Spring and Summer Stewardship: A Kentucky Pastor’s Guide to Protecting the Whole Church
By Adam Sheridan, Reed Brothers Insurance — Somerset, Kentucky Last updated: Spring 2026
Key Takeaways
- Storm prep is the foundation of Kentucky church safety in spring. Walk every roof, clean gutters, trim trees within 10 feet of the rooflines, and date-stamp photos before storms hit.
- Humidity above 60% damages floors, organs, and historic records. Run commercial dehumidifiers and cool the building the night before major events.
- VBS is the highest-risk week of the church year. Run current background checks on every volunteer, document the two-adult rule, and maintain 12 inches of mulch under playground equipment.
- Church kitchens now function like restaurants. Hood vents need professional cleaning on a documented schedule.
- Coverage limits should match 2026 rebuild costs, not 2019. Kentucky construction has risen sharply; under-insured churches cannot rebuild after a total loss.
Spring and summer are when a Kentucky church is busiest, fullest, and most exposed. Storms roll up the Cumberland in April. Humidity climbs into the nineties by June. VBS brings two hundred children onto a property built for sixty. Weddings, graduations, funerals, and revivals fill every corner of the calendar. More activity, more weather, more risk.
The good news: most of the claims I see are preventable. Below is the church property maintenance checklist I’d walk through with your trustees this month — a practical Kentucky church safety guide, room by room, before Memorial Day weekend — followed by answers to the questions Kentucky pastors ask me most often.
I’m Adam Sheridan with Reed Brothers Insurance. We write church coverage across Kentucky — from country congregations meeting in a single white-frame building outside Somerset to multi-campus ministries in Lexington with a staff of forty and a fleet of buses. Whatever shape your ministry takes, the season we’re heading into matters.
Kentucky Church Safety Starts with the Roof: How to Prepare for Spring Storms
The biggest spring storm risks for Kentucky churches are wind, hail, and falling tree limbs — and most of the damage I see is preventable with a pre-season inspection. Kentucky’s spring storm season is the single largest property exposure on most church policies. Hail in Bowling Green, straight-line winds in London, the occasional tornado anywhere west of I-75. Your building doesn’t have to be in the bullseye to take damage — a forty-mile-per-hour gust will peel back loose shingles three counties away from the worst of it.
Before storm season peaks:
- Walk every roof on the property. The sanctuary, the fellowship hall, the education wing — they’re usually different ages with different vulnerabilities. Look for curled or missing shingles, lifted flashing, and any place water could find its way in.
- Clean every gutter and downspout. Clogged gutters back water into soffits, then into drywall, then into a claim.
- Trim any tree limb within ten feet of a roofline. Dead branches are the leading cause of summer wind damage I see.
- Document everything with date-stamped phone photos. If you do take damage later, that pre-loss record is gold during a claim.
- Check your lightning protection if you have a steeple. Kentucky averages thirty thunderstorm days a year, and a strike on an unprotected steeple can run well into six figures.
Why Does Summer Humidity Cause Slip-and-Fall Claims at Kentucky Churches?
Summer humidity makes cool interior floors “sweat” — a thin film of condensation forms when warm wet air meets a cold tile or concrete surface, creating an invisible slip hazard. This is one of the most common and most expensive summer losses I see on church policies. A broken hip on a seventy-five-year-old member can settle into the six figures before the case closes.
Humidity damages more than floors:
- Pipe organs and pianos go out of tune fast and can suffer permanent damage above 60% relative humidity.
- Hymnals, Bibles, and historic records mildew in storage closets.
- Drywall in basements blooms with mold that you don’t smell for weeks.
Run commercial-grade dehumidifiers in the fellowship hall and any basement spaces. Cool the building down the night before a major event, not the morning of — you want the slab cold when guests arrive. Keep two wet-floor signs near every fellowship-hall entrance and train your hospitality team to set them out automatically when the dew point climbs.
Kentucky Church Safety During VBS: What Are the Biggest Risks?
VBS is the highest-operational-risk week of the church year because you’re hosting unfamiliar children, supervised by occasional volunteers, in spaces handling unusual foot traffic. Every part of that sentence is an underwriting concern.
Here’s what every Kentucky church should have in place before VBS week:
Background checks on every volunteer:
Every single one. The grandmother running registration, the teenager helping with crafts, the husband who only stops by to grill hot dogs Friday night. Recent screenings, not the ones you ran four years ago. Most carriers now expect documented background checks on anyone with access to children, and a missing screening can complicate a claim.
The two-adult rule, in writing and enforced:
No volunteer is ever alone with a child — not in a classroom, not on a bathroom trip, not in a hallway, not in a car. Two unrelated adults, every time, no exceptions. This is the single most important abuse-prevention practice a church can adopt. It protects children, and it protects the innocent volunteers who would otherwise have no witness if an accusation is ever made.
Playground inspection:
Maintain at least twelve inches of mulch or engineered wood fiber under any equipment a child can fall from. Check for sharp edges, missing bolt caps, and S-hooks that opened up over the winter. Trim back any landscaping that blocks adult sightlines to the play area.
A check-in and check-out process:
Wristbands, sign-in sheets, matched-tag pickup — whatever system fits your size. The point is that no child leaves with anyone other than the adult who brought them. Custody situations can turn ugly fast at churches without a documented process.
Allergies and food:
Collect an allergy form from every parent at registration. Post it in the kitchen. Train the snack volunteers. Peanut and tree-nut allergies are common enough now that you should assume one is coming through your door.
Heat and hydration:
Kentucky July hits ninety-five degrees with eighty-percent humidity. Outdoor games need water breaks every twenty minutes, shade, and a volunteer watching for kids who look flushed or quiet. Heat stroke in children moves fast.
Transportation:
If you’re busing kids to VBS, your driver needs the right license endorsement, your van needs a current inspection, and your route needs to be planned. Auto claims involving children are the kind of loss no church wants to face.
How Often Should a Church Kitchen Hood Vent Be Cleaned?
Most commercial church kitchens should have their hood vent professionally cleaned every six to twelve months, depending on use — and the receipt should be kept on file as documentation for your insurer. Between VBS snacks, wedding receptions, funeral meals, and Wednesday-night dinners, most Kentucky church kitchens are running like small restaurants. Few are maintained like one.
Before summer events ramp up:
- Get the hood vent professionally cleaned and keep the receipt. Grease fires are a real underwriting concern, and documentation matters.
- Plug a temperature alarm into the refrigerator. A power blip during a Tuesday thunderstorm can spoil a fridge full of donated casseroles by Sunday morning.
- Check the fire extinguishers and make sure the kitchen volunteers know where they are and how to use them.
What Should a Church Do About Overgrown Landscaping in Summer?
Trim shrubs and tree limbs back to maintain clear sightlines from the road, from the building, and across the parking lot — overgrowth creates both visibility hazards and hiding places for unwanted activity. Summer growth is beautiful and dangerous in equal measure.
Make sure exterior lights are working — a burned-out bulb over the side door is the kind of thing nobody notices until a claim makes it relevant. Walk the parking lot for cracks and trip hazards while you’re at it. Asphalt that’s fine for a Sunday-morning crowd becomes a hazard at a wedding reception when half the guests are in heels and the lighting is dim.
A Word on Stewardship
“When the amount had been determined, they gave the money to the men appointed to supervise the work on the temple.” — 2 Kings 12:11
Stewardship of the building is stewardship of the ministry. Every dollar your church doesn’t spend on an avoidable claim is a dollar you spend on the people God sent you to serve.
Five Kentucky Church Safety Questions for Your Next Board Meeting
- Storm prep. Who walks the roofs and trims the trees, and by what date?
- Humidity control. Are dehumidifiers in place in the fellowship hall and any basement spaces?
- VBS readiness. Are background checks current on every summer volunteer, and is the two-adult rule documented?
- Kitchen safety. When was the hood vent last cleaned, and is the fire extinguisher current?
- Coverage review. Have your limits kept up with what it would actually cost to rebuild today?
Frequently Asked Questions
What does church property insurance cover in Kentucky?
A typical Kentucky church property policy covers the building, contents, and often outdoor structures against perils like fire, wind, hail, lightning, theft, and certain water damage. Coverage details vary by carrier and policy form. Liability, abuse and molestation coverage, workers’ compensation, and commercial auto are generally written separately.
Do church volunteers need background checks?
Yes. Most insurance carriers now expect documented background checks on any volunteer with access to children, youth, or vulnerable adults — including short-term volunteers at VBS. A missing or outdated screening can complicate a claim if an incident occurs.
How much mulch is required under church playground equipment?
The widely accepted standard is a minimum of twelve inches of loose-fill material — wood mulch, engineered wood fiber, or rubber mulch — under and around any equipment a child can fall from. The cushioning extends at least six feet beyond the equipment in all directions.
What is the two-adult rule in children’s ministry?
The two-adult rule means no single volunteer is ever alone with a child during any church activity. Two unrelated adults must always be present — in classrooms, on bathroom trips, in hallways, and in vehicles. It is the single most effective abuse-prevention practice a church can adopt.
Is my church under-insured?
Possibly. Kentucky construction costs have risen significantly since 2019. A church insured at 2019 replacement cost likely cannot rebuild at 2026 prices. An annual coverage review with a church-insurance specialist is the simplest way to confirm your limits match current rebuild costs.
How can I get a quote on church insurance in Kentucky?
Visit KentuckyChurchInsurance.com or call the Reed Brothers Insurance Somerset office. We’ve specialized in Kentucky church safety and coverage for congregations of every size, including those in Somerset, Lexington, London, and Bowling Green.
About the Author
Adam Sheridan is an insurance agent with Reed Brothers Insurance in Somerset, Kentucky, specializing in Kentucky church safety and ministry coverage. He builds insurance programs for Kentucky congregations ranging from small country churches to large multi-campus ministries with staff, fleets, and school operations. Learn more at KentuckyChurchInsurance.com.
Legal Disclaimer: Coverage availability, limits, and eligibility vary by insurer and are subject to underwriting. This article provides general information for Kentucky churches and isn’t legal or insurance advice. Always refer to your policy documents for the terms of your specific coverage.
