A small church or community group sits in an odd spot for comms planning, bigger than a family, without the formal structure of ARES or RACES, and made up of people with wildly different levels of interest in radio as a hobby. The plan has to be simple enough that nobody feels like they signed up for more than they meant to.
A Congregation Is Not a Family, But It’s Not ARES Either
Do not try to import a formal EmComm structure, covered in ARES vs. RACES, wholesale onto a volunteer community group. That level of structure assumes trained, committed operators, which is rarely what a church group actually has on hand.
Pick a Frequency and a Point of Contact
One agreed-upon GMRS or ham simplex frequency and one designated point of contact, usually whoever in the group already holds a license or owns a radio, covers the actual need without requiring a formal net structure or a chain of command nobody asked for.
Use Existing Gathering Times as Practice
Rather than scheduling a separate drill nobody attends, do a brief radio check during a time the group already gathers, right before or after a regular meeting. This mirrors the same low-friction approach I cover for running a net, borrowed time is far more reliable than asking for new commitment.
Keep the Ask Small
Most people in a church or community group are not going to buy a radio, learn a license, or commit real time to this, and that is fine. Ask for the minimum: know the frequency, know who to contact, and know that a radio exists as a fallback if phones go down. A small, actually-adopted plan beats an ambitious one nobody follows.
For the fuller picture on building real emergency communications capability, see my Emergency Communications and Preparedness pillar page.