect the
situation
● Will initiate conversation and greet people by name - recognizing that this is
not only Crew culture but one of the best deterrents available.
● Will follow through with the Sanctuary Lead SOP and the weekly serving
checklist.
C. SAFETY MINISTRY LEAD
● Will be responsible for scheduling Community Kids and Foyer Safety Crew
members
● Will train new Safety Crew using the three tiered safety training
● Will remain visual and vigilant, whenever at the campus, providing
leadership and support to the safety team when needed.
● Will initiate conversation and greet people by name - recognizing this is not
only Crew culture but one of the best deterrents available.
D. COMMUNITY KIDS’ SAFETY CREW
● Will stay expectant and attentive to Community Kids Church at all times
o Watch for children leaving unattended
o Watch and initiate a conversation with any unauthorized people in Community Kids area
● Will be vigilant as people walk into and around the Community Kids area
● Will initiate conversation and greet people by name - recognizing this is not
only Crew culture but one of the best deterrents available
● Will be vigilant and advise the Safety team of anyone seeming suspicious or
out of the ordinary
● Will wear a Crew lanyard to be identifiable and approachable for our guests
● Will follow through with the Safety Crew SOP and the safety checklist
E. FOYER SAFETY CREW
● Will stay expectant and attentive to those in and around the Foyer at all
times
● Will remain observant and immediately advise if there is an incident
● Will initiate conversation and greet people by name - recognizing this is not
only Crew culture but one of the best deterrents available
● Will be vigilant and advise the Safety team of anyone seeming suspicious or
out of the ordinary
● Will wear a Crew lanyard to be identifiable and approachable for our guests
● Will follow through with the Safety Crew SOP and the safety checklist
F. COMMUNITY KIDS SERVICE LEAD (LILS AND BIGS)
● Will stay expectant and attentive to Community Kids Church before and after
service
● Will initiate conversations with people as they walk into and around the
Community Kids area
● Will remain visible and attentive to parents by greeting and checking
children into service
● Will wear a Crew lanyard to be identifiable and approachable for our guests
● Will ensure that there are an appropriate number of volunteers for kids:
o Nursery 2:4 | Community Lils 2:24 | Community Bigs 1:14
G. SITE COORDINATOR
● Will initiate conversation with every ministry area and stay vigilant to any
incident and be able to respond
● Will remain on radio before, during and after service and respond to a
request for leadership assistance
● Will help Ops crew with decisions about Sunday morning safety when
applicable
● Will follow through with the Site Coordinator SOP and the Site Coordinator
checklist
H. HEAD USHER
● Identify people to pass the buckets to receive offering
● Find available seats for people as the sanctuary begins to fill
● Count and secure offering
● Count and document attendance
● Will locate themselves into the general area of the Pastor immediately after
service to support if needed
● Work with Site Coordinator on additional operations needs
I. OPERATIONS COORDINATOR
● Will oversee weekly Ops Rally or ensure someone is scheduled to lead it
● Will participate in operations group text on a Sunday morning
● Will be a resource for all operations team on a Sunday morning
● Ensure operational policies and procedures are effective and efficient
J. RADIO PROCEDURE
The radio is one of our most important tools for communicating safety needs. Site Coordinator, Head Usher, Sanctuary Lead, Safety Crew, Community Kids service lead, Officer on site and medical team will remain on radio before, during and after service. We will reserve this for only time-sensitive and pressing communication.
● Leave the channel open for only safety communication
● Speak slowly and clearly
● Give name and location first
● Indicate if it is or isn’t an emergency
● EX: Jimmy, Foyer, Emergency
CREW LANYARD EXPECTATIONS
It is critical that in the case of an emergency, each of our volunteer leaders are
identifiable to any law enforcement or emergency personnel that arrive on scene. For your safety and that of our church body, a Crew lanyard with the red ribbon (issued by Community of Faith) must be visible while serving in a leadership role.
NUMBERS ON THE DOORS
All exterior doors are numbered, starting with one at the main doors and
increasing clockwise from there. In the event of an emergency, provide the
number to the nearest door for law enforcement to enter.
POTENTIAL SITUATIONS REQUIRING “ACTION”
*This is not an exhaustive list as potential situations are vast
A. Service Distractions
It’s important to remember that strong, clear and concise language stops,
de-escalates and redirects away from the volunteer. Remember to greet our people with warmth. We are happy they are here, even if they’re having a tough time. Initiate not only the conversation, but also the transition. Follow up with the individual after
service. Thank them for being there.
● CHILD CRYING: Would you please take your child to the mommy baby room,
where they will be more comfortable?
● SPEAKING IN TONGUES/FLAGS/RUNNING: This out of order - please stop.
● TRANSGENDER BATHROOM USE: Here at Community of Faith, everyone will use the restroom of their gender at birth.
● SPEAKING OUT: Please honor this house of worship and stop interrupting the message/teaching.
B. Suspicious Persons
If any Crew leaders believe that an individual is in the church with poor intentions, they should make Safety Crew aware of their concerns immediately. The Sanctuary Lead will intentionally Greet the individual and Introduce themselves by name. He will stay present and discretely observe the individual in order to ascertain their intentions.
C. Dealing with Unruly or Hostile Persons
In the event of a hostile person, the Sanctuary Lead will work to de-escalate the dispute – any further action will depend on the hostile person’s subsequent actions.
● If the Pastor is involved, the Sanctuary Lead will make himself visible to the
pastor and situation and take direction directly from the pastor.
● Head Usher will tend to the campus pastor
● Sanctuary Lead will tell the unruly person to stop the disruption or leave
o If they choose to leave, allow them – document what’s needed (license
plate, description, name, etc)
o If the person remains on church property but is no longer a disruption,
the individual should be observed until they leave.
o If the individual continues to create a scene, and refuses to leave, the
Sanctuary Lead will ask Site Coordinator to get the on-site officer
Site Coordinator will stand by in the event the Sanctuary Lead needs further
assistance
D. Missing Child
If a child is missing from Community Kids church, The Community Kids Service lead will be notified and immediately tend to the family, if not already aware.
● Community Kids Safety Crew and Site Coordinator will gather information
from Community Kids’ Service Lead.
● Foyer Safety will ensure no one is leaving the building
● Community Kids Service Lead and Site Coordinator will orchestrate a search
● Community Kids’ Safety Crew will remain vigilant to watch Community Kids
● Community Kids Service Lead will tend to the family and help wherever
needed
● On-site law enforcement officer may be used as a resource if the situation
escalates
E. Medical Emergency
If an individual experiences a medical emergency, we will seek guidance from the scheduled medical volunteer.
● Closest Ops Crew will call for the Medical Crew over radio
● Sanctuary Lead (or closest Ops Crew) will keep spectators back from the
situation so that medical volunteer can tend to the emergency
● Site Coordinator will also connect with Law Enforcement Officer and/or call
911 if needed
● Site Coordinator will gather additional medical personnel if needed – each
campus is equipped with a list on the SC Checklist
● Medical Crew will connect with the family and fill out an incident report.
F. Menacing/Armed Individual Threat
In the event of a potentially dangerous/armed individual(s), we will heed to the
knowledge and expertise of the on-site law enforcement officer.
● Sanctuary Lead will stay attentive to the threat while radioing for all leaders
to standby for a Code Red with the location of the potential threat
● Head Usher will tend to the campus pastor
● Site Coordinator will be notified to get on-site law enforcement officer
● As Law Enforcement attends to the threat, Sanctuary Lead will create
distance between people and the threat
● All leadership should report to their spot to prepare for potential evacuation
or shelter in place notification – see below.
● If the threat is imminent, direction will be given by the on-site law
enforcement officer immediately without a standby
G. Active Shooter
In the event of an active shooter, we will heed to the knowledge and expertise of the on-site law enforcement officer.
● Sanctuary Lead volunteer will stay attentive to the threat while radioing for
all leaders to standby for a Code Red with the location of the potential threat
● Head Usher will tend to the campus pastor
● Site Coordinator will be notified to get on-site law enforcement officer
● As Law Enforcement attends to the threat, Sanctuary Lead will create
distance between people and the threat - relative to the location of the
shooter
● All leadership should report to their spot to prepare for potential evacuation
or shelter in place notification – see below
● If the threat is imminent, direction will be given by the on-site law
enforcement officer immediately without a standby
H. Evacuation/Shelter in Place
The decision for evacuation or shelter-in-place will be initiated by identified campus leadership based on the recommendations of the Law Enforcement Officer.
● Law enforcement officer will go towards the threat
● Sanctuary Lead will tend to the sanctuary
● Reserve Safety Crew will disperse to help sanctuary and Community Kids
Safety
● Community Kids’ Safety Crew will tend to Community Kids
● Foyer Safety will give direction as people exit the building.
● Site Coordinator will call 911 – before tending to Community Kids
● Community Kids Service Lead will grab evacuation manual and handle
procedure accordingly
REUNIFICATION
During this process, Community Kids Service Lead, Site Coordinator and the
Community Kids Safety Volunteer will work to ensure each child is safely returned to their parents.
● Community Kids’ Teachers will circle-up the children by classroom in their
safe place
● Community Kids Safety will stand watch of the children and direct parents to
line up with Service Lead
● Community Kids Service Lead will be the starting point for parents.
● Site Coordinator will help trouble shoot in the greatest area of need.
In the event that any of the above safety or medical situations occur, the operations team will gather at the end of service to discuss the incident, what they can do better for next time, and to designate who will fill out the incident report.
Carrying of Concealed Firearms during COF Function
Community of Faith does not expect anyone on the Crew to carry a firearm. In the event of a threatening situation/emergency, the on-site law enforcement officer will assume the responsibility of responding to the threat.

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