Understand Legal Risks & Protect Your Church with Confidence
The Legal and Insurance Essentials course equips you to safeguard your church and safety team from lawsuits, coverage gaps, and costly mistakes. You’ll learn how to evaluate policies, identify red flags, secure the right protection for volunteers, and align your ministry with insurer expectations—so you can serve boldly and wisely.
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Safety Team Fundamentals Module
Begin your journey as a vital member of your house of worship's Safety Team. This course equips you with foundational knowledge and essential skills to effectively protect and serve your religious community.
Key Learning Outcomes:
- Understand why Safety Teams are essential in churches.
- Learn effective patrol techniques and inspection practices.
- Master the duties and responsibilities specific to church safety.
- Discover best practices for responding to security breaches.
- Gain skills in securing financial contributions and effective communication using two-way radios.
Violent Intruders in Houses of Worship Module
This course prepares Safety Team members to effectively respond to violent threats in religious settings, balancing the need for security with respect for the sacred nature of worship spaces. You will gain vital skills to protect your community through proactive and coordinated responses.
Key Learning Outcomes:
- Understand how proactive intervention can help prevent potential threats.
- Learn procedures for risk reporting, confidentiality, and follow-up.
- Collaborate with local law enforcement for a unified response.
- Master the Standard Response Protocol and adapt it to various threats.
- Teach the Run, Hide, Fight protocol to ensure congregation preparedness.
Deescalating Disruptive Persons Module
Through techniques proven effective in law enforcement, healthcare, and education, students will learn how to defuse potential threats and handle challenging situations calmly and compassionately.
Key Takeaways for Students:
- Understanding Psychological Triggers – Recognize common triggers of aggression and learn strategies to avoid escalating confrontations.
- Mastering Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication – Use calm tones, controlled movements, and respectful language to help defuse tense interactions.
- Applying Active Listening and Empathy – Learn to show understanding, acknowledge emotions, and build trust to lower the emotional intensity of situations.
- Using the Contact and Cover Approach – Work in pairs effectively, ensuring safety and control while engaging with potentially disruptive individuals.
- Stress Management and Decision-Making Under Pressure – Practice staying calm and focused, using techniques that help make quick, sound decisions in high-stakes scenarios.
Protecting Children from Abuse
This module equips Safety Team members with essential skills and knowledge to protect vulnerable individuals within the church community, including children, elders, spouses facing abuse, disabled persons, and victims of sex trafficking.
Key Learning Outcomes:
- Recognize Signs of Abuse - Identify physical, behavioral, and emotional indicators of abuse specific to different vulnerable groups.
- Understand Intervention Protocols - Learn step-by-step responses for intervening safely and appropriately with each group.
- Identify Grooming and Manipulative Behaviors - Spot warning signs from individuals in positions of power within the church.
- Implement Safety and Reporting Procedures - Understand legal and ethical obligations, including mandatory reporting and documentation.
- Create a Supportive Environment - Establish policies and safe practices to protect vulnerable individuals within the church.
Use of Force Laws Module
This module equips church safety team members with a responsible approach to using force, prioritizing de-escalation and the protection of life over property or control. It emphasizes the importance of restraint, legal awareness, and Biblical principles of compassion.
Key Learning Points:
- Understanding the Role of Force: Recognize that force should only be used as a last resort, focusing on de-escalation and non-violent solutions whenever possible.
- Biblical and Legal Foundations: Learn about the ethical and legal considerations surrounding the use of force, including the Use of Force Continuum and when force is justified to protect life.
- De-escalation Techniques: Practice situational awareness, verbal commands, and non-verbal cues to defuse conflicts without physical intervention.
- Practical Guidelines and Control Techniques: Get trained on safe, non-lethal control methods, including the use of less-lethal tools like pepper spray and unarmed control tactics.
- Handling High-Risk Scenarios: Work through real-life case studies to prepare for scenarios like confronting an armed individual or handling a disruptive, aggressive person.
Arson and Fire Safety Module
This module provides essential knowledge on arson and fire safety practices, equipping church safety team members to reduce fire risks and handle emergencies effectively.
Key Learning Points:
- Understanding Arson and Its Risks: Learn what arson is, why churches may be targeted, and strategies to make the church less vulnerable to intentional fires.
- Fire Safety Awareness: Identify fire hazards commonly found on church property and how to mitigate them.
- Creating a Fire Response Plan: Develop an effective fire response plan tailored for church settings, ensuring a safe and organized evacuation.
- Fire Safety Inspections and Drills: Conduct thorough fire safety inspections and plan regular fire drills to keep church members prepared and aware.
- Education on Fire Safety: Learn techniques to educate church staff and members on fire prevention, safety procedures, and emergency responses.
Storms and Disasters Module
This module equips church safety team members to prepare for and respond effectively to severe weather events, natural disasters, and man-made hazards, ensuring church members' safety during emergencies.
Key Learning Points:
- Recognizing Safety Issues in Severe Weather: Understand the risks posed by storms, tornadoes, and other natural disasters that may affect church operations.
- Developing Response Plans: Learn how to create actionable response plans for different types of environmental hazards, including sheltering in place and evacuation protocols.
- Implementing Safety Procedures: Gain skills in monitoring weather conditions and guiding church members in safety measures until authorities give the “all clear.”
- Preparing for Prolonged Emergencies: Plan for extended sheltering during events like severe winter storms, ensuring readiness for long-duration emergencies.
- Understanding Responses to Man-Made Hazards: Learn appropriate actions for chemical spills and contagious disease outbreaks that may impact church activities.
Mass Trauma Emergency Module
This module prepares church safety team members to respond to mass trauma incidents, teaching them essential, life-saving skills to manage casualties until professional help arrives.
Key Learning Points:
- Providing Immediate Life-Saving Care: Learn to stabilize trauma victims in high-threat situations, applying essential first aid skills to keep individuals alive.
- Applying a Tourniquet: Master the use of tourniquets for severe bleeding control on both victims and oneself in emergencies.
- Setting Up a Triage System: Understand how to prioritize care when faced with multiple casualties, enabling efficient and effective response during mass trauma events.
- The 3 B’s of Buddy Care: Focus on critical needs—Bleeding Control, Breathing, and Body Heat—to manage trauma effectively.
- Principles of Self-Care and Buddy Care: Gain skills in providing care to others and yourself in urgent, life-threatening scenarios, ensuring sustained support until help arrives.
WHAT YOU’LL GAIN
Practical Knowledge to Protect Your Church and Volunteers from Legal Risk
This course equips you with the tools and understanding to close insurance gaps, avoid costly mistakes, and make sure both your church and your safety team are fully protected. You’ll walk away with clarity on what coverage you really have, what’s missing, and how to secure the right protection before a crisis ever happens.
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How to tell the difference between general liability and ministry-specific coverage -
How to identify red flags in policy language—like “intentional acts” or firearms exclusions -
How to confirm your volunteers are actually covered (and what to do if they’re not) -
How to align training, policies, and documentation with insurer expectations -
How to evaluate and choose personal legal defense plans for your safety team -
How to use checklists and templates to confidently review policies with your agent
BONUSES
Stay Connected with Live Weekly Sessions and Actionable Tools
As part of your training, you’ll receive exclusive access to two live Zoom sessions each week, giving you expert guidance, real-world insight, and direct support from the Sheepdog Church Security community.
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Tuesday Evenings – Lessons Learned: Discuss real-life safety incidents and extract valuable insights to strengthen your safety practices.
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Thursday Mornings – Office Hours with Kris Moloney: Get direct answers to your questions and guidance on training materials and safety strategies.
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Get Practical Tools with Downloadable Resources: Includes ready-to-use checklists, templates, and reference guides to equip your church safety team.
Go Beyond the Meeting. Build a Complete Safety Ministry.
The Church Safety Program Kit gives you everything: the 90-Day Launch Plan, drills and workshops, editable policies and templates, video-based training, and live expert support. Choose Basic or Premium to equip your church with lasting confidence, clarity, and readiness.
Upgrade to the Church Safety Program Kit!
