"Please note that the information shared in this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only. Nothing discussed should be interpreted as specific legal advice or as creating an attorney-client relationship. If you have questions about your organization or situation, we encourage you to connect with your own local counsel.”

Thank you so much for listening to the first episode of Season 3: Vital Volunteers: Answering the Call! You can find an episode summary, takeaways, below! Click here to watch the episode!

Summary:

In this episode of Let's Talk Solutions, host Hunter Pettis discusses the vital role of volunteers in church ministries with Joni Dreher, Claims Manager from Adventist Risk Management, Inc. Joni Dreher shares her experiences and insights on how to effectively engage volunteers, manage risks, and foster a safe environment for church activities. Their conversation also, emphasizes the need for effective communication, the challenges faced by volunteers, and the spiritual significance of volunteering. Listeners are encouraged to take part in serving at their local church and consider the magnitude of their contributions no matter how small.

Key Takeaways:

1. The work of volunteers is crucial for church ministries.
2. Proactive risk management is essential for church safety.
3. Effective communication helps engage church members around safety.
4. Understanding the needs of the church is key to effective volunteering.
5. Safety officers play a vital role in church security.
6. Every small act of service contributes to the churches greater mission.
7. Witnessing through service is a powerful form of ministry.

Episode Resources:

Info Sheets:

1. Checking Volunteer References: Dos and Don’ts
2. The Safety Officers Responsibilities
3. Securing the Church Building
4. Active Shooter Safety Kit
5. Pathfinder Safety Guide
6. Financial Internal Controls

Forms:

1. Volunteer Reference Interview Form: (password: pbmpi6k1)
2. Ministry Volunteer Information Form: (password: cumvbc9j)

Link:

1. Adventist Screen Verification

Solutions Articles:

1. One Church Protected: Stronger in Safety, Together in Mission
2. Taking Care of Our Facilities: An Interview with Risk Control Specialist Brian Schwab
3. Beyond the Title: The Ministry of a Safety Officer
4. I’m New—What Do I Do?

Connect with us!

Podcast Page

Instagram

Facebook

Linkedin

AdventistRisk.org

Email: customercare@adventistrisk.org

Please note that the information shared in this podcast is for educational and

informational purposes only.

2

Nothing discussed should be interpreted as specific legal advice or as creating an

attorney-client relationship.

3

If you have questions about your organization or situation, we encourage you to connect

with your own local counsel.

4

Welcome back to Less Talk Solutions for the first episode of season three.

5

I'm your host, Hunter Pettis, and I'm glad you joined us today.

6

Think for a moment about your favorite ministry at church, whether it's food distribution,

family life, women's ministry, or something else.

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You may have seen up close and personal that the work is many, but the laborers are few.

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Perhaps that led you to answer the call to volunteer.

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to lead or to support others who serve.

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Often what follows an eager yes to serve is the question of, am I prepared?

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And today we hope to share some helpful insights.

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In this episode, our special guest will help us discover how we can steward and shepherd

volunteers while managing risk so that the ministry can thrive.

13

Joni Dreher has been with Adventist Risk Management, Inc, Inc.

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since 2002.

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She joined claim services in 2011 and she brings to her role 28 years of experience in

automobile, physical damage and liability.

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10 years of underwriting and placement experience and six years of accounting.

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Nonetheless, it has been multiple years of customer service.

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Joni is well versed in handling things like premises medical, general liability and auto.

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In 2019, Joni was promoted to manager overseeing claims department.

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Additionally,

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Joni is a licensed adjuster across all lines.

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She is a proud mom of two amazing daughters, and she enjoys cooking, quiet time unplugged

from the world, and spending time with God.

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Ladies and gentlemen, join me in welcoming Joni to the show.

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Good morning, Joni.

25

Good morning.

26

Good morning, Alexei.

27

It's a pleasure to have you on the show.

28

Thank you for volunteering your time and your expertise.

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So as we kind of get started on the show, want to break the ice, if I may.

30

by starting off by saying, the work of volunteers often goes overlooked.

31

As you may know, this year, our theme is One Church: Protected.

32

And so I kind of wanted to start off the conversation by just asking you from your

perspective, how vital are volunteers in relation to the bigger picture of the church at a

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local or even a global level?

34

The importance is tremendous.

35

You're having people bring their heart and their desire of God and of helping people.

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to the table and that is such a vital role in bringing other people to Christ and putting

the information about our church out there.

37

Seeing people's experience is the best example when you want to appeal to the masses in a

volunteer sense.

38

So the beauty of this conversation that we're having is that we both work for the church.

39

both have been is and we put things into practice.

40

And so the beauty of this conversation is really the fact that not only are you the claims

manager, but I understand it as you also serve as a safety officer for your church.

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So tell us about the moment when you answered that call to serve as a safety officer.

42

It was very interesting is doing COVID and we were having a lot of different conversations

about many different

43

things at that time.

44

And I started asking questions about, did we take care of the doors?

45

Did we make sure that uh lights are where they should be placed and they're lighting up

when they should to make sure that people walking across the property and all those things

46

that our properties are protected.

47

And I started thinking to myself, well, maybe, maybe I can take this work that I do from

Adventist Risk Management, Inc.

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and apply it.

49

to my own church because that is just as important as what we do every day to assist our

volunteers domestically and internationally.

50

And so going into that role, a role that was not thought of for a very long time, it was a

great importance.

51

And just watching the world and how it moved, just watching the world and how it moved,

it's important that we start thinking defensive.

52

proactive instead of reactive when things happen.

53

Yeah, I hope a lot of people, especially during post pandemic, if you will, began to be a

little bit more proactive and understanding that it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of

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when, and are you prepared?

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Do you have, well, more than just a toilet paper in place, you know?

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Exactly.

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It's a lot of things that

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We have to be mindful of people coming into the church and stepping up.

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P-med claims.

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We have to educate people.

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We have to be mindful of our children's safety.

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More so than ever, we're seeing our children in terrible situations.

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so having the ability to have a structured person in place is important at the churches.

64

Yeah.

65

And I imagine in your role, you see a

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a myriad of uh claims, some as simple as slip, trips and falls, and some a bit more

catastrophic.

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And so I can imagine that your church really enjoys having, if I may use this term,

insider.

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So you've worked with insurance and risk management, ARM, for some time now.

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And I'm also curious, and maybe you could share with our listeners, like, how has that

shaped the way you approach the service and safety at your church?

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I'm not sure how happy they are about it because I question everything.

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Having this background, understanding what could go wrong.

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We see the worst of the church and cleanse department and that could simply just be a

medical catastrophe or something of that nature.

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And so being able to say to the church, Hey, there was money stolen out of an account.

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We need to make sure that we have better protocols in place.

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You all need to be checking the bank account every single day.

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So if money is missing, we know about it.

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It can jump on it immediately because the bank has different protocols and things.

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And so from that perspective, I'm able to preempt them quite often, make sure that we have

adequate things in place.

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We understand life happens.

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It does.

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We can't stay on top of everything, but we can at least have a plan in place that if the

worst does happen.

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We know how to move forward with it.

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So that experience helps me guide our church board in making decisions.

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Walk me down memory lane Joni.

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You know, I'm, I'm new to the church.

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I haven't volunteered as a safety officer, but I'm really encouraged about, really

encouraged about risk management as a whole.

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And so when you first took this role, if you recall, what was the first thing that you

did?

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First thing that I did in all honesty was do.

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podcast.

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I started doing podcasts with some of the young people to engage them while we were in

COVID, because that's when I became a safety officer.

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And we just started putting little informational ah items out there.

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The first thing we did is if you'd like to attend church once it's open, this is the

safety guidelines that you need to go with.

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You need to have a mask on.

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You need to let us know if you have any health risks.

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You need to

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sign the uh sheet to say, I'm in church this day so we can keep track of who's moving

around.

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And so we did a lot of podcasts because we know that people will look at them.

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They will go on to the YouTube page and they wanted information and that's how we process

announcements and various other things during the midst of COVID.

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And so we just created something visual for them, fun for them, and it stuck.

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And we were able to help people even

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and their own home experiences and dealing with each other and cutting down on the spread

of it, of COVID at that time.

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And now we still move forward with the podcast, not as much because I utilize the church

service to do just a little educating.

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I have a corner every month where I let them know what we're doing here at the church.

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We have a lighting problem at night.

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We found that out during a revival as we were.

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preparing for that.

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So linking up with the deacons and the elders and saying, hey, we have to minimize our

risk here and keep people safe.

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So we need better lighting here.

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So that was kind of like my first thing is to do a walk around of the church, do a

questionnaire of the church members to see how they feel about the safety of the church

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and what needs they think we need to put into place.

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And that's what we did.

112

Yeah.

113

I think the beauty of

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I find it to be almost like the evolution of talk radio.

115

So podcasts is definitely a powerful tool to be used.

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People can listen to it on the go or watching when they have the time really.

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So I know that you took on this role during COVID and everything like that.

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And that sounds like the primary risk that you focused on first and foremost.

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you say that there was any beyond going through the checklist and anything like that?

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Would you say that there are?

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were any other risks that you found that you needed to turn your attention to?

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I know you talked about the lighting.

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Was there anything that almost seemed like it was overlooked?

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We definitely had to work with the lighting.

125

We had to work with security.

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We've been in this neighborhood for over 60 years.

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We've been in this neighborhood and are known and active to most uh people.

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But it didn't stop people from trying to break into the church.

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It's cold outside.

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you know that there is food here.

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And so we had to secure the church.

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The doors didn't always close.

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Individuals had keys to the church and would leave the door open.

134

So we had to work on security and making sure that when members would come, members who

had authorization to be on the property at various times, they were safe.

135

That they had great lighting.

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that there were security cameras around.

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There's just a sense of safety when you're coming into the church.

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So that was a big issue.

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And the next issue that a lot of people forget about is medical issues that happen at

church.

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And so we have a first aid corner right behind our pulpit.

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So if someone does take ill, we can administer to them.

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We have a nurse on duty every week.

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to make sure that someone is here to administer first aid or any other challenges

medically that we may have and they be certified to do so.

144

You know, when you're a volunteer, a lot of these things seem to be on your own terms.

145

Sometimes it seems like they should be easy or sometimes you don't deal with them until

you're being kind of reactive.

146

And so I know you already mentioned a couple of challenges that came up along the way in

terms of

147

making sure that it was safe, that people weren't breaking in for the food and things of

that nature.

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we talked about how what happened when you first started and why you answered the call in

the first place.

149

But let's kind of fast forward a little bit.

150

Let's talk about the first few months.

151

So you're doing the podcast, you're working with community security and things of that

nature.

152

But what, if any, were some unexpected challenges were you faced with?

153

Well, you know, ah

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Our dear deacons, head deacons and deaconess of the church are responsible for the upkeep

of the church.

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And they don't necessarily like when the safety officer comes in and begins to ask them

about uh fire safety and fire drills.

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Apparently fire drills are frowned upon during the church service, but you have to try

them.

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You have to do things.

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And I'm an out of the box thinker.

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And so safety requires us to be prepared for everything.

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if the church is empty, if it's full.

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And so I am the safety officer that will pull the alarm during the church service.

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I do let people know in advance because we do have oh people that we don't want to startle

and harm into medical situations.

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But those are the type of things that you still have to work through.

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And just as it is with any other facility, we had a fire drill during the church service.

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People were made aware of it two weeks in advance.

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I kind of hope that they forgot they did.

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And so we were able to move forward and it was successful.

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It was successful.

169

did some training a few weeks before about what if gun violence is very serious in our

churches, very serious in the world.

170

And so you have to be prepared for when you have individuals that you're not necessarily

familiar with.

171

Our churches produce a great deal of guests.

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And so you always have to have proper security at the church.

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Some of our deacons are a part of our security team.

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And we just want to make sure that people can come in and have a safe time where they can

let their guard down and experience God with their uh fellow church members.

175

And us being on alert and having proper safety and protocols in places how you.

176

Yeah.

177

Anytime there's change, especially an abrupt and aggressive change sometimes, or something

that people aren't fans of.

178

You know, that was some level of resistance.

179

But I also would imagine, Joni, that there had to have been some unexpected blessings in

disguise from this as well.

180

Were there any unexpected blessings that you encountered since you've been serving in this

role?

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Well, I've grown as a person.

182

I've grown as a person.

183

I will say that you have to deal with a lot of different people in this capacity.

184

You have to be able to sit and listen.

185

to what people are stating.

186

Being in this role is not a one man role.

187

You have to include other people in it.

188

And there may be some disagreements of we don't need cameras at the church.

189

Yes, we do.

190

We don't need dead bolts at the church.

191

Yes, we do.

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We don't need a key checkout.

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Yes, we do.

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Because everybody doesn't need to have keys to the church.

195

There's some main personnel that need to be here and monitoring the church on a regular

basis.

196

But for the most

197

in order to keep the church safe, we have to minimize people's availability to it.

198

And so I think having to have difficult conversations with people who have had keys for,

since the church was built, that was interesting, but out of it came a blessing because we

199

evolve every decade.

200

We are evolving every day now.

201

but we evolve all the time.

202

And so sometimes you have to go into the new thinking.

203

And yes, we know that God is going to protect us.

204

We know that, we've seen it.

205

We've seen it in our personal lives.

206

We've read it in the Bible.

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We see it day to day when we see the miracles that God continues to perform for us to have

faith in it and encourage us.

208

And so when you're having to deal with people in different capacities and have different

understanding,

209

You're witnessing and you're volunteering.

210

You're still witnessing to the person sitting next to you in church from a volunteer

capacity.

211

So you always have to be mindful of accepting and learning.

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And that's where I've grown that, that's, I've grown, I've grown out of that.

213

That's the gist of it.

214

It's been a growing experience and getting to know new people and understanding how they

do things and why they do things.

215

It has been a blessing.

216

You know, that's a really powerful statement.

217

You're witnessing and you're volunteering.

218

A lot of times we talk about risk management being a ministry in and of itself.

219

It's good stewardship, but witnessing and your volunteering, I really cling to that a lot.

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I think that's how people come closer in all honesty.

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I could take my Bible next door right now and I could tell them, that's said the Lord.

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And that's important.

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And our volunteers do that.

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But when you get to see someone's life and hear about how they're living, why they're

doing the things, think witnessing now in this day time, because people are rejecting the

225

Lord, they're rejecting the Lord, but they might not reject you as an individual.

226

So you have to be careful in every role that you play and as a volunteer, you're always

being watched.

227

You're always being watched, even when you're out in the street, you are still in a

volunteer capacity and people are watching what you do.

228

So I think that that's the most powerful form of volunteering is witnessing.

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Letting them lead by example, showing your life is important.

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That's your life's iron.

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Absolutely.

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You're already touching on what leads me into kind of my next question is that, you know,

you've already

233

Clearly, you have to be a caring person.

234

You have to be a detail-oriented person.

235

You even have to, as you mentioned, have those tough conversations.

236

essentially, a good communicator.

237

So in your experience, and maybe you can even speak to some of other people's experiences

that you've witnessed that are maybe a part of your safety team, but what are some habits

238

that make an exceptional volunteer in this capacity?

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especially when it comes to safety and caring.

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One of the most important things in a Bible is reaching out, is winning souls for Christ.

241

That's one of the greatest themes in a Bible.

242

You look at the disciples, people from all walks of life that would not have ordinarily

matched up together, were put together in a volunteer army to spread the word of God.

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Our goal is to soften the hearts of those that we come in contact with so we can hasten

God's coming.

244

So our role as volunteers and our desire as volunteers, the world is not going to get

better.

245

God is giving us the opportunity to reach out to those that we can to help them have a

closer relationship if they choose to.

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Everybody is not going to come into the fold, but if they choose to, these individuals,

myself, you, all of us are volunteers in this army of God to bring others closer.

247

is to teach one, to reach one, to bring individuals closer to Christ.

248

So it's absolutely important, and I believe that that's the why.

249

The why is you are doing something so marvelous for God.

250

I believe that the reason why we continue to wake up every day is because God has a task

for us to do.

251

He has something for us to fulfill, and that is...

252

bringing others closer to Christ.

253

And so the why is we have an assignment and we have to accomplish it.

254

Very powerful why.

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It's a very powerful why and I empathize with that.

256

I think that brings a very strong exclamation point and deserves an amen to that.

257

But, you know, for our listeners who really enjoyed everything that you said and how you

played it out and how meaningful and impactful it's been for those around you in your

258

community and everything.

259

who now they may feel a nudge to serve in this capacity to be a volunteer, to be a safety

officer.

260

I know it may be you started with a slightly unfair advantage because you work at ARM and

you've been in claims, you've seen everything, but maybe for the average person, what are

261

some things that they may not know, but they already have the capacity to be prepared to,

you know, what are some things?

262

I guess it's like, are some things that helped you prepare and what helped you improve?

263

And how could that actually help somebody else who's looking to serve in this type of

capacity?

264

It's having conversation with people.

265

It's listening to the needs.

266

It's understanding how the church functions and how it can function better.

267

I think conversation is always the first line of moving forward as a volunteer.

268

And then certainly Adventist Risk Management, Inc has a plethora of information regarding

safety officers and just volunteering as a whole that you can research.

269

our database that goes back years and years.

270

And again, just leading with your heart.

271

The first thing is just having a heart to want to do.

272

And so having a conversation with your pastor, the deacons, and then engaging.

273

your conference, who is well-versed in understanding the safety officer's role in

volunteering.

274

For college students, there's a mission office at most of our schools.

275

Most churches have mission corners.

276

We have at the end of the Sabbath school lesson, I think every week, you have a mission

story.

277

And so you hear about the different volunteer stories and how you can help.

278

So just on a little research general conference website as well.

279

I can provide you with a good guide and a path moving forward, but just conversation and

having a heart is the first step in involving yourself in these roles.

280

Yeah.

281

I think that does sound like a good place to start.

282

I also like to ask if you could just to emphasize the point and draw it home.

283

think, like you said, you've brought a wealth of knowledge to the table.

284

You've been with A.R.M.

285

for

286

We'll just take some time.

287

And I know that you thoroughly enjoy what you do.

288

I know it's not an easy job and we definitely applaud you for all of that.

289

I even in the capacity of safety officer, that's a huge role and a huge volunteer effort

that a lot of people are starting to recognize the value that it offers in terms of the

290

ministry and how it protects not only our youth, but our finances and hopes.

291

our mission in ministry to continue to grow.

292

as kind of like almost your, if it were your appeal, your true appeal to everyone, is

there any other words of encouragement that you could offer to a volunteer or safety

293

officer who has answered this call and maybe wondering if their service truly is making a

difference?

294

I would encourage

295

again, you to understand what your role as a human being is in a time such as this.

296

That we have a responsibility that has been imparted to us to not only maintain our

Christianity as we grow, but to continue to help others understand God better.

297

That I think knowing that when you come to church and you are

298

in the pews and you see that help is needed, that you raise your hand to volunteer to see

how you can help.

299

If you see that there is something at the church that's amiss, that is your time to speak

up.

300

It's no big role that you have to do.

301

Everybody doesn't interact with everyone well.

302

It may be something that you want to do behind the scenes.

303

We have a lot of

304

different personalities and character and everybody is not a people person.

305

They're very small things that you can do to volunteer and to still spread this message in

our role.

306

You can help the Pathfinders with their badges.

307

You can teach a lesson for Sabbath school.

308

You can simply donate to the services and to the upkeep of things.

309

it's...

310

There is room for everyone to be involved.

311

It doesn't matter how large or small.

312

You don't have to go on a mission trip.

313

You don't have to take on a board appointed role at the church.

314

Your thoughts, prayers, and desire to want to assist even in the smallest way will help

hasten God's soon coming.

315

And it's still in a volunteer and safe capacity.

316

There it is.

317

really appreciate that, Joni.

318

I think our listeners also appreciate it as well.

319

Even the small things make a major difference.

320

really do.

321

As we've heard today, protecting the church isn't the work of one person.

322

It's a shared commitment.

323

I think that would be a fair assessment.

324

And when volunteers step forward, the entire church is strengthened.

325

So for any of our listeners, if you feel called to service, we encourage you to explore

the training and resources that will be included in the episode details.

326

We also encourage you to please visit our website for resources that will set you up for

success.

327

From our solutions newsletter, our video resources to our digital resources, and the Risk

Training Center with our safety officer course.

328

Also, be on the lookout for the release of our new

329

Safety Officer Mini Course, which will be launched in the coming months.

330

Joni thank you, thank you, thank you for being here.

331

We really appreciate all that you bring and all the important messages that you've shared

with our audience.

332

It's been a pleasure.

333

So again, for our audience, thank you for listening.

334

If you found value in this conversation, please share it with others who might benefit.

335

You can share this podcast through Apple Podcasts, Spotify and

336

Amazon Music.

337

While you're there, be sure to rate the podcast and turn on notifications so you don't

miss our next episode.

338

You can also access this podcast on our website.

339

Simply go to AdventistRisk.org, hover over the safety resources tab and select Let's Talk

Solutions Podcast.

340

There you can access and share all of our episodes.

341

Remember, faith and preparation are not opposites.

342

They're partners.

343

Together they help us honor God,

344

and navigate the risk of life with confidence.

345

Until next time, stay faithful and stay prepared.