| Galatians 6:10 |
| "... doing good for all believers... " |
| 05/25/09 - Church Security: How many times do you turn the other cheek? |
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The Christian Security Network has documented over 200 burglaries to Christian churches this year alone and we know that this number is very low to the actual numbers; this is just what we are able to document. The estimate is that you could easily double this number bringing the total to approximately 400 break-ins at a loss of about $4 million of church funds and property. And we are just addressing burglaries – where the criminal unlawfully enters into a dwelling to take property. We are not talking about robberies, thefts, internal thefts, etc. – just burglaries. How long are churches going to wait before they begin to take measures to secure the gifts that God gave them? We are told to be “good stewards” of what God gives us, but I am beginning to wonder what church leaders think this means. As we have stated over and over again, churches are viewed as “soft targets”. They do not take the same measures as other organizations to secure their property. The criminals committing these crimes are for the most part are alcohol or drug addicts who are looking to steal things that may be easily sold or pawned to support their habits. And the frustrating fact is that many of these churches are being targeted over and over again; take a look at some of the following information from news stories: ______________________________________________________________________ Too Many Break-Ins At One Church Cincinnati, OH - 5/17/09 - wcpo.com Kimberly Seiberling has been the pastor of Elberon United Methodist Church in East Price Hill for four years and says a recent string of break-ins has had a huge negative impact on her ministry. "All of our electronic equipment is gone and it's over $8,000 worth of equipment missing," Seiberling said. Since last month, the church has been broken into six times. ______________________________________________________________________ Crooks burglarize Knoxville food pantry 4 times in 5 days Knoxville, TN – 5/12/09 – volunteertv.com Fountain City Food Ministry on Holbrook Drive has been burglarized four times in five days. The food ministry is run through Central Baptist Church. Crooks aren't robbing from the rich and giving to the poor, they're simply stealing from the less fortunate. A busted-out window discovered early Tuesday morning marks the latest in a rash of robberies at the Fountain City Food Ministry. Ministry volunteer Glenn Jones says, "They got us Thursday night, Friday night, Sunday night and Monday night." ______________________________________________________________________ Antioch Catholic Church the target of second burglary in recent years Antioch, CA – 5/17/09 – mercurynews.com Just days before the Rev. Robert Rien's new chalice was presented to the congregation to replace one stolen two years ago, St. Ignatius of Antioch Catholic Church was hit again by a major burglary. This time, most of the church's electrical and maintenance equipment was stolen from two storage containers. Both of the containers were broken into and ransacked May 7. ______________________________________________________________________ Augusta church burglarized, not the first time Augusta, GA – 4/16/09 – wrdw.com A man and woman are caught on tape, breaking into a church, and members say it's not the first time. Deacon Gene Morris says Belair Baptist Church has had about five burglaries in less than a year, but now he hopes someone will recognize them, caught on tape. Morris says the thieves started with copper outside a building, then later busted their way inside. ______________________________________________________________________ I am not picking on any of these churches; the fact of the matter is these are just a few over the last month or two that have been victims more than once, there are many others. In this day, where the church is so blessed to have things like flat screen monitors, LCD projectors, audio equipment, musical instruments, DVD players and all the other things that make preaching the word of God available in so many different ways to reach so many different people, how can churches not be responsible in the protection of these gifts? Police officers I have spoken to, that have investigated church burglaries, always tell me how amazed they are at the naivety of the church leaders who really think their church would not be a victim of a crime and basically take no measures in securing their building. But then when they see these same incidents happen again and again to the same church, they just shake their heads in disbelief. You have to wonder what the congregation members think when they see what they have worked so hard to build, be taken away from them. They are asked to tithe, so the church may continue to operate and grow, only to see their church broken into and these things taken. Is anyone questioning why their church is not taking measures to protect its assets? I would. In Christ, Jeff Hawkins Executive Director |
