Security Detail for Churches

[Edith K. Thurmond]

The First Baptist Church of Dallas, TX was robbed on Thanksgiving Day - even with three security personnel on duty. The following link should give everyone pause, if not already done, to consider what might be appropriate measures to implement at your church. This was a serious robbery. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21950281/

Our church was recently robbed in broad daylight at 4:00 p.m. in the children's beautifully renovated undercroft. All equipment on their stage and things they use for weekly worship and the school were taken - all worth thousands of dollars. The newly installed security cameras with high resolution captured great photos of the man who evidently knew his way around that portion of the building. Our church lets many other groups from the community use our facilities during the week for various meetings (as in AA groups, etc.) and it is surmised that someone who had been to one of them became familiar with what was housed in that section. This will not deter us from continuing to let others use our facilities but will make us more aware that things like this can happen anywhere. Other security measures are being implemented to provide for greater safety and well-being of both people and property.

Just giving you something else to think about, :basic04

[Jim Franklin]

Edith, our church is used 7 days/week but the educational building that is used is completely separate from the sanctuary, office and teen department. Since I am on our board I will bring this to the board's attention.

[Edith K. Thurmond]

Bringing this back up to the top because of the church shootings in Colorado Springs today. If this church had not had a security guard on duty, no doubt more lives would have been lost. Churches, in general, would best be served to give great attention to security procedures and detail.

http://www.9news.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=82473

The large church in Dallas led by Rev. T.D. Jakes presents seminars for churches dealing with ways to implement security measures and personnel in local churches. There are many other sources but I do know that particular church is very serious about its own security and helping other churches do the same.

Prayers for New Life Church and YMAM,

[Linda Bechtold]

They actually upped the security yesterday morning because of the Arvada shooting and it is a good thing they did.

My family (birth mom, step dad, brothers and sister) attend this church.

[Glenda Harvey]

I'm curious about the security personel at the New Life Church in Colorado Springs who shot the shooter. He probably saved some lives by doing so, but isn't unusual for security personel at Church to carry a gun?

[Dana Grant]

I'm curious about the security personel at the New Life Church in Colorado Springs who shot the shooter. He probably saved some lives by doing so, but isn't unusual for security personel at Church to carry a gun?

I don't know many of the specific details regarding this church's regular security, but with a church as large as this one is, about 14,000 membership, I would imagine that it might not be all that unusual to have that type of security present during services.

[BobHunt]

Im not sure if you know, but my wife and I went to a Bible College in downtown Cincinnati. When we first went there, they had a night watchman, but he was unarmed other than a billy club and a phone.
Up on top floor of the ladys dorm was a prayer room. My wife was in there praying late one night and had just returned to her room. Down on the ground level is a laundry room, where all students did their wash. It was an old building with huge windows that werent always very secure. A man crawled thru one of these windows, went up the stairs to third floor after everyone had gone to bed for the night. We were told later that girls heard him (although they didnt realize what was happening at the time) that he went down the hallway of third floor trying all the doors to see if any were unlocked. He found one unlocked and proceeded to do his dirty work on her.
It was a huge shock to campus, as well as to the girl.
From that time on, there was an armed security, amny times an off duty Cincinnati policeman or two. and all the locks were changed and were up to date.
It is so sad that things like this happen, it brings a bad mark on the college, because people think that it isnt very secure.
At first, when I went there, I questioned their choice of building a college right in the middle of Cincinnati, a bad neighborhood, within the downtown area which is mostly slums and red light districts and abandoned homes. Yet during the 60s when they had all those riots and burning buildings, there were many many people from these exact places downtown who came up and gathered around the college to protect it from any danger. It was amazing! The light of the Gospel shines the brightest in the darkness full of sin and heathenism. It was a lesson I learned while I was there. There were 12 inner city missions, of which I worked in one and believe me, Ive seen a lot while there.

[Jim Franklin]

Glenda, according to a report that I read the security person who shot the shooter was a woman with special training who had volunteered to be on guard.

[Thomas Cook]

I'm curious about the security personel at the New Life Church in Colorado Springs who shot the shooter. He probably saved some lives by doing so, but isn't unusual for security personel at Church to carry a gun?

Glenda,
The person who shot the shooter was a female.One source said she was an off duty Officer and another said she was a security guard elsewhere and was volunteering on Sunday.
Under the conditions ,it would not be unusual for a guard to be armed , sad to say these kind of events are increasing.
Tom

[Gord Evans]

This is so foreign (thus far) to me, and to others in our area (rural southern Ontario, Canada) ... we are amazed at the level of and potential for violence in larger metropolitan areas, including our closest "large metropolitan area", Toronto.

When I visited family members currently living in Griffin, GA (pop. ~ 24,000) during the Summer, I was surprised to learn that the pastor of their church has an armed bodyguard. When we attend the Sunday morning service, the bodyguard (ex-police officer) was seated on the platform along with the associate pastors. He was never more than 20 paces from the senior pastor. He was constantly speaking into his left sleeve where a microphone connected him with another half dozen security personnel located in various spots throughout the sanctuary (seats about 2,000).

At the time, it was kind of exciting and even humorous to watch the goings-on of the security personnel ... I mean, what could happen in a church sanctuary on Sunday morning, after all!?

I guess I now know the answer to that question.

[Linda Bechtold]

Glenda,
The person who shot the shooter was a female.One source said she was an off duty Officer and another said she was a security guard elsewhere and was volunteering on Sunday.
Under the conditions ,it would not be unusual for a guard to be armed , sad to say these kind of events are increasing.
Tom


She has quite a story to tell, she felt God calling her to fast and pray 3 days before any of this happened. She shot the man as he ran into the building.

[Edith K. Thurmond]

This is so foreign (thus far) to me, and to others in our area (rural southern Ontario, Canada) ... we are amazed at the level of and potential for violence in larger metropolitan areas, including our closest "large metropolitan area", Toronto.

When I visited family members currently living in Griffin, GA (pop. ~ 24,000) during the Summer, I was surprised to learn that the pastor of their church has an armed bodyguard. When we attend the Sunday morning service, the bodyguard (ex-police officer) was seated on the platform along with the associate pastors. He was never more than 20 paces from the senior pastor. He was constantly speaking into his left sleeve where a microphone connected him with another half dozen security personnel located in various spots throughout the sanctuary (seats about 2,000).

At the time, it was kind of exciting and even humorous to watch the goings-on of the security personnel ... I mean, what could happen in a church sanctuary on Sunday morning, after all!?

I guess I now know the answer to that question.

Thanks for recounting your Sunday visit in GA. It is sad that we have to worry about such things but is becoming more of a necessity in all venues of life. Here is the text of the church press conference regarding the shooting and it gives many details and answers questions people are asking. http://www.newlifechurch.org/db_images2/12-10-9am.pdf

This topic has been on my mind for a long time because of something that happened in Fort Worth, TX several years ago at Wedgewood Baptist Church during a Wednesday night youth rally in the sanctuary. When the shooter came in the auditorium and began shooting, the teens thought it was a lead-in to a skit. Several were killed in the auditorium and others had been killed before he had entered the sanctuary. It was tragic and churches all over the DFW began to implement plans for security.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/law/july-dec99/shooting_9-16a.html

Prestonwood Baptist Church (mega church) has both uniformed and non-uniformed security guards working at every service. So does Chuck Swindoll's church in Frisco (north side of Dallas) and he even had a death threat/s several years ago and preached behind a bullet-proof shield for several months when the church met at a local community college. He also had security at the church office during the week. Since they have moved into their building, they are able to have greater security and make it still safer for him and everyone else.

Just today I talked with a long-term usher at a mega church in our community who said his church his did not have any plan in place. He said that for years he has wondered what would happen if someone came in and did something crazy; no one would know what to do.

My challenge to all churches, both large and small, is to formulate a plan and be ready if it is needed. Some insurance companies may even require it. Having a plan in place and being able to implement it was what saved many lives at New Life Church yesterday.

Blessings to all,

[Jim Franklin]

I was a volunteer usher for both Billy Graham and James Dobson when they came to Boise in the 80s and in both cases we had to attend training sessions. Both had received death threats and we were instructed to watch for any kind of sudden arm movements and faced the audience all of the time rather than the speakers as a precaution in an effort to prevent assassination attempts. We were told that they had originated from the Seattle area.

[DA Weaver]

I'm curious about the security personel at the New Life Church in Colorado Springs who shot the shooter. He probably saved some lives by doing so, but isn't unusual for security personel at Church to carry a gun?

It appears as if the security guard was a woman, who was a former police officer in the midst of a 3 day fast. It sounds to me as if it was a good thing she was fasting, as she needed the strength of the Lord to help her through.

[Billy Cox]

While I understand the need to take death threats seriously, I cannot think of even one assassin who preceded his attack with a death threat.

When I think of JFK, RFK, MLK, Garfield, Reagan, Oswald, Lennon and Rabin, none of them were addressing a huge crowd when they were attacked; all were in transit.

[Jim Franklin]

Well, Billy, the organizers of both events just considered it prudent to at least take cautious steps. The indication in the case of the Billy Graham campaign was that it was from mobsters who if they plan to take someone out do not care about the location.