Church Security and Safety Issues Are A Growing Concern. Developing A Church Security Ministry Can Help You.
Every Church Has Specific Security and Safety Needs-Join CSA Today And Connect With Others Who Can Help You.
The Church Security Alliance is an online community of pastors and laymen and women who have a shared concern for the safety and well-being of their congregation.
When you sign up to be a member, you have access to training videos, podcasts, articles, newsfeeds, forums, and more. We recognize every church has different needs dependent upon location and size, and a cookie-cutter solution isn't what you need. Church Security Alliance exists to help regular folks develop church security and safety plans to help you protect your church, to stay informed regarding church security incidents throughout the world.
The small investment to join Church Security Alliance is $19.99 per year. Your membership gives you full member privileges with complete access to the website, and you are given special discounts on products.
It is human nature to wait for something bad to happen. Churches today have been devastated by violence. The unthinkable occurs on a regular basis.
What church security information are you searching for? The task can be intimidating, but we want to help you find the right resources, connect with like-minded people, and reduce your church's risk of liability.
If you have found this site out of a real need to provide security for your church, you will not be sorry if you join. We have been working hard to create a place for those already on a church security team, or those searching for the best information in order to get a team going.
Behind the walls of this website is a knowledge base on church security, safety, defensive tactics, team building, and more. Your low cost membership enables us to share this information with churches throughout the world, and helps build a community of men and women who want to help protect their fellow church members. Join today and gain immediate access to the security information, sharpen your skills, and contribute to our community. We look forward to getting to know you.
Featured Resources
- Basics Of Church Security - New Manual Tells You How to Get Started.
"Help! My Pastor Wants Me To Start A Security Ministry and I Don't Know Where to Begin!"
Want to begin a church security ministry, but find yourself overwhelmed by the task? Are you overwhelmed by the thought of organizing a safety team? This "How to Get Started" Guide takes you by the hand and explains everything your church should consider when planning for church security and safety. Where to start, what to do, who to talk with, how to train and much more are explained in 100+ page guide that answers your church security questions.Read More»- Easy Church Security Manual
"Finally, A Church Security Kit That Takes Away The Guess Work and Saves You Precious Time."
If you are looking for an instant policy manual, a dozen incident reporting forms, and a presentation for church management, then your search is over. This one CD will save you months of planning, meeting, and hours of time. Get your program rolling in under 60 minutes... Read More»- Church Data Security for Today's Church
Church Data Security: Protecting Your Church Computers
The cyber world is becoming a more dangerous place to be. Whether your church is using social utilities like Twitter or Facebook, your church needs protection. Just as in the physical world, cyber space possesses unique dangers.Read More»- Church Security Use of Force Liability Reduction DVD
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The risk of using force in a church security operation is a great source of potential liability for any church. Recent events involving church related shootings, robberies, burglaries, and attacks have churches scrambling to place competent security in place using volunteers. The church security training DVD helps your team know how to protect themselves, while reducing your church's liability.
- What Can your Church Security Team Legally Do?
One of the concerns that many churches have when they look at establishing a Safety or Security Team is what are they legally permitted to do? Putting aside the well known separation of church and state limitations that exist, we all know that churches are required to follow both state and federal guidelines on many issues such as fire codes, employment regulations, food preparation standards, etc. When we look at the legal requirements, trying to understand what regulations apply to a church security team can be a very taxing experience. Adding to the situation is the fact that the laws and regulations in two neighboring states can be vastly different. Some states have minimal regulations while others are very extensive. In some states a church team must be a “Safety Team” not a “Security Team”. Finally, being “paid” verses “volunteer” can also determine what regulation you operate under. To help understand the process that your church will need to embark on, I reviewed the regulations for private security for Ohio. The journey to try to understand the regulations for our state lead me to contact the Ohio Department of Public Safety as detailed below.
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Latest Resources
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Gunman opens fire during San Francisco Bay area church service, wounds 2 teens
RICHMOND, Calif. - Feb 14, 2010
A man wearing a hooded sweatshirt walked into a San Francisco Bay area church and opened fire during a Sunday service, wounding two teenagers, police said.
Two other men — also wearing hooded sweatshirts — were with the gunman when the shooting took place at about 12:30 p.m. in front of about 100 people at New Gethsemane Church in Christ, Richmond police Sgt. Bisa French said.
The men walked up and down the aisles with their hoods over their heads before the gunman fired at the teens sitting in the pews, witnesses said. Charles Miller, a 64-year-old deacon at the church, said members of the congregation were about to tell the men to take off their hoods when the shooting began.
“I was listening to the choir and all of a sudden there was a ‘pop pop pop pop pop,”‘ Miller told the San Francisco Chronicle. “Everyone hit the floor. I didn’t know the shooting was inside the church at first, until I heard all of the hollering and screaming.”
A 14-year-old boy was hit in the shoulder and a 19-year-old man was struck in the leg, French said. Both victims, whose names haven’t been released, were hospitalized and were expected to survive. There were no other injuries.
The three men fled and no suspects have been arrested, French said.
“It’s terrible when you come to the house of the Lord and start doing this,” Miller said. “It’s just something you don’t do.”
Investigators believe the men were targeting someone in the church but don’t know if the two who were hit were the intended targets, French said.
“If it wasn’t the victims that were hit, it was somebody near them,” she said.
French said investigators were interviewing witnesses to see if anyone recognized the men.
A handful of congregants returned to the church after police processed the crime scene and finished the service.
“We went on and had church anyway,” Miller told the Chronicle. “We were giving thanks that nobody was killed. We wanted to go and serve the Lord anyway.”
Richmond is an East Bay city of about 100,000 people north of Oakland and Berkeley.
The city has garnered national attention because of the alleged gang rape by seven people of a 16-year-old girl outside an October homecoming dance at Richmond High School.
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Church shooting suspect in court Woman, 80, shot at church - Jan , 2010
Here is some additional information on a recent chruch shooting that happened in Youngstown, Ohio.
YOUNGSTOWN - Bond for murder suspect Jamar “Mook” Houser was set at $3 million Monday morning following a video arraignment in Youngstown Municipal Court.
Meanwhile, the man charged with murdering the 80-year-old church parishioner has two other trials pending in county and municipal courts. The city prosecutor’s office states that Houser, 18, of Volney Road, also had a “substantial” juvenile record.
Someone speaking for Houser via the video link asked that Judge Robert Milich set “a reasonable bond.” Houser told the judge he was unable to afford an attorney and requested a public defender.
“No,” Houser told the judge when he asked if he could hire his own counsel. “My parents take care of me.”
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Our Body’s Response To Stress and Tactical Breathing
When a person experiences stress, the body has a normal physiological response. Understanding how to control these responses is critical because a lack of understanding can result in injury to you, to the person you are dealing with, and it can render you useless during a critical event.
In the video below, I discuss what exactly you body experiences, and how to control it so you respond better.
Need church security training material? Check out the Church Security Store.
Join Church Security Alliance Today
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Church Security Use of Force: Your Voice Is A Weapon
In this ten minute video, Glen Evans, Church Security Alliance, discusses the use of force and using verbal skills to de-escalate a situation, when appropriate. In addition to verbal skills, Glen talks about proper body stance, hand placement, and approach of someone causing a disturbance.
This seminar was conducted for a civilian security force that wears uniforms, however it is very applicable to everyone involved in providing security services, including you.
If you are interested in hiring CSA to host a use of force seminar in your area, simply click here to contact us after watching the video. We provide on-site seminars on verbal communication, use of force liability reduction, weapons training, and rapid response to lethal threats. Training is the key to reducing legal liability through education and proper use of techniques.
Enjoy the video!
We also provide materials so you can provide training for your team. Click here to go to our store
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Priest arrested in Brunswick County, charged with sexual offenses
Authorities with the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office have arrested a 47-year-old priest for sexual offenses, said Marty Folding, public affairs officer with the department.
Father Edgar Sepulveda was charged with one count of second degree sexual offense and one count of sexual battery. The victim is a juvenile male, Folding said.
Sepulveda, who is part of the Raleigh Diocese of North Carolina and a St. Beulaville, N.C., resident, was visiting church members in Brunswick County in May when the offenses occurred, Folding said.
Read More»Sepulveda has been placed under a $100,000 secured bond.
He is the pastor of Maria Reina de las Americas Parish in Mount Olive, N.C., and a supervising pastor of Mission Parish of Santa Clara in Magnolia, N.C., according to the Catholic Diocese of Raleigh Web site.
The Most Rev. Michael F. Burbidge, Bishop of Raleigh, announced Friday that he has suspended the priestly faculty of Sepulveda.
The diocese announced in September that Sepulveda had been placed on administrative leave after receiving an allegation of sexual abuse. Church officials said at the time that an investigation was being pursued.
The diocese said that a criminal background check was completed prior to Sepulveda’s first appointment in the diocese in 2004 and a second background check was completed prior to his incardination in the diocese in 2006. Both background checks, the diocese said, displayed no criminal record.
More information will be posted as it becomes available.
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NC Church Robbed at Gunpoint Jan 2010
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http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/264488.html
The Associated Press
STATESVILLE, N.C. — Authorities say a masked man walked into a North Carolina church, demanding money then kidnapping two women after finding out the church safe was empty.
Police told multiple media outlets the man let the women go unhurt after using their ATM cards to get money during the Thursday afternoon robbery.
The Rev. Donald Shuman says the suspect was wearing a ski mask and gloves when he came to Broad Street United Methodist Church in Statesville, sticking a gun in the face of the church’s receptionist and business manager.
Police say the women did what the robber demanded, begging him to not harm them.
A surveillance camera at one of the ATMs got a picture of the suspect, who investigators have not identified.
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The Northwest Flight 253 Terrorist Attack and Church Security
On Christmas Day, a terrorist attempted to blow up an airplane as it approached the Detroit airport.
A Nigerian terrorist has been able to hide explosive chemicals on his body and was attempting to combine them when a fire broke out instead of an explosion.
Dutch tourist Jasper Schuringa, saw what was going on, and took immediate action. The interview with him shows why this man is being called a hero, while the other 200 passengers sat idly by and watched him leap into action.
Why did hundreds watch the drama and fail to intervene while Shuringa is being hailed a hero?
1. The By-stander Effect.
Television has made it normal to be a voyeur. We see shows like World’s Scariest Videos, Cops, and videos on You Tube that have desensitized us to the reality that violence occurs. It happens on a regular basis, but as we watch those shows or videos we are entranced by the violence, and conditioned to stand by and watch, as opposed to doing something.
2. The Belief It Cannot Happen Here And It Cannot Happen To Me.
Human beings abhor violence. It is against the nature of most people to be violent, and it is repulsive to take part in it. With this in mind, when people see a video of violence, they secretly say to themselves, “Thank God it is happening to them and not to me.”
Those who become heroes have said to themselves, “It can happen here, it can happen to me, and by God’s help, I have the power to stop it.”
When potential heroes take this stance, they have already cleared the hurdle of denial that wastes precious time in a scenario. Denial robs us of response time, and critical seconds to stop a violent action.
Had Shuringa waited just a minute, flames would have engulfed the plane, and hundreds would have perished in a terrible death.
3. Mental Planning
Once a person has agreed bad things can happen to them, and that they are likely to observe it someday, they begin mentally preparing for that eventuality.
Most of the passengers on the plane boarded the plane and only had a passing thought of terrorism. Shuringa most likely boarded the plane, scanned the passengers and identified those he thought had the potential to be a terrorist. He most likely had already worked out a plan if he spotted suspicious behavior, and made a note to enact the plan if something happened.
This saved precious life saving seconds off his response time. He attacked the problem when he saw it and remained calm during the execution of his plan.
Pre-planning is the key between disaster and death and calmness and life.
The vast majority of people in the world do not want to be a hero, avoid violence, and will simply watch when bad things happen.
Thankfully, Dutch tourist Jasper Schuringa was not one of those people. He thought about it in advance, he mentally rehearsed what he would do, and in the moment of truth, he reacted and saved lives.
Training, even if it is mental training, is a powerful weapon in stopping violence against you, your church, or your family.
Need help with training? Visit our online store for videos and manuals.
Stay Safe,
Glen Evans
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Salvation Army Employee Shot and Killed
Little Rock, Arkansas-I am sorry to report a Salvation Army employee, Phillip Wise, was murdered on Christmas Eve while dropping off donations at the local Salvation Army office.
You can read the full story here.
Mr. Wise was robbed at gun point and shot while his children watched.
CSA was notified by member Dan G, a friend of Mr. Wise. Please pray for his family and friends.
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New articles
Archbishop of Mosul Laments Attack on Church
Church attacked after Sunday Mass
Armed Attack Attempt On Protestant Church In Ankara
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Church Background Checks
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