Tips For A Safe Summer

It’s that time of year when youth camps, mission trips, bike trips, conferences, etc are in focus. We put a lot of effort into such adventures and rightly so because they have the potential to impact life change.  Yet that life change might not be exactly what we want or expect.  I am referring to the very real potential for accidents and injuries that is inherent in what we get up to over the summer months.  Perhaps you’ve never rolled a van full of middle schoolers or watched a student literally run through a glass door. Or maybe you have not sat in a lawyers office doing a deposition after an incident on a trip that led to litigation. I am fortunate to have only personally experienced the third one, while close friends experienced the first two.  So, what can you do by way of prevention and if something does happen, how do you proceed?  I’ll offer a few thoughts that come to mind but are by no means covering the whole subject.  I imagine there are a few details here that you might not think of otherwise.

First, do your prep thoroughly.  Make sure you have adequate paperwork done for all students going on trips with you.  That includes medical forms and liability release as well as making sure your church has adequate insurance for all the activities that will be taking place. Don’t cut corners or make exceptions here.

Second, pray and enlist others to pray before, during, and after a trip.  We cannot underestimate the power of prayer but we also cannot be unrealistic in thinking that prayer will completely prevent incidents from happening. My friend who rolled the van had prayed for safety beforehand.  He sensed God’s protection and was very thankful that no one was hurt, not even the driver of the car that caused the accident.

Third, if something does happen, be sure to document it very carefully.  Any incident that involves an injury should be written down as quickly as possible to make sure all the details are recorded while they are fresh in mind.  The deposition I faced was due to a biking accident caused by a loose dog and the injury sustained affected a college athletic scholarship. The dog’s owner was sued and had I not recorded the details of the day, I would not have been able to get through the deposition.

Finally, any incident should be followed up as quickly and personally as possible.  Don’t rely on email or texts to communicate to those affected by the incident.  A phone call is the minimum and a personal visit is even better.  People need to know we care and are concerned for the well being of those who are under our supervision. Trust is the issue here and it’s difficult to rebuild if we lose it.

Have a safe and wonderful summer as God uses your efforts to transform the lives of students!