Conducting Tabletop Exercises for Your Team

Low-stress practice for emergency planning

Estimated Read Time: 5 minutes

Why Tabletop Exercises Matter

Not every emergency drill needs to involve full-scale movement or live scenarios. Tabletop exercises are a low-stress way to bring your safety team together to walk through how they would handle different emergencies. They build confidence, clarify responsibilities, and reveal gaps in your plan—all without leaving the meeting room.
Think of them as a rehearsal for your decision-making process.

Step 1: Choose Your Scenario

Select a scenario that is relevant to your church’s risk profile. Examples include:

• A fire starting in the kitchen during a fellowship meal.
• Severe weather forcing an evacuation to a safe area.
• A child reported missing during Sabbath School.
• A medical emergency during the worship service.

Step 2: Define the Objectives

Before you begin, clarify what you want to achieve. Are you testing communication flow? Decision-making speed? Coordination between ministries? Make sure everyone understands the focus.

Need ideas? Download our free resource, Tabletop Planning Objectives Starter List. It’s not exhaustive, but it’s a helpful guide to spark ideas and get your team thinking about what to include in your exercise.

Step 3: Walk Through the Scenario Step-by-Step

Assign a facilitator to describe the situation and prompt the team with questions:

• What would you do first?
• Who needs to be notified?
• What resources are available?
• How do you ensure the safety of all attendees?

Encourage each person to speak from their assigned role—ushers, greeters, safety officer, children’s ministry leader, etc.

Step 4: Identify Strengths and Weaknesses

After discussing the response, highlight what worked well and what needs improvement. Use a whiteboard or shared document to capture notes in real time.

Step 5: Assign Follow-Up Tasks

Any identified gaps should have an assigned owner and deadline. This ensures that insights from the tabletop exercise lead to tangible improvements.

Pro Tips for Success

•    Keep it realistic but not overwhelming.
•    Use visuals like maps or floor plans.
•    Rotate scenarios so your team gains experience across different types of emergencies.
•    Include new volunteers to help them understand their role before a real drill.
 

Final Encouragement

Tabletop exercises are an easy, cost-effective way to keep your team sharp and ready. By practicing decision-making in a controlled environment, you build a stronger foundation for real-world response.

Next Step: Schedule your first tabletop exercise within the next month and choose a scenario from your church’s top risks.