Church Safety

A good article from last week was Texas Minister’s Death Prompts New Safety Concerns on Sound & Video Contractor. The death of Pastor Kyle Lake does not need to be easily forgotten. We all need to learn from the mistakes of others as well as the successes. I did not ever hear the final cause of the electrocution of Pastor Kyle Lake but I had my suspicions. If you get nothing else out of this article please heed the words of Chuck Wilson, executive director of the NSCA;

Some users, he notes, have even cut the grounding third prong
off plugs as a means of avoiding buzz. “Lifting that safety ground is an absolute no-no, no matter how the
system buzzes,” he says.

Unfortunately this practice was occurring at my own church. When I came to lead the media ministry I found that every drop cord had the ground prong cut off. I immediately disposed of all of those and purchased new cords. I have also written before about the dangers of overloading circuits and also protecting yourself from over current, lightening and ground faults. (See This Caught My Attention…)

We have to think about the safety of our ministers, musicians and members. In this season of so many Christmas productions it is tempting to bypass and shortcut in some areas because you want to make something work. There are many great creative minds out there that have a certain atmosphere they are envisioning. Many times safety is not on their list of priorities. It is not that they want to be unsafe, they just don’t think of it. That is where we come in. If you have the means to bring that vision to fruition then by all means do so but on the other hand if you can’t do it right and follow all safety procedures then be ready to take a stand and say no.

I challenge all of you involved in technical ministry to examine your equipment this coming year. Some things to look for are of course circuit loading, speaker and lighting rigging, cables and power cords. Also make sure that your team is well trained in electrical safety.
Remember the laws of physics were written by God. They are non-negotiable. Please keep the Lake family and the University Baptist Church family in your prayers.