We have all been there. The massive dark cloud appears in the west and is moving quickly towards town. You can feel the knot in your stomach as the storm is headed your way. It's a Texas rite of passage.
Pastor Allen was sitting in his Waco office and could see the line of storms coming from the west. And then his phone started making the noise from the weather alert just before the sirens went off. He headed for the interior room without windows.
Thirty minutes later after the storm had blown over as all fast moving supercells do, he walked out to check the exterior of the building. The church looked good from the ground. They had a few missing shingles, but nothing looked urgent.
When their roofing contractor climbed up to take a closer look the next afternoon, his tone changed. Up close, the entire roof needed to be replaced. There was enough damage that another storm like this one and they could end up with holes big enough for water to pour straight into the sanctuary.
The church needed to act quickly or risk major interior damage. That is when they called the insurance company to open the hail damage claim. That's where the storm went wrong.
After sending the inspector from the insurance company, the claims desk adjuster began walking him through the details of the policy. You know, the details no one ever pays attention to until it is too late.
That’s when Allen discovered that his hail deductible was much higher than he thought. And because his roof was more than ten years old, the policy paid based on actual cash value, not replacement cost. By the time depreciation and the deductible were subtracted, the insurance payout would not come close to covering the cost of a new roof.
This shifted the church from trying to determine when to schedule the work to doing fundraisers to cover the shortfall. They discovered the difference between being wishful thinkers and reality respecters.
What It Means to Be a Reality Respecter
That simple statement captures what too many churches forget. Reality is not our enemy. It is our teacher.
Being a reality respecter doesn’t mean being negative or living in fear. It means acknowledging that storms, accidents, and lawsuits happen in Texas whether we expect them or not.
Insurance doesn’t eliminate risk, but it allows your church to stand when the storm comes. Respecting reality means protecting your ministry before it’s tested, not after it’s torn apart.
Texas churches are often optimistic by nature. We believe God will provide. And He does. But stewardship is part of that provision. God gives us the wisdom to prepare, to anticipate risk, and to act responsibly with what He has entrusted to us.
When we ignore that reality, we stop respecting the truth of how life works in our part of the world. That’s how churches get caught off guard when the roof fails, the wind howls, or the lawsuit arrives.
The Reality of Texas Weather
No matter where you are in Texas, your church faces weather that can change everything in a single afternoon. The storms that roll through our state are not small inconveniences. They are destructive forces that test both structures and budgets.
Hail the size of golf balls can rip through shingles and siding in the Panhandle. Straight-line winds in North Texas can tear apart steeples and knock down fences. Along the Gulf Coast, hurricanes can flood entire sanctuaries.
These are not hypothetical risks. They are annual realities. Yet many churches still carry property insurance that does not truly protect them from a severe event.
- Roof age matters.
- Deductibles matter.
- Coverage types matter.
Pretending otherwise doesn’t make the risk go away. It just delays the day of reckoning. Being a reality respecter means reviewing your insurance coverage before the next storm season begins. It means asking the hard questions now instead of being shocked later when your policy pays less than expected.
The Reality of Fine Print
The church in Waco discovered this the hard way. Their wind and hail deductible was actually larger than they thought. That single line of fine print turned what they thought was a manageable claim into a financial crisis.
On top of that, the roof was covered under actual cash value terms rather than replacement cost. That meant depreciation was subtracted from the payout. A ten-year-old roof may have been in good shape before the storm, but the insurance company valued it as ten years old. That difference cut the payout nearly in half.
Those two details, found deep in the policy paperwork, became the difference between a repaired roof and a fundraising campaign.
True wisdom for Texas churches means taking the time to understand what your policy actually covers. Don’t let fine print decide your future. Ask your agent what type of roof coverage you have. Ask what your deductible amount totals.
If the answers are unclear, it’s time for a second opinion from someone who knows how church insurance works in Texas.
The Reality of Stewardship
Church leaders have to balance faith with practicality. Stewardship is not just about saving money. It’s about managing risk with the same care you give to every other part of ministry.
Many boards are rightly concerned about the percentage of their budgets being allocated to insurance today. Some have even considered not carrying property insurance due to the high cost. This might work for a day, a month, or a year. But we all know that storms come.
Stewardship means understanding the total cost of risk. The Total Cost Of Risk is not just your premium, but also includes your deductible, your coverage limitations, and how your policy actually responds in a real claim. That is how much money you truly have at risk at any time.
Being a reality respecter is not about fear. It’s about maturity. It’s about acknowledging that storms come, lawsuits happen, and pipes burst. Pretending those things won’t happen doesn’t make you faithful. It makes you unprepared.
The Reality of Wisdom
When Pastor Allen shared his experience with other ministers in his network, one of them nodded and said, “Brother, you don’t know what you don’t know until the insurance company tells you.”
That comment may sound cynical, but it is true for far too many churches. The difference between wisdom and regret often comes down to one conversation before the claim, not after it.
True wisdom is seeing reality for what it is and preparing accordingly. It is knowing that we cannot control the weather, the economy, or the actions of others. But we can control how ready we are when life happens.
The Reality Of The Promise Of Certainty
Pastor Allen’s church eventually replaced their roof. It took time, extra offerings, and help from their community. But they made a decision that day to change how they looked at insurance. They stopped guessing and started asking questions. They sought The Promise Of Certainty.
That’s the heart of being a reality respecter.
Your church doesn’t need to fear the next storm. You just need to prepare for it with eyes open and coverage that makes sense for your ministry, your buildings, and your budget.
That’s why we built True Texas Church Insurance. We help Texas churches understand their real risks, structure coverage that works when claims arrive, and make sure you can focus on your congregation instead of your deductible.
Because when the storm hits, the goal is not to make a lawyer or roofer rich. The goal is to protect your ministry and keep the doors open for worship the next Sunday morning.
Click the button below to make sure your insurance respects reality before reality forces you to.