| Ecclesiastes 4:12 |
| "A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated..." |
| 06/01/09 - Church Security: it starts from within |
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If you keep up with the news in the Christian community and crimes we list on the CSN website, you will notice on-going, troubling incidents of theft, fraud, embezzlement, and misappropriation of church cash and assets – by the staff and volunteers of the church itself. Internal theft is nothing new in the secular world; in fact in business there are more internal thefts than external. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, employee dishonesty costs American business in excess of $50 billion annually. But there is something troubling about Christians stealing from their own church, especially when it is the church leaders themselves in some instances. Consider some of the following incidents:
You can find these incidents almost every month and sometimes more than one every month, and these are just the ones that are discovered – how many more are being committed as you read this? We know that this is a fallen world and all sin and subject to temptation. These Biblical facts should be a sign that the church needs to be as vigilant about theft from the inside as they are worried about theft from outsiders. What makes these incidents even more troubling is the size of the theft. The Christian Security Network has found that the average burglary from a church may result in the loss of about $10,000 in cash and property, however the incidents tracked this year alone show an average loss of about $100,000. The reasons, methods, and motives for committing these crimes vary from incident to incident and person to person. However, when you look at the details you notice that there was a lack of internal controls that contributed to each crime. I could not list all the checks and balances that should be in place in this short amount of space and every operation would be somewhat different, but the following are some general guidelines. Background checks should be conducted not once, but on an annual basis of key personnel and those responsible for funds. Background checks show problems that be occurring in people’s lives and credit checks show people who are in or heading towards financial problems. Sole responsibility for cash and checks should never be given; there needs to be at least two people responsible and they should not be related. If checks are to be signed, there should be two signatures required. If credit cards are used, there should always be someone other than the card user checking receipts. And definitely if cash is being counted, three or more people should be involved. Watching behavior and spending habits is critical. People within a church know the people they work and volunteer with and if someone’s behavior is changing, it needs to be noted and brought to someone in authority’s attention. People who normally live a conservative lifestyle and are suddenly buying new cars, taking extravagant vacations, etc. should be looked at closely (unless they just won the lottery or inherited a lot of money!). I think you get the point – check and balances and controls measures are the key. Many churches operate on the “It can’t happen here” and “We have to trust each other” mentality. But we also have to be good stewards of God’s gifts and do our due diligence in what is reasonable and prudent. In many of these cases the thefts start off small and once the offender sees that they are not being caught, the amount they steal grows. Sometimes putting measures into place is enough of a deterrent to take away the temptation. Security starts from within and should begin today. In Christ, Jeff Hawkins Executive Director |
