There is a flurry of activity when it comes to church security these days.

Some of it is because there have been two very sensationalized cases of church shootings within months of each other showing that no matter who you are, be it a Pastor giving a sermon or a controversial congregation member serving his church, there is risk in the Christian church today.

Then there is the response to these types of incidents, which raise even more concern over security and safety with at least one church in Kentucky inviting everyone to bring their gun to church.

We have also seen, and have spoken with, law enforcement personnel who feel an obligation to give some response to these types of situations to ease the fears, with many giving free seminars and lectures on security for the church.

As CSN has stated in the past, much of this is a “knee-jerk” reaction to situations that are tragic but statistically rare. This does not mean that you do not address the “active shooter” or violent situation. There needs to be a plan to deter, to respond, and to cope with the aftermath of such an incident.

But again, just concentrating on the “active shooter” situation is not practicing good principles of risk management. When addressing “risk”, you identify and address all risks, not just the ones that scare people the most.

I compare the fear of the “active shooter” to the fear that many people have of flying on planes. They drive a car every day without thought of the perils driving poses, yet they are afraid to get on a plane because of a few tragic incidents that we witness every year.

However, the odds of a person being killed in a plane crash are far lower than driving on your local streets every day.

The fear is that churches will listen to some “quick fix” from an uninformed, but well-meaning source and feel that this is the end of their security planning.

Just looking at the top five critical plans that every Christian organization should have (Emergency Evacuation, Shelter-in-Place, Medical Emergencies, Lost/Missing Child, and Active Shooter), many are now addressing the “active shooter”, which is good, but not establishing plan and protocols for the rest, which is bad.

And as we preach in every one of our training sessions, whether it is the Christian Security Network or someone else, look at who is giving you the information, verify its validity, compare the information with what other organizations are doing, discuss with your own legal counsel and insurance representatives – all before you implement anything.

Not everyone is an “expert” in all areas – that is why we concentrate on security and emergency planning and not environmental health, safety, training people in AED/CPR, certifying groups as Community Emergency Response Teams, training Ushers to be Ninjas, etc.

The Christian Security Network prides itself on the extent of its knowledge and resources and our ability to connect you with the right people if it is beyond the scope of what we do and what we know.

“-let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance-“ Proverbs 1:5 (NIV)

In Christ,
Jeff Hawkins
Executive Director