Churches can support law enforcement officers

RIDGECREST, N.C. (BP)--Law enforcement officers are members of the police department, sheriff’s office and the FBI. They are school resource officers and in the military. What can a local church do for these men and women who protect us?

Suggestions drawn from the recent Ridgecrest Law Enforcement Summit include:

1. Sponsor an officer and spouse for the 2006 Law Enforcement Summit at LifeWay Ridgecrest Conference Center. If you don’t have an officer in your church, there are other ways to help:

-- Offer to sponsor an officer and spouse from another church.

-- Contact the head of your local law enforcement agency and offer to sponsor an officer and spouse.

-- Contact Ron Pratt at ron.pratt@lifeway.com and donate money to pay the fees for an officer and spouse who might otherwise not get to attend.

2. Honor local law enforcement officers with a special time of recognition in a worship service.

3. Pray for law enforcement officers -- for their safety, health, courage and character. Pray for their families. Find out specific requests and pray for those.

4. Support a chaplain. Officers need the special ministry a chaplain provides, but many smaller law enforcement agencies don’t have chaplains. A group of churches can pool resources and support a fulltime chaplain or pay for training for an existing chaplain.

The next Ridgecrest Law Enforcement Summit will be Oct. 3-5, 2006. For more information, go to www.lifeway.com/ridgecrest.

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