Church Sued for What Youth Pastor Did on Day Off

By Raul Rivera

In 2009, the youth pastor of Big Springs Assembly of God took 10 kids from the youth group on a camping trip.  He planned the trip on his own and on his day off.  While at the outing, he allowed a 13-year-old boy to drive his truck, which ended in a horrendous tragedy that claimed the boy's life.  Though we never want to diminish how terrible this loss must be to the boy's family, we must take into consideration what could be done in churches to avoid accidents like this.

Some of the facts

During the trial, both sides presented facts to the jury.  Church officials denied responsibility because it was not an official church function and because the youth pastor had planned it, on his accord, during his day off.  They also argued that the church should not be held responsible because the youth pastor was not acting as an employee of the church.  To the contrary, the plaintiff's attorney argued that the youth pastor referred to it as a church function at the funeral and that only youth group members were invited.

Consider the potential pitfalls of an event

This case reminds us all of the need to consider events in their entirety.  Every year youth pastors all across America perform crazy stunts as part of their youth services and also take youth on trips.  Many churches conduct Christmas plays with flying angels and also build temporary choir lofts on stage for the children's angel choir.  Many churches never consider the "what ifs" of things going wrong.  Does your church have a safety mindset?  Do you plan events with safety in mind?  Let me give you a short list of other events that could lead to potential injury to someone. 

1.     Altar calls:  Altar ministry is a great time of healing, hope, and the starting of new lives.  Many who engage in a time of ministry at the altar, are doing so because of a direct influence of the Holy Spirit upon them.  We recommend that your church adopt an altar ministry policy.  Our software program titled "Vision" has 41 policies and procedures every church should adopt, including the altar ministry policy.

2.     Plays:  Christmas and Easter are the two times of the year that churches are most likely to produce a play for a special event.  Not a year goes by without an accident that results in injury or loss.  Remember, we must plan with thoughtful respect to the potential pitfalls that could bring the church a disastrous outcome from something that was supposed to be a blessing to the community.

3.     Unofficial church business:  This is possibly the most dangerous activity of all.  Churches usually never define what an official church function is and is not.  As a result, pastors and church staff feel that they are always on church business.  It may be true that you are always on Kingdom business, but when is a youth pastor or other church staff not on official church business?  For most churches those lines are blurred. 

When is a church at fault?

I quite often hear stories of church accidents that leave leaders baffled as to why they are held responsible. Let me give you an example of one such accident.

In 2005, a church had a Memorial Day picnic at a lake in Orlando.  People were encouraged to come and enjoy a day of fun, fellowship, and games in celebration of the church's new beginning.  The church announced the event in its Sunday program.  On the day of the event a non-member showed up to the picnic with his boat and pull along floater; he had within the previous two weeks begun attending the church.  As the picnic got underway, the newcomer used his boat to pull people and all were having a good time until someone got hurt.  It ended up in a $100,000.00 lawsuit against the church.  The entire incident was the church's responsibility.

One could argue that they had no control over the non-member's actions, but nevertheless, from a legal standpoint, the church is held responsible by de facto, because it did not address the issue.  It is always important for churches to understand that silence on an issue is de facto acceptance of responsibility.

Defining church business; an important 1^st step

After reviewing the first case, we see what can happen when a church does not set a policy that defines what is official church business and what a staff member can and cannot do in the name of the church while officially off duty.  Many staff automatically assume that when they see a church member outside of the church in a place such as the grocery store, that all communications are official church business.  While it is important that one understand his/her role as a leader in the Kingdom of God, it is equally important for the church to set boundaries to clarify when staff are on official church business and when they are not.  This policy was recently added to "Vision."  It is a great idea to get this policy approved at your next annual board meeting.

You cannot prevent all accidents

Having such a policy does not prevent all unofficial church business accidents, but it does help to minimize them because it raises the awareness of personal responsibility that might otherwise be absent.  It also protects the church from the long lasting legal ramifications caused by the negligent behavior of a staff member or other while off duty.

Think ahead and lead around trouble

We live in the most litigious society in the history of the earth.  Never before in our history have we seen record numbers of churches being sued.  As church life continues to change, I want to encourage you to think strategically.  In fact, this upcoming year can be a great hour for you to give the kind of leadership that will help your church have the right policies in place that make tragedies like the ones at Big Springs Assembly much less likely to happen.

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