Ushers Mission Statement – The ushers of Freedom Baptist Church will assist in a variety of tasks to assure that the services run smoothly.

Who –  Only men who meet the following qualifications will serve as ushers.

Qualifications

1.  Must be a member of Freedom Baptist Church and attend services faithfully. A non-member may be appointed by the Pastor during special services.

2.  Must strictly adhere to the church’s policy concerning separation from the world.

3.  Must be loyal to the entire program of Freedom Baptist Church.

4.  Must be at least 18 years old to be the head usher and ushers.  A junior usher must be at least 10 years old, responsible, and have parental consent.

5.  Must be approved by the Pastor.

Positions and Responsibilities

Head Usher – The head usher is responsible for the general oversight of all aspects of ushering.  His responsibilities include the following: ensuring there are  2 ushers per service – one may be a junior usher during Sunday early services and Wednesday evening services; finding replacements for absent ushers; and handling any other immediate problems that arise with the ushers; submitting requisitions for usher supplies; submitting the usher budget to the pastor; enforcing of policies and procedures; ensuring that the hallways and parking lot are monitored for safety; and training of new ushers.  The head usher or one he designates will adjust the thermostat.  He must inform the pastor of any major or urgent problems on church property.  The head usher is responsible and accountable to the pastor.

Usher – During his shift, the usher will carry out the responsibilities assigned to him by the head usher.  Duties include one or more of the following:  greeting people at the front door, greeting people at the auditorium door, issuing visitors cards, directing to classrooms, and monitoring the parking lot and hallway. Ushers are responsible and accountable to the head usher.

Junior Usher – The junior usher, during his shift, will carry out the responsibilities assigned to him by the head usher.  Duties include one or more of the following:  greeting people at the auditorium door and issuing visitors cards.  For his safety, the junior usher will not be assigned the front door, the parking lot/ hall monitor, or cameras.  Junior ushers are responsible and accountable to the head usher.

Conduct – Our behavior must be above reproach.  Our ushers will be expected to observe the following:

-          All workers shall fill out and sign the Screening Form for Church Volunteers and Employees.  This form is attached to this manual, and is used for your and our protection as well as other legal purposes. 

-          No one, at any time shall be alone with a child in a secluded area such as a car, a room with the door closed, or the restroom.  When possible, children will be encouraged to take care of their own bathroom needs.  Should assistance be required, the outer bathroom door shall remain ajar while the teacher assists the child.  We shall use extreme caution in this area (I Thessalonians 5:22). 

-          No activity involving children under the protection of this ministry shall ever occur without a person who is in charge knowing about it.  Please inform your chain of command of any activities.  All off site activities shall be approved by the pastor, parental permission shall be secured, and a minimum of two adult workers shall be present.

-          Only members in good standing and approved by the pastor shall be working with children in any area.  Please, do not ask someone to fill your position.  There may be a reason that someone is not qualified to work in a certain position, and that information is not public knowledge.  Christ gave a stern warning to anyone who would offend a little one (Matthew 18:6).

-          Gifts shall not be given to individual children or young people without prior knowledge of the parents or pastor.  Because gift giving can be a form of buying loyalty or silence, gift giving shall be done on a group basis or for special occasions only.  Gifts must not be elaborate, but shall be modest and appropriate to the occasion.

-          All workers shall dress with utmost modesty.  All ushers shall be well groomed (hair off the ears and collar, beard and moustache well trimmed). This also includes wearing dress pants, shined shoes, and shirt and tie.

-          All workers shall abstain from all worldly behavior such as wrong music, wrong television shows, and destructive conversation.  We must be an example to the believers (I Timothy 4:12).

How – We will seek to accomplish the usher mission statement by observing the following policies.

Guidelines and Procedures:

1.  The ushers shall be in the assigned areas at least 15 minutes before the service. 

2.  Please be neat and clean.  Please wash your hands before your shift.  Ushers may want to carry breath mints.

3.  Do your part.  There are certain jobs that nobody likes to do; however, we must do them with a willing spirit and a smile.  Each individual must do his share of the work while on duty.  (I Cor. 10:31 – “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”)

4.  If you are unable to work your assigned day, please inform the head usher as soon as possible so he can make the necessary arrangements.  Do not pick your own replacement.

5.  Leave all home, family, or personal problems outside the church doors.  Greet all with a smile.

6.  Do not congregate with other ushers.

7. In case of an emergency, please notify the head usher.  The head usher will inform the pastor. 8.  Be alert to the needs of those around you.  Direct individuals as necessary. 

9.  Upon arrival, take time to double check your appearance for such things as a straight tie, a tucked in shirt, and combed hair.

10. During your shift:

            a.    Welcome Desk:

                        1.  Greet everybody with a smile and handshake.

2.  Pay attention to special needs such as handicapped, elderly, and others with young children.

3.  On rainy days, be prepared to assist with an umbrella.

4.  If is it snowing or icy, pay attention to the parking lot and sidewalk.  Shovel and salt them as needed.

5.  Direct visitors to the appropriate places, such as, nursery or Sunday school class.

6.  Offer all first-time visitors a tablet to fill out a visitor card.  If a fist-time visitor does not want to fill it out electronically, offer a paper visitor card.  Ask them to return the tablet or card to you and give them a welcome gift.

            b.  Greeter:

                        1.  Greet everybody with a smile and handshake.

2.  Pay attention to special needs such as handicapped, elderly, and others with young children.

3.  Hand everyone a bulletin and assist the front door greeter with first-time visitors as necessary.

                        4.  Assist visitors in finding a seat, if necessary.

                        5.  Close the auditorium doors after the attendance is completed.

5.  The auditorium door greeter will sit in the service near the door.

            c.  Attendance

1.  The greeter shall take an accurate attendance for all services for those in the auditorium.

2.  Double check by doing a head count.

3. Nursery and children’s ministries check in the children. 

            d.  Cameras /Hall Monitor:

                        1.  This usher will remain out of the service to monitor the hall and parking lot.

                        2.  Be prepared to assist anyone who is late to church. 

3.  Be alert and ready to assist any teacher or nursery worker that may need you to locate a leader or parent.

4.  Be prepared to help monitor the children as the teachers take their class to the restroom. Remember there are to be two workers with the children at all times so you the usher must be watchful.

5.  Monitor the parking lot periodically during the service looking for any vandals, potential danger, people wandering outside instead of being in the service, etc. Make a final check of the parking lot as the service is about to close.

6.  If you see any suspicious activity during your shift, do not approach the person alone.  Locate another usher (preferably the head usher) to go with you.  If it is a serious situation, call 911 immediately.

7.  There shall be a hall monitor when there are people in the nursery or classrooms.  

11.  Departure and clean up:

            a. The auditorium door greeter will open the auditorium doors at the end of the service. 

            b. Thank people for attending as they leave.

c. Offer assistance to any parents that may look confused about where to pick up their children.

d.  Do not rush people out of the service.

e. Ensure all electronic devices are cleaned and charging.

f. Turn off the lights.

g. Check the restrooms for any faucets that were not turned off or any toilets that need immediate attention.

h. Make sure the visitor’s cards are full, the pews are cleaned off and everything is ready for the next service.

i.  If you are the last one out, secure the building.

j. If you must leave before everyone is out, please notify a deacon or the pastor to secure the buildings.

In the Event of a Violent Act

            It would be unfortunate should something happen at Freedom Baptist Church, such as a shooting, fight, bomb threat or a hostile individual.  These type events are happening around the world, and we at Freedom must be prepared should it happen here.

            Any threat by an individual should be taken seriously and given high priority.  No threat should be brushed aside as a joke.  If a threat or violent act should occur, immediately notify the front door greeter.  Depending on the situation, the front door greeter will either notify the head usher or call 911 immediately.  The head usher should notify the pastor as soon as possible.  If the individual is still on the property and has not injured anyone, comply with his wishes as much as possible.  You should seek to turn the situation over to the ushers or police as soon as possible.  All caution should be given to the safety of the others.  Do not try to be a hero.  Evacuate the buildings as quickly as possible, unless otherwise notified by the head usher or police. 

            If the individual who made threats or did a violent act left the premises, call 911 immediately, then inform the usher.  Try to write as much as you remember about the situation on paper.  If someone has been injured, tend to their medical needs AFTER you have informed the authorities and your class is safe. 

            The following is helpful information in the event of injuries.  Shock is one of the leading causes of death in a wounded victim.  You, as the teacher, need to stay calm and reassure those who have been wounded.  Do not attempt first aid beyond your capacity.  You should follow the following procedure in helping:

1.      CHECK – Make sure the area is secure and there is no danger to you or the victim.  By rushing in without checking, you could be the next victim.  Do not move the victim unless absolutely necessary.  Moving them may cause more injury.

2.      CALL – Call 911 or the local emergency number.  Have as much information as possible about the situation.  (Address, Location of incident, # from which you are calling, give your name, what happened, how many people are involved, the condition of victims, what aid is being given).  Do not hang up until the EMS dispatcher hangs up.  They may be able to help you on step 3.

3.      CARE – Now you are ready to give help – Always care for life-threatening emergencies before those that are not life-threatening.  While you are waiting for the EMS, watch for changes in the victim’s breathing and consciousness. Help the victim rest comfortably. (The main care you can give the victim is comfort, reassurance and prayer until qualified help arrives.)  If the victim can talk with you; then, gather information from them such as the type of pain, where it hurts, what happened and so forth.

The first aid kit is located on the wall near the welcome desk.  The ushers will fill out an incident report.  Once medical personnel have arrived, turn the care over to them.  After the situation is resolved, write as much about the incident as you can remember including; time, date, workers present, injuries, witnesses, detailed account of incident, description of assailant (if there is one) and any other information that you think would be helpful.  This should be turned over to the pastor immediately.

In the event of a missing person

All teachers and workers should be aware of who is supposed to be in their classrooms/care at all times.  The transition times at church are the most critical.  Sunday school teachers should turn their students over to a parent or children’s church worker.  Once children’s church is over the children should be turned over to a parent.  Teens should be able to move about the property without adult supervision.

Once a child/teen is discovered to be missing, the teacher/worker should inform the hall monitor who will make a complete sweep of common locations such as bathrooms and outside the building.  If the initial search does not produce any results then the head usher should be informed immediately.  The head usher will inform the parents.  Ushers, deacons and others will make a complete sweep of the property, including around all buildings and walking down the street.  If the child/teen is not located; then, the head usher will call 911.  In the event the head usher is not available; then, the pastor should be informed.