When you visit as many churches as I do, I am always amazed at how many churches really don't take even basic precautions to keep children safe and secure in their Sunday School, Day Care, or Vacation Bible School.

More amazing to me, as a parent, is how many parents turn their kids over to the church without really looking into how safe will their children be at the church.

I can't imagine that any parent would take their kids to a commercial day care or even a public school and not look into who is looking after their kids, who else will be around their kids, what kind of environment will their kids be in (interior and exterior), and other factors that may play in their safety and security.

But yet, I see it every day in churches.

I was listening to one Pastor, of a fairly large church, talk recently about their upcoming summer Vacation Bible School and how they are looking for almost 1,000 volunteers to assist. I thought to myself, 'Wow, if they are looking for 1,000 volunteers, how many kids are they expecting to attend?'

Then questions start to come to my mind like 'Will they be conducting a background check for every one of those volunteers?' or ' How much supervision and control will there be to account for these kids, whether they are indoors or out?' or 'How ready are they for a medical emergency, or any other one for that matter, if something happens...will all the volunteers be trained?'

When I visit churches, doing risk assessments or to conduct training, I see playgrounds in a state of disrepair, not fenced in properly (or at all), and no CCTV. I see Day Cares where there are no visitor controls for people walking into the church, exterior doors that are allowed to be propped open, no emergency plans, etc.

Would a parent really place their children in any other place that has such low standards for safety and security?

Aside from Sunday Services, I see churches very proudly describe programs like VBS, after school programs, day cares, AWANAS, and other special programs...all which are great and needed, but what about making protecting the kids a priority?

It is hard enough handing your kids over for an hour or so on Sunday, but what about when you hand them over every day?

I know, from working with churches, this is not intentional; it really is ignorance.

I hear over and over again "Well, we have been doing this for XX years, and haven't had anything happen to a child yet"...like playing the odds or relying on luck is an answer.

And when I point out vary obvious hazards or lack of emergency preparedness and incidents that we have already seen take place in Christian churches across the country, many churches are really taken aback that they did not realize this sooner.

Some take immediate action and some do not...it really depends on the church and leadership.

But maybe the action should come from the parents?

If every parent started asking questions like "So what measures are in place if my child comes up missing?" or "Is every one in the building, that may have contact with my child, have a background check?", maybe things would change?

Maybe parents should actually walk through the entire church facility to see if there are cameras, fencing, locks on doors, etc.

You would be amazed at the obvious hazards I see when I walk around a church doing risk assessments. I have opened doors, that should be locked in children's areas, and have found large kitchen knives, hazardous liquids, and live electrical wires exposed, all that a child could have access to in a second.

I know the mindset of everyone is that we trust our church because, hey, its our church we are talking about and they care.

But we have seen incidents such as attempted and successful child abductions, child molestation, violence, and other terrible tragic accidents that may have been prevented with a little forethought.

They are our most precious gift from God, so why isn't the church doing more to protect them and why are parents not demanding it?

In Christ,
Jeff Hawkins
Executive Director

Feedback from last week's article:

"AMEN! to your column. As I mentioned to you at the Seminar I took with you I used to be quite an accomplished shooter, but even shooting 700 - 800 rounds a week did not train me in a "shoot/no shoot" situation. I was trained to pull my pistol and put rounds on target to accomplish a high score. It never trained me when I could use lethal force on another individual. Thank you for this great column. God Bless You" D.L.

"Thank you and I believe you are right on" T.S.

"Hi,yes there should be armed security in church.Just like you said it happens.I am a ccw permit holder,I also took the time and money to take all classes to become a armed security guard.You are right not just anybody should be armed.I do volunter security at my church of about 5000 people btween ywo services.Most of the time I work the nursey which has sipe key card doors.If a person has taken training I beleave that person should be armed.That person may be the one that comes under attack and must defend him or her self.We all know if the shooter has already started his or her attack there is no time too wait for help." D.T.

"I'm not LE, and never have been. I have spent a lot of time at the local PD range. I know this won't be popular with you, but even with the 'hundreds of hours' of training, most officers I see barely qualify (70-80%). These are the guys out on the street protecting us daily. And remember, much of this training is geared for the lowest common denominator, ie, so that even the weaker links can still pass. It wouldn't look good if 3/4 of the force couldn't qualify, would it? Now, with that said, there are exceptions to every rule. I know there are officers that practice every chance they get, and pay out of pocket to take private course. Same for regular citizens. But by and large, the average citizens shoot no worse than the average cops (the one's who aren't 'gun guys') who qualify anywhere from once a year to quarterly. I believe, based on what I have witnessed on the range on many occasions, that this higher level of firearms training that LE supposedly receives is merely an elitist attitude and not actually measurable." S.M.