Due to a perfect storm of climate-related factors, stress has arrived at some ministry doors, leaving people concerned about the financial future of those churches.
What's happening?
The Baptist Paper reported that an "ongoing wave of disasters," including hurricanes, wildfires, and floods, are combining with ballooning construction costs to send insurance companies into a panic.
As a result, church insurers have begun dropping "high-risk" churches — or charging exorbitant price increases — to recoup their losses.
Insurers are feeling the pressure in places like Texas, California, and Louisiana, all of which have seen an increase in extreme climate-related weather. Now, churches in those areas are scrambling to assess whether they can afford to continue paying insurance — or operating at all.
The Paper quoted John Parks, a pastor in Houston who remembered feeling bewildered when he heard that his congregation had been dropped by their insurer.
"This does not make sense," he said. "We've never filed a claim."
After a long search, they settled on a new $80,000 policy — quite a leap from the $23,000 they were paying.
"It's been an adventure," Parks told the Paper. "That's putting it politely."
Why is this concerning?
Parks' story is not unique. Hundreds of churches in the Rio Texas Annual Conference recently lost their coverage; with less than a month's notice, they didn't have time to find new policies.
"It was a shock," Kevin Reed, the conference president, told the Paper. After 30 years of smooth sailing, they were left "high and dry."
Jeff Julian, a pastor in Mount Pleasant, disclosed that his church's premiums were going to increase by 85%.
"That is going to be where we're starting to have to take away from ministries, probably," he said.
Without insurance, churches may not be able to function as community resources, serving vulnerable people from all walks of life.
But this pattern extends beyond churches, too. Insurance companies have been dropping homeowners, business owners, and farmers because of weather-related concerns. In some particularly high-risk states, insurers have completely pulled out of the market.
Given the accelerated rise of global temperatures and the correlating increase in extreme weather events, people around the world are concerned that a single natural disaster could leave them penniless, unhoused, or both.
What's being done?
Most of the onus for rising global temperatures falls on the shoulders of corporations and governments, but some faith-based communities are taking it upon themselves to start implementing grassroots efforts.
Creation Justice Ministries is incorporating climate education and preparation into their ministerial teachings to empower their community members. Village Solutions works with faith-based communities to provide access to renewable energy solutions, both in churches and in homes, like solar panels and heat pumps.
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