Looking forward to the coming year

Dear friends, colleagues, and brothers and sisters in Christ,

We are "stepping back" from the usual format to take a year-end breather and reflect as to where we are and where you should be heading in the coming year.

All the usual items will be here next week (actually next year!) - unfortunately crimes, incidents, and the on-going effort to be safe does not stop for the holidays.

This is a battle that each one of us must take up the cause; it is the ultimate fight against the evil that would destroy the Christian church, spiritually and physically.

CSN has truly been blessed by the Lord in giving us the ability to bring to those concerned with the safety of the Christian community resources, information, and awareness of the threats and risks that are facing all of us every day.

We are now reaching thousands of Christians each week with continued growth through efforts like our weekly newsletter, on-going training, the media (both Christian and secular), other Christian organizations and especially YOU, who continue to spread the word about CSN.

We hope that this past year's efforts have helped to convince Christian churches and ministries to take an active approach for security and emergency planning. Every church must have a Safety Ministry - no matter the size, location, or denomination.

As we approach the end of this year we look back at the tragic loss of lives, acts of violence, arsons, internal thefts, and other crimes totaling millions of dollars of losses within the Christian community in 2009.

We pray that the Lord will allow believers make 2010 the year that Christians take back the peace that every house of worship should have, so we may all continue to do His work.

May God watch over all of us in the coming year.

In Christ,
Jeff Hawkins
Executive Director