Within the church, it’s impossible to not take risks. With every day, every service and every event, there are uncertainties, likelihoods and probabilities that come into play that can result in positive or negative outcomes. Will offerings be enough to cover all expenses? Will the sanctuary hold up through another winter? Will members of different ideologies and opinions be able to worship God together? Risk is inevitable. The negative outcomes it produces, however, are not.
This is why Enterprise Risk Management can be just as important for churches as it is for businesses and corporations and why it would be wise for any church to consider its options. Through the use of an ERM system the church can see risks affecting the whole of their church, not just the individual portions. By doing this, an organization can determine its risk appetite—how much risk it is generally willing to take—and apply that to every aspect of its business. ERM involves not only identifying risks, but managing them to appropriate levels, developing response plans to the outcomes and communicating these risks to others in the organization.
Through identifying, managing and responding to risk, a church is able to take a proactive approach to facing the uncertainties that may come its way. And while it is impossible to prevent all bad outcomes from happening, the church that is already aware of these outcomes and has worked to minimize and respond to them will be in a much better place than the one that is hit with them out of the blue. When problematic issues arise, being prepared can help guide a church and its congregation through the troubles much faster and with greater ease.
Take the case of Roxboro United, which found itself in a messy situation. This church, in a western borough of Montreal, was approached by the telecom company Telus to have a cellphone tower built on the church’s property. In addition to improving reception in the area, the church would receive thousands of dollars in rent every year. However, when the plan to build was revealed, neighbours quickly started petitions and protests against the church’s decisions, citing health and aesthetic concerns. The city council soon became involved, threatening legal action against Roxboro if the tower was erected.
Instead of being able to reach out to its community, the church found itself on the defensive, weathering attacks from local residents and the council. By using an ERM committee, the church could have foreseen the risks associated with the cell tower and developed a recommendation on whether the church should proceed and, if so, what it could proactively do to minimize fallout from the installation. Having such a plan in place may have prevented much of the conflict and kept the church in good relations with its neighbours.
By taking a hard look at the risks they face, organizations are able to determine where they are weakest and can develop strategies to minimize that weakness. Risk management can also lead to new and updated policies that allow an organization to run more efficiently and a greater feeling of confidence and assurance that threats have been reduced and response plans exist should problems arise.
The end result is a committee that can be worth its weight in gold and will provide a crucial service for the church. By forming an enterprise risk management committee, Presbyterian churches across the country can foresee risks, develop appropriate responses and greatly reduce the negative outcomes that arise from special situations. Then the whole church, from elders to ministers to congregants, can breathe easier, knowing that they are prepared for the challenges that lie ahead, and can instead focus their energy on reaching out. As in Matthew 25, the ones who proved they can manage the gifts given to them have more responsibility bestowed upon them, but the one who did nothing with his gift is thrown “outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
