The Christian Security Network (CSN) has worked hard for a number of years to bring about awareness and solutions to the growing threat of crime and emergency incidents that are hurting our churches and ministries here in the United States.

At times it is very frustrating and seems no one is hearing the message, but as the Lord works, sometimes it falls on the ears of those who have the ability to make a difference and I am excited to announce one of those advancements.

The electronic security giant, Honeywell, has partnered with the American Crime Prevention Institute (ACPI) to develop a free (yes, it really is free), self-assessment tool specifically for Houses of Worship!

The simple and easy-to-use self-assessment will help you to see just how secure your facility is and identify areas you could improve. The assessment serves as a guide for non-security professionals in the houses of worship environment to engage in a careful observation of your facility in the following areas:

• Assessing areas of risk

• Identifying physical and electronic security gaps

• Securing assets, including people and property

• Protecting children and youth

• Managing visitor access to facilities

To access the on-line assessment go to: (https://www.security.honeywell.com/ss/how/index.html)

In addition, Honeywell and the CSN has agreed for Honeywell to become a sponsor on our website and in our newsletter.

Honeywell can trace its roots back to 1885, when an inventor named Albert Butz patented the furnace regulator and alarm. He formed the Butz Thermo-Electric Regulator Co., Minneapolis, on April 23, 1886, and a few weeks later invented a simple, yet ingenious device that he called the "damper flapper."

Now Honeywell is a Fortune 100 company that invents and manufactures technologies to address tough challenges linked to global macrotrends such as safety, security, and energy. With approximately 122,000 employees worldwide, including more than 19,000 engineers and scientists, they have an unrelenting focus on quality, delivery, value, and technology in everything they make and do.

As many of you know CSN has endorsed very few companies and at times have actually had to pull our endorsements when a company has not lived up to its commitment to the Christian community.

And over the years so many of you have asked us about electronic security solutions, and we have always been hesitant to recommend anyone because the companies who contacted us were either only local service providers, proprietary system companies, or ones that we felt did not have the capabilities or understanding to service the needs of the very small churches to the Mega-churches.

Honeywell has committed to this and the free Houses of Worship assessment tool with ACPI is a great example!

I am very excited over this new opportunity and hope that all of you will utilize this tool and contact Honeywell with any questions regarding your electronic security needs, whether it is for planning, projects you need done now, or want to develop a program you can implement over time.

Please help us spread the word about this assessment tool because as we have always stated, a risk assessment is the first step your church should take before it implements any security measures.

As always, I welcome your feedback on these this new program.

In Christ,
Jeff Hawkins
Executive Director

Comments from last week's article "Church Security: Opening church doors - literally and figuratively":

"Your comment is so correct....."security is never 100%, but no security is 100% vulnerability." If a church cannot afford an expensive security system how about at minimum implementing basic policies and procedures to reduce the impact of threats?" J.M.

"I am the building manager for our church,and i am always locking the front door.Someone is leaving it unlocked,i beleive so they don't have to answer it to let people in.WHAT!I well keep on doing what i can to keep our children safe.Thank You." A.F.