Here is an article written by Don Knox, a new member here at Church Security member. This was published in The Net – A St. Pauls Church Publication. I believe that it has a number of excellent thoughts for us in today’s times. Jack
by Don Knox
Acts 20:28-31 “Keep watch over yourselves and all the
flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.
Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with
his own blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves
will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even
from your own number men will arise and distort the
truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on
your guard!”
Safety and security at churches and other houses of worship
has become an increasingly important issue in recent years.
There have been a number of examples of church security
incidents and shootings in the last year that underscore the
importance of security while at a house of worship. Some of
these incidents include:
• November 1, 2008, Covington, KY: Fredrick L David
was charged with murder after fatally shooting Reverend
Donald Fairbanks. He was attending a funeral at the
Ninth Street Baptist Church.
• July 27, 2008, Knoxville, TN: Jim David Adkinson
walked into the sanctuary of Tennessee Valley
Unitarian Universalist Church during a children’s
musical performance and shot 2 people. 7 others were
shot before members overpowered him.
• May 17, 2008, Los Angeles, CA: Fernando Diaz was
arrested after opening fire with a rifle at a festival outside
of St. John Baptist de la Salle Parish wounding 3. His
son attended school at the church.
• December 9, 2007, Arvada and Colorado Springs,
CO: Mathew Murray killed 2 and wounded 2 others
at the Youth With a Mission Center near Denver before
killing 2 teens and their father near Colorado Springs’
New Life Church 12 hours later. A volunteer church
security officer wounded Murray before he took his
own life.
• August 12, 2007, Neosho, MO: Eiken Elam
Saimon, took members of his Micronesian,
First Congregational Church hostage duringservice killing his pastor and 2 other church
members before police convinced him to surrender.
• May 20, 2007, Moscow, Idaho: A standoff between
police and a suspect in the shootings of 3 people at
Presbyterian Church ended with 3 dead, including 1
police officer.
These examples are not meant to frighten you they are
meant to make you more aware and educate you. The
reality is most security incidents at church involve theft and
criminal damage. These crimes are opportunistic and can
be mitigated with the proper security awareness training.
Churches are now starting to take an all hazards risk
management approach to church protection, mitigation
and liability including all aspects of security, safety, fire
protection and emergency management. One of the
risk management strategies that many churches have
implemented, including St Paul, is to form a Security and
Safety Ministry to help provide protection, preparedness
and response services to their congregations.
While St. Paul is not a mega church, we must still be prepared
for the unexpected. As the Unfolding Story campaign
continues and the facility expansion project starts, we
must continue to properly assess our risks We also must
remember that as we continue to acquire additional church
properties, we are moving to a more campus style facility
environment which brings about new issues that must be
properly assessed and mitigated.
The Lord has blessed the members of the Security and
Safety Ministry with the gifts of stewardship as well as the
responsibility of protecting the flock.
Peter 1 5:2 “Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving
as overseers.”
However, certain aspects of church safety
and security are also the responsibility of all members of
the congregation. All members must maintain situational
awareness and be vigilant at church, work and school. All
members must also always be accountable for their own
personal safety and security preparedness.
As we get further away from the events of 9/11, security
awareness has diminished. Remember there is a fine line
between hysteria and awareness. Sometimes church
members have to consider changing their mindset when it
comes to the “It Can’t Happen Here” mentality of church
crime and violence. All members of the congregation should
consider the following church security action items.
• Be aware of your surroundings. Get to know the layout
of the church facility, surrounding church houses,
parking lots and neighborhood. Be on the lookout
for inappropriate conduct and suspicious activities
such as people in unusual areas of the church, normally
unoccupied church houses, or sitting alone in a car
in the church parking lot and surrounding streets. Also,
recognize the potential areas of concern such as the
back parking lot, the balcony or baptistery.
• Know your routines and the routines of others. Be
intentional as you go about your typical church
business, ministry meetings, bible studies, Sunday
schools and worship services. This will help you to learn
the normal routines and activities of church operations
and the church neighborhood. Understanding these
typical routines and patterns will help you to spot
anything out of place.
• Pay attention to what you hear and take it seriously.
If you hear or know of someone who has bragged,
joked or talked about plans to harm members of the
church staff, congregation or themselves in violent
attacks take it seriously and report it. Do not brush it
off or ignore it. Do not assume someone else will or has
already reported it.
Any threat or risk that puts lives in immediate danger is an
emergency and should be reported by calling 9-1-1. Any
other potential or actual safety or security related incidents
or accidents should be reported to a member of the St Paul
Security and Safety Ministry. Always remember that you can
contact any member of the Security and Safety Ministry with
any type of security, safety or risk management question,
concern or service request.
Psalm 122:7 “May there be peace within your walls and
security within your citadels.”
*Don Knox, CPP, CITRMS is the lead servant for the
St Paul Security and Safety Ministry and has been in the
security and law enforcement industry for 18 years.
