Emergency response planning

Not long after becoming headmaster at Cornerstone Christian Academy, a parent approached me with some concerns about student safety.  That began is five year period of research on school safety plans, which resulted in Cornerstone Emergency Response Manual for teachers, regular training days and procedure rehearsals, and the assmebly of various emergency supply kits to cover a wide variety of situations.  To be honest, much of this work ws done by asssistant Headmaster Brian McKinley, but the whole faculty grew wiser in the process.  Many parents were involved, as well, and when Cornerstone was visited pursant to accreditation, both the parents' Saftey Committee and the Emergency Manual were commended as exemplars for other schools.

I thought of all those hours we invested in emergency preparedness when I read an article in the June 18 World about how Missouri churches had responded to the famillies afflicted by the recent tornado which struck Joplin.  One of the things that struck me was this paragraph: 

"Community Outreach Minister Jay St. Clair of College Heights Christian Church said his people were able to respond quickly because they already had a system in place to help and to serve  the community.  'Once you have a church that is working in community outreach, you already have a lot of the logistics in place...and this is just extended during a crisis.' "

Thank God that College Heights Church already had resources and systems in place to be used of God in response to the crisis in Joplin.  It would be great if all churches had a community outreach committee to think through and anticipate the kinds of emergencies that might strike in their area.  As with the case of   Joseph's preparation for the seven years of famine, people of faith could be a great testimony to God's grace and love in such circumstances.