With the recent incidents of protests focused on churches, we want to discuss this timely church security issue.  The type of disruptive protests we’ve seen recently is something new in our nation and all indications are that this type of activity will likely increase given the current political and social climate. 

Let’s start with some really good news:  This chaos is not a surprise to our Lord!  He is still in control and is still with His people working in the midst of all things!  You have often heard from SecureChurch that keeping people safe in our churches is a “ministry” not just a volunteer program!  In fact, if there has ever been a time where we need wise and prepared security for our churches it is now! 

So, let’s start with a couple of important things to focus on as we deal with protestors:  prayer and preparation.

Start in Prayer

If you have attended any of our...

One of the most important considerations in church security is the children's ministry.  Entire books could be written about securing this special space. This week, we are going to take a few minutes to review some high level concepts that your church can use to immediately improve the security of your children’s ministry. 

We know that children’s ministry come in all shapes and sizes and each one of them is just as unique as your church. But there’s some security principals that apply to all of our children’s areas.

We call it the Three A’s of Children’s Ministry: Area, Access, and Accountability.  Let’s have a look at them

 We’ll start with the AREA. 

This is the physical space that you have committed to your children’s ministry. It seems like a simple place to start, but ask yourself some questions:

Is the area easily secured?  Do the doors and locks prevent people from getting in and also prevent...

Church security is all over the news. Everywhere you look there's an incident of some type involving churches. Whether it’s people suffering from mental illness, vandalism, or anger suggesting active violence it seems like the church today is under attack now more than ever.

Did you ever think that in our lifetime we would be experiencing some of the things that are occurring in our churches? It wasn't too long ago where churches were places of solitude and safety. But that’s changing. And churches around the world are facing some of the toughest challenges in our history.

That’s why in this important season we must have excellent church security programs. And that’s also why men and women must rise up from within the church to develop and serve in this important area.

Many churches today believe that having an armed security guard or police officer is the answer to the growing number of incidents.  Other churches refuse to take any safety measures...

Every day most of us step into familiar routines in our workplaces, schools and shopping centers.  In fact, most of the public places that we spend our time have an accepted set of “norms” that defines appropriate behavior, speech and apparel that we can expect. But what happens when something is different? What happens you overhear harsh tones in an escalated conversation? What happens when people are stopping and staring?  Or running and screaming?  What happens when the unexpected occurs – and how do we prepare for it?

Know Your Surroundings

One of the most important aspects of your personal safety and preparation is knowing your surroundings.  Sometimes this can be very intuitive, especially if it’s a place that we frequent often. Offices, classrooms and even our favorite coffee shops are places that we can quickly identify anything that’s out of place.  We know the exits and entrances; we know the familiar sounds and we...