Risk #3: Reputation Risk: An Overview

Reputation risk can be tricky for any organization. It essentially examines the uncertainty surrounding how much the general public trusts an org, and what the general perception of that institute is. There are few businesses that can thrive despite strong public disapproval (one may think that energy companies are the exception to this rule), which makes a positive reputation crucial to the survival of any company. For churches--whose ultimate goal is to minister to those outside its doors--a negative image can be devastating.

Building and maintaining a good reputation in the community is challenging enough, but churches these days seem to have the deck stacked against them. There is a growing distrust of organized religion in North America, and a rise in people identifying as irreligious. Those outside the church frequently view it as being narrow-minded, homophobic and too involved in politics; without the amount of media attention given to "religious leaders" who sound more like political pundits, this is hardly a surprise. On top of all that, hardly a week goes by without a story breaking about a scandal in the church, or a viral video of a crazed pastor calling for the death of a minority group, or a secularism advocate condemning the general church in the harshest of terms. The end result is a society that looks at the church uneasily and keeps its distance whenever it can.

This, of course, is unfair to individual churches and their congregations, who get a completely inaccurate perception cast upon them due to the actions of a few people who could be as far away as the other side of the world. Unfair as it may be, it's nevertheless an unfortunate reality, one that churches need to be aware of.
Then there are the reputation risks that individual churches are in control of. Members and leaders should be asking themselves how they are viewed within their community, and should be taking into account their outside perception when making decisions. Projects like church renovations, meetings and parties, and third-party rentals can all have an effect on the surrounding area; if done without consideration for neighbours, they can create a backlash against the church.

At the same time, there is great upside to reputation risk. Since the church is meant to be a light in a world of darkness, there is incredible opportunity to build bridges and form relationships with those in the community. When a church's outreach is focused on being a beacon to those around it, and when its acts mirror those of Jesus and the early Christians, it will undoubtedly gain a reputation as being a place for joy and celebration, as well as care and healing. While the general outsider perception of churches may be of distrust and skepticism, a taking into account of reputation risk can open a church's doors wider than ever before.