I still remember the time Carol fainted during a worship service. She had not been “slain in the spirit.” Nor had my preaching put her to sleep. The culprit, instead, was a pre-existing health condition. As this elderly member lay passed out in her pew, congregation members took action. Tommy Givens called 911. Karen Kim – one of Knox’s physicians – sat beside her to monitor her symptoms. Linda Peacore approached me as a sat up on the chancel during the offertory. She informed me about the fainting – and that help was on the way. It was then time for sharing joys and concerns. I told the congregation what was taking place, and we prayed for Carol. The paramedics arrived soon thereafter. I visited Carol later that day at Huntington Hospital, and was delighted to see her back to her old self. But the experience left me wondering: what were “best practices” in such a situation? What does a faithful congregational response to an emergency look like?
I remember asking myself this same question back in my college days. A student friend of mine, told me about his home church in Brooklyn. It was not uncommon in his church, he said, for someone to have a psychotic episode during worship. When this happened, two ushers would seem to appear out of nowhere. In minutes, they would have gently coaxed the person outside. Later, long after the worship service had ended, you might still see those two ushers talking to the person, counseling them, or praying for them. I then thought of my own home church in San Diego. While I could not recall such an event ever taking place during a worship service, if it had, I wondered if our ushers, staff, or members would have had any idea what to do. I suspected they would not.
Back in 2020, emergency response was on every congregation’s mind – and for good reason. With the outbreak of a deadly virus called COVID-19, every church had to quickly come up with policies and procedures for this unplanned emergency. Last year, after ICE agents walked on the campus of the Downey Memorial Christian Church, congregations like Knox realized we had no plans for such an event. We set to work creating them. Whether it be shooting events, earthquakes, wildfires, or protests during worship services, there are a host of reasons for churches like ours to consider how best to respond to the unplanned.
One of our goals at Knox for 2026 is to develop a more complete and comprehensive plan for responding to emergencies. As Proverbs 22:3 reminds us, “the prudent see danger, and take appropriate action – but the simple go on as they had before, and pay the penalty.” Putting this plan together is one practical way we can “love one another” (John 13:34). It can help us all respond pastorally, lovingly, and appropriately when the unexpected comes our way.
May God guide us forward in the journey of church life together,
– Pastor Matt