One of our values is to not only create a remarkable guest experience but a safe experience. Please be informed on our emergency procedures by reading these practices thoroughly below.


Fire & evacuation

  • If we have to evacuate, there will be a message played throughout the building: “Attention! Attention! This is not a drill. Fire has been detected. Please evacuate the building.”

  • Your role in Guest Services becomes vitally important! 

  • We need your help evacuating and giving direction to guests.

    • Give overall direction to guests to exit to the nearest exit 

  • Notify parents that they will be reunified with their child in the parking lot. 

    • Our family ministry environments will safely evacuate every child to the parking lot. Parents cannot pick up their child since the doors to the entrance of Waumba Land, UpStreet, and Transit will automatically lock when we evacuate.  

 

Download Map →

Notes:

If you are watching the service in Volunteer Central, you’ll evacuate to the GREEN lot and exit at the doors at the bottom of the stairs.

  • Someone will be designated to collect all volunteer items in the Volunteer Central cubby to our evacuation cart, which will be brought outside to the GREEN lot.

  • Two leaders will be designated to use the bullhorns to communicate updates, as needed once safely outside.

    • 1 person for the GREEN lot

    • 1 person for the BLUE lot

  • Your safety is our priority, so please do whatever you feel most comfortable with at the moment. 

  • If we evacuate once a service has begun, we will NOT proceed with the service. Guests will be directed to exit the church from their vehicles when we receive an “all clear” from the FIre Department.

Medical incident

We have three AEDs located on our church campus. See AED maps.

  • If the situation clearly warrants, call 911 immediately.

    Gwinnett Church address: 300 Peachtree Industrial Blvd, Sugar Hill, GA 30518]

If you encounter a medical incident, you’ll follow these procedures (assuming you have a radio. If you don’t, you’ll locate the nearest staff member or volunteer with a radio).

  1. SWITCH to channel #1, the Emergency Channel on your radio to report medical incident

  2. Identify yourself (“NAME with Guest services to Emergency Staff Responder”)

  3. PAUSE - wait for a response on other end

  4. DESCRIBE

    • Give specific location 

    • Give description of guest 

    • Give description of situation  

  5. REMAIN - always remain in place with the guest until Medical Personnel arrive. 

    • Medical Response Team will determine next steps.

Please remain calm, clear, and direct. 

Guest Services acts as “crowd control” in emergencies so please notify anyone offering assistance that we have procedures in place and our medical personnel are en route.

Suspicious person

You are the eyes and ears of our church. Our Operations Team is scanning regularly for anything out of the ordinary but we need your help! If you encounter a suspicious person, you will:

  1. SWITCH to channel #1, the Emergency Channel on your radio to report suspicious activity

  2. IDENTIFY yourself (“NAME with Guest services to Emergency Staff Responder”)

  3. PAUSE - wait for a response on other end

  4. DESCRIBE

  • Give specific location 

  • Give description of guest 

  • Give description of situation/odd behavior 

Emergency Staff Responder will communicate next steps from there. 

Police will get involved, as needed.

Missing child

On rare occasions, we may encounter a missing child. Thankfully, this is not common due to the safety procedures our Family Ministry Environments have in place. They issue a 2-minute lockdown to locate the child. If they child is not found within their environment in those 2-minutes, then we transition to a church-wide search for the child. 

Each Guest Services Team has designated areas to search:

  • Parking Team: All men’s restrooms 

  • Wagon Team: Parking lot entrances near Waumba Land North & Waumba Land South

  • First-Time Team: All women’s restrooms

  • Greeter Team: All hallways and rooms in hallways (Store Room, Nursing Mother’s Room, etc.)

  • Usher Team: Auditorium 

  • Concierge Team: The Gallery

If you do not find the child, you will report on radio and say “LOCATION (blank) is ALL CLEAR”  

If we are in a campus wide lockdown, it is imperative that anyone who is assigned to an exterior door STAYS at the door and makes sure no one leaves until the child has been located. 

If the child is not found within the church, we will secure the parking lot and make sure no vehicle exits the property until the child is safely found.

It’s likely as a Guest Services team member, you’ll encounter an upset parent looking for their child. In this instance, we have some important safety measures to follow:

  1. SWITCH to channel #1, the Emergency Channel on your radio to report a child is missing

  2. IDENTIFY yourself (“NAME with Guest services to Emergency Staff Responder”)

  3. PAUSE - wait for a response on other end

  4. DESCRIBE

    • Give specific location you are with parent

    • Give description of child (gender, approximate age, clothing, where they were last seen

  5. REMAIN with the parent until Medical Personnel arrive

inclement weather

In the event of a tornado warning or severe weather, you should direct guests to move to the Auditorium or interior parts of the building, away from windows or glass.

An emergency announcement will play: “Attention! Attention! A severe weather alert has been issued. Please move to an interior room and wait for the all clear notification.”

Backpack Policy

As an organization, we have a backpack policy that states a backpack cannot be brought into the Auditorium. This helps ensure the safety of our guests. That said, we also have a no-search policy so we will not search a bag even if a guest requests this.

Please be scanning for backpacks on Sundays in the parking lot and hallways. If you encounter a guest with a backpack, please politely explain that we do not allow backpacks into the auditorium for the safety of our guests. If you are uncomfortable with this conversation, or met with resistance, please notify your Team Leader or Guest Services Staff.

Note: Occasionally a “backpack” is actually a diaper bag. Please use your best discretion in having this conversation. You can always tell a mom that there is the option to leave her diaper bag in Waumba Land. That said, she might also use the bag as a purse, so we are willing to make an exception for the morning but explain in the future, it’s preferred to leave the diaper bag in their vehicle.

THANK YOU

You’re playing a vital role in creating a remarkable and safe experience for our guests. Thank you!