Let’s remember that many attacks against the church have started in the parking lot. That means that we must be ready and prepared to deal with potential threats while also making sure we are focused on ministry.  Just like every church is different, satellite campuses of the same church can be unique. Despite their differences, the mission is the same.  It's very important for us to remember whether you have a church of 100 or 100,000 that the principles of church security still apply.

Proactive security in the parking lot comes down to three things.  Our teams must be engaging, evaluating and encouraging while greeting people in the parking lot.  Security team members in the parking lot must not be standoffish.  Sometimes we see church security teams that are discreet or hidden and they prefer to stand back and just watch.  What if we change that?

Engaging

If you think about your parking lot security, let’s ask a few questions. First, do...

Stay Alert, Stay Alive!  As a young Marine officer, this mantra was drilled into my mind by experienced Gunnery Sergeants from day one. While most of us understand the dangers of combat, the day to day operations of the military are full of potential threats. Rumbling tank treads, spinning helicopter rotors and moving cargo containers are just a few of the daily hazards encountered by our armed forces. Simple things like igniting a field heater or just pounding a tent stake into the ground come with risks. The experienced sergeants understand that day to day tasks are full of inherent risks. This same mindset applies as we serve at church or go about our daily routines at home, school and work.

Put Down Your Phone

This isn’t to shame anybody’s screen time or go on about the virtues of a phone-free dinner conversation. It’s simply a fact that when you are focused on your phone, you aren’t alert to your surroundings. So many of us go through the day with...

This article was first published in 2019.  As we move towards reopening our malls, restaurants and schools, these lessons are worth a reminder.

Hardly a day goes by that we don’t learn of an active shooter incident. In fact, the FBI classified 27 deadly attacks in 2018 as active shooter incidents in places where people come to work, learn, relax or pray. News outlets estimate that a mass shooting has occurred on average every 12 days this year. It can be overwhelming and heartbreaking. It can make us all feel vulnerable.  It might even drive us to live in fear.

We can’t predict the future, but we can prepare for it. Rather than living in fear, we believe in building the mental preparation and awareness to react to dangerous situations or even avoid them completely. Like most things in life, preparation is the key to stepping into public places and work spaces with confidence. This preparation will serve you well in a variety of crisis situations – and it...

As churches reopen, there will likely be a lot of people that want some “face time” with the pastor.  Some of them will be happy the church has re-opened – others will be angry that it was ever closed.  Many will have prayer requests or needs for family, jobs or health.  Others may want to challenge your pastor on a particular stand (or lack thereof) that your church has taken during the recent civil turmoil. Regardless of the motivation, your pastor will be getting more attention than ever in the weeks to come.

 Let’s start with the basics. Pastors are busy people! Every week they have to prepare sermons, counsel couples, make hospital visits, marry some people and speak at funerals for others. That happens before they stand in front of the congregation every Sunday – whether in person or online - to lead us in God’s word.

 But your pastor isn’t just the spiritual leader of your congregation, they are also the...

With the recent incidents of protests focused on churches, we want to discuss this timely church security issue.  The type of disruptive protests we’ve seen recently is something new in our nation and all indications are that this type of activity will likely increase given the current political and social climate. 

Let’s start with some really good news:  This chaos is not a surprise to our Lord!  He is still in control and is still with His people working in the midst of all things!  You have often heard from SecureChurch that keeping people safe in our churches is a “ministry” not just a volunteer program!  In fact, if there has ever been a time where we need wise and prepared security for our churches it is now! 

So, let’s start with a couple of important things to focus on as we deal with protestors:  prayer and preparation.

Start in Prayer

If you have attended any of our...

One of the most important considerations in church security is the children's ministry.  Entire books could be written about securing this special space. This week, we are going to take a few minutes to review some high level concepts that your church can use to immediately improve the security of your children’s ministry. 

We know that children’s ministry come in all shapes and sizes and each one of them is just as unique as your church. But there’s some security principals that apply to all of our children’s areas.

We call it the Three A’s of Children’s Ministry: Area, Access, and Accountability.  Let’s have a look at them

 We’ll start with the AREA. 

This is the physical space that you have committed to your children’s ministry. It seems like a simple place to start, but ask yourself some questions:

Is the area easily secured?  Do the doors and locks prevent people from getting in and also prevent...

Church security is all over the news. Everywhere you look there's an incident of some type involving churches. Whether it’s people suffering from mental illness, vandalism, or anger suggesting active violence it seems like the church today is under attack now more than ever.

Did you ever think that in our lifetime we would be experiencing some of the things that are occurring in our churches? It wasn't too long ago where churches were places of solitude and safety. But that’s changing. And churches around the world are facing some of the toughest challenges in our history.

That’s why in this important season we must have excellent church security programs. And that’s also why men and women must rise up from within the church to develop and serve in this important area.

Many churches today believe that having an armed security guard or police officer is the answer to the growing number of incidents.  Other churches refuse to take any safety measures...

Every day most of us step into familiar routines in our workplaces, schools and shopping centers.  In fact, most of the public places that we spend our time have an accepted set of “norms” that defines appropriate behavior, speech and apparel that we can expect. But what happens when something is different? What happens you overhear harsh tones in an escalated conversation? What happens when people are stopping and staring?  Or running and screaming?  What happens when the unexpected occurs – and how do we prepare for it?

Know Your Surroundings

One of the most important aspects of your personal safety and preparation is knowing your surroundings.  Sometimes this can be very intuitive, especially if it’s a place that we frequent often. Offices, classrooms and even our favorite coffee shops are places that we can quickly identify anything that’s out of place.  We know the exits and entrances; we know the familiar sounds and we...