Certain people are instructed to check all restrooms and classrooms to make sure everyone is out of the church facility. Specified people are also given appropriate steps to shut down any air-handling systems, such as heating and air conditioning. 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. Writing a plan isn't enough.
People also have to practice carrying it out.
One of the best ways to do that, he suggests, is to do an emergency evacuation drill during or immediately after a morning service. 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. A church may face other disasters that can be just as scary as fire or a bomb threat. Death, disability, or chronic illness of the pastor. A major lawsuit against the church, such as a legal challenge of a bequest or donation.