There were no training courses nor preparatory classes. The pastor had not detailed a plan of action for the congregation. The pastor had not detailed a plan of action for himself.
But when members of NorthPark Baptist Church, Trussville, found themselves in the middle of a tragedy, they knew what to do.
“I don’t know anything we could have done any better,” Pastor Bill Wilks said of the initial response to the Sept. 23 news that church member Joe Tesney had killed two former co-workers and then himself at a UPS shipping center in Birmingham.
Most of the church ministers were on a staff retreat in Destin, Fla., when the shootings took place. A quick-thinking church member who learned of the situation before the name was released informed the minister who had stayed behind to keep things running at the church. She and the support staff were in their weekly prayer gathering when the call came in.
“It was a God thing that we were all together when we got the news,” said one member of the support staff. For the church staff on the retreat, “it was a sickening feeling that we were five hours away when the tragedy happened,” associate pastor Stephen Hall said. “But we were all in the same room sitting around a table having a discussion and that allowed us to move into action quickly.”
In less than an hour, the pastor and staff had a plan of action, a statement for the press and were packing to head back to Birmingham right away.
Wilks said, “When something like this happens, you drop everything. What we were doing didn’t matter anymore.
“Dealing with this tragedy in our church family was priority for everyone, and we needed all hands on deck,” he said. “Our church knows that, and our staff knows that. It is the culture we have. They know we have to be ready, and they were. Everyone was working together to formulate a plan.”
Executive pastor John Herring said, “Part of being a community is that you have to respond — respond to the church family and respond to those outside the church family, including the media. We can’t just stick our head in the ground and not respond, but we must respond in love and care.
“I’m encouraged by the way our congregation stepped up when we weren’t around,” he said. “I think we are in a new place of health in our church. We are more committed to discipleship and caring about each other than I’ve ever seen.”
First and foremost in Wilks’ mind was the family.
Ministering to the family
“I immediately started thinking of [the wife] and how to help her and how to get to her,” he said. “Our children’s minister immediately started working on what to do for the children.”
The minister onsite at the church and another female church member organized themselves quickly in order to get to the wife. “They were able to minister to her during this and walked her through each step,” Wilks noted. “The church member was with the wife all day. We needed her and she jumped in and did whatever it took.
“It had to be pretty scary, but she fought through whatever fear she might have had and took care of the need. We could not have made it without her,” he said. “It takes an army of compassionate people to work in tragic situations. It cannot all be done by the paid ministers.”
More than 70 NorthPark Baptist members gathered at the church that night to pray and share as well as hear from their pastor.
Wilks said he heard a lot of “what ifs” and “I should have paid better attention.”
“Some are feeling guilty, but there’s no way any of us could have known this was coming.
“This was a guy we saw living the Christian life. How can you reconcile what happened? You can’t. There’s no way to reconcile it,” Wilks said. “We have more questions than answers, but we know Who the answer is and that is Jesus.”
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A tragedy happens … what do you do?
By Pastor Bill Wilks
1. Stay calm, keep your composure.
2. Determine all people involved and who needs assistance.
3. Delegate assignments to staff, support staff and appropriate church members.
4. Work with a team to develop a statement from the church for the media and other interested parties that is informative and helpful but also appropriate with what is shared.
5. Inform all church staff and support staff of the plan and provide them with the official statement, so everyone knows how to communicate appropriately.
6. Communicate all necessary information to the full church membership.
7. Don’t be afraid of the media. Tell the truth, be kind and work with them as best you can. Provide on-camera and in-person interviews and answer their questions as best you can while protecting individual members’
privacies. Members of the media will typically respond with kindness and respect when you are helpful rather than being defensive and mean-spirited toward them.
8. Be there for those who are hurting. “Your presence and compassion are worth more than any words you can say. Just be there and let them know they are not alone in the process.”
9. Remember that the world is watching, so minister, don’t hide.
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