| Ecclesiastes 4:12 |
| "A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated..." |
| 08/10/09 - Church Security: don't give up! |
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Many of you who read this are not Church Pastors, Elders, Deacons, or Administrators. You do not hold any type of decision-making authority at your church or ministry. In fact you have this desire to make your church or ministry safer and feel that no one is listening to you. You are not alone. The Christian Security Network receives many e-mails on a weekly basis from people just like you. There is a sense of frustration that you try to bring safety and security ideas to your church leadership and feel like you are being “pacified”, saying they will get to it, yet never act. I feel the same way too at times. Not too long ago I was visiting a church in the area where I live in Cincinnati. Not only did this church not have any security, they didn’t even practice the basics of good Christian “etiquette” before, during, or after the service. No one was at the doors to greet me, no one came up and introduced himself or herself, and people talked among themselves, but never looked in my direction. Even when I approached the Sanctuary entrance, the Ushers handing out bulletins, were talking among themselves so much I had to interrupt ask for one. This is not only poor Christian service, this is poor security awareness. If they didn’t pay attention to me, they sure wouldn’t pay attention to a criminal who wouldn’t want to be seen and I wanted to be seen and acknowledged. To make matters worst, shortly before the service, while in the parking lot, there was an incident of “road rage” that spilled in off a very busy street. A man in a car was shouting and cursing this woman (who was coming into church) in her SUV. I stopped to make sure the incident didn’t escalate and it didn’t and the man drove off very fast, squealing tires all the way. There were no church volunteers in the parking lots; the woman looked very scared. The Pastor seemed sincere enough and preached a good sermon, but he did not have his congregation behind him, at least the ones who were volunteering. I visited the church again, hoping that they just had an “off day”, but the same thing happened (or didn’t happen), minus the road rage incident. They were not “guest friendly” or aware any more than the first time. It bothered me for a while, not only because I felt this was a very unwelcoming church, but because I really felt they were in jeopardy. God put it on my heart to do something and I couldn’t fight it. I e-mailed the Pastor, gave him some of my observations, and asked if I could take him to lunch, to which he agreed – we had never met before this. While at lunch I related my experiences and my concerns and I offered to complete a risk assessment for his church, at no charge. They had child day-care and other ministries, so they were not a small church by any means. I told him I felt it was something that God just put on my heart. He said, “Well if God is telling you to do it I better listen”. He never called to set up anything up; talk about feeling rejected and frustrated. I hope I never have to read about that church and Pastor in the news. I pray they never become one of our statistics. Maybe there was a reason the Pastor didn’t want me to come in and look at his operations? Maybe he thought I was trying to sell him something? Maybe he just didn’t get it? Maybe he didn’t care? Part of what we wanted to bring together when we started the Christian Security Network was the “network” part of this. When like-minded people network and connect, great things happen like encouragement, guidance, shared experiences, and ideas. I am encouraged by the “success” stories we do hear about from fellow Christians and the work they are doing in their church or ministry to make things safer. I am encouraged when we get calls for things like risk assessments from small churches in the middle of nowhere call and ask for help. And many of the people who subscribe to CSN, come to our seminars or webinars, purchase the handbook for help, all started out with just “pushing” their organization’s leadership to do something. God teaches us to have patience and that has not always been my strongest virtue, but I believe it will all be done in His time, not ours. But we have to continue to make plans and move forward. Proverbs 16:9 says, “Men make plans but the Lord determines his steps”. Don’t stop making plans, don’t give up, and let the Lord be your guide. You are not alone in this fight! In Christ, Jeff Hawkins Executive Director |
