Building Health and Safety Initiatives in Faith-Based Organizations

The church has always responded to the needs (the sick, dying, and hungry) of the community. The church is more than a place to feed the soul; it is a place for healing of the mind, body, and soul. How effective is the church in providing health and wellness education? There has been an increase in domestic attacks on faith-based organizations. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (n.d.) stated that from 2009 to 2019, there have been 37 attacks on houses of worship resulting in 64 people losing their lives. These attacks prompted houses of worship to review their security policies or put a security plan into place to provide a safe place for people to worship. This project sought to assess whether churches have safety measures and plans in place to handle crises and if churches have the ability to provide health information and programs to congregants in order to promote healthy behaviors by administering the Faith-Based Organization Capacity Inventory survey. The church’s culture was assessed using the Denison Culture Survey, which looked at four key drivers (involvement, consistency, adaptability, and mission). Involvement assessed how the congregation is aligned and engaged within the church to support its growth. Consistency reflects how the congregation and the church share the same core values and if the church has the structure in place to meet the goals and objects. Adaptability shows how the church adapts to societal change. Mission reveals if the values of the church are clear and being lived out consistently