Navigating Church Security: A Balancing Act Between Proactivity and Reactivity

By Tim Miller, Church Security Consultant

Hello, friends! Tim Miller here, and today marks a special occasion – it's been a year since we started this journey together. Today, I want to delve into a crucial aspect of church security: the delicate balance between being proactive and reactive.

As I sit in the command post of a sizable church on the West Coast, I'm reminded of the vital question we often face in the realm of security: Proactive or reactive? This question fundamentally shapes the measures we take to ensure the safety and security of our congregations.

In a recent conversation with the church's director of operations, it became clear that they are keen on staying ahead of the curve. They recognize the need to protect both the spiritual well-being and physical safety of their community. This got me thinking about the role of technology in this equation.

Technology, especially in the form...

Let’s remember that many attacks against the church have started in the parking lot. That means that we must be ready and prepared to deal with potential threats while also making sure we are focused on ministry.  Just like every church is different, satellite campuses of the same church can be unique. Despite their differences, the mission is the same.  It's very important for us to remember whether you have a church of 100 or 100,000 that the principles of church security still apply.

Proactive security in the parking lot comes down to three things.  Our teams must be engaging, evaluating and encouraging while greeting people in the parking lot.  Security team members in the parking lot must not be standoffish.  Sometimes we see church security teams that are discreet or hidden and they prefer to stand back and just watch.  What if we change that?

Engaging

If you think about your parking lot security, let’s ask a few questions. First, do...

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...