Connecting with your Church

What is your Church currently doing to reach out to the First Responder community in your area?
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Clarke T. Cayton
Vice President of Content
Responder Life

Here is one idea my church is doing to care for first responders.

Many police agencies cover a large geographical area and officers have to use a lot of time going from patrol or call areas back to either precinct or business for any rest stops. Often while in these businesses they are contacted repeatedly with questions or requests. For officers to have what they call in Portland non-contact rest stops they almost always have to go to a police office or precinct location. After approval from the church leadership and the police department we opened our church for 24 hr use for non-contact rest stops for officers.

- We purchased and installed a combination key lock box and made the lock code the same as our selected alarm code.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GTJD7Q

GE AccessPoint 001882 KeySafe Battery-Powered Digital Key Box, White

- As a police chaplain I had a bureau wide email sent informing the officers of the church rest stop, location and set-up.

- We purchased a Keurig single cup coffee maker

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/188-0132635-0916023?asin=B000AQSMPO&AFID=Froogle_df&LNM=|B000AQSMPO&CPNG=appliances&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=B000AQSMPO&ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001

- We put a bin in the Fridge in our kitchen marked for the police with Sports drinks and bottled water

- Set up a room at the church with tables and comfortable chairs

- I met with various groups from the church to inform them of the police rest stop and enlist them to help with hospitality and keeping the rest stop non-contact as much as possible. Many groups have asked to be involved by baking cookies or writing notes thanking the officers for their service to our community.

- We have had officers using the church multiple times during every overnight and usually a couple of times every day. I have received calls from officers of other precincts asking if I could help connect churches in their area.


schadwick

Nothing. Most churches I know have a minsitry for the homeless, the widows/widowers, single moms, or elderly. They have this mission trip team, or that team for the soup kitchen. But nothing for First Responders. I attended a church several years ago where I was told that I needed to find a different profession so that I could be in church every Sunday. REALLY? That was one of many reasons that for several years, I quit going to church. Going to church doesn't make one any better than the rest of us.

I go to church when I can now, but just saying.