On September 15, 1999, a man entered the Wedgewood Baptist Church in Ft. Worth, Texas—a quiet, middle-class neighborhood—armed with a 9-millimeter handgun. He stormed into the church, cursing God and shouting antireligious rhetoric. He killed seven people and injured seven more before shooting himself in the head.

It’s a sad reality of our society that we, as the body of Christ, must consider the possibility that someone may enter a church for the purpose of committing acts of violence against God’s people. In order for the church to fulfill the Great Commission, churches must welcome outsiders. But because of too many recent examples, we’re forced to consider the possibility of violence in church.

You may have a tendency to think, This couldn’t happen in our church. God will take care of us. But Proverbs 22:3 says that “A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it.” It’s important that churches become proactive instead of reactive when considering these issues.

Preparing to Prevent

The first step is establishing a church security team program. A highly visible security team can prove to be a significant deterrent. We’re not talking about people in black with guns on their belts! A group of your people can be trained in what to look for and how to react. This is not a legally empowered police force, charged with the responsibility of watching every move made by every individual who enters the church, but members of the congregation who provide for the safety and security of the congregation.

In addition to the security team members, ushers and greeters can (and should!) also be trained on how to detect angry or otherwise-agitated people and what things to be alert for. These frontline staff members can be very valuable by observing people’s behavior and demeanor to possibly detect a person who may have the propensity for violence or causing a disturbance.

Proper preplanning and training are essential to the preparation for, and hopefully the prevention of dangerous incidents. According to Ralph Witherspoon of Witherspoon Security Consulting, it’s vital that every paid and volunteer staff member is trained and informed of the potential threats to the congregation, as well as their responsibilities to address the threats. The leadership of the church should reinforce established security policies and procedures with all staff members, paid and volunteer. Witherspoon makes the following excellent recommendations:

• All staff members should be educated on the church’s security plan and their specific roles and duties. Every staff member should know how and when to contact local law enforcement.
• One staff member should be appointed as the church security manager. Where possible, the security manager should receive training in crime prevention and function as the “in-house expert,” but also as the point of contact for all security related information.
• Staff members or church security officers should be assigned to regularly check specific areas.
• Mechanical aspects of the church facility, such as lighting and locks, should be regularly inspected to ensure that they’re operational.
• Evacuation procedures should be established and all staff regularly trained in implementing them. Drills designed to practice evacuation should be held at least twice per year.
• All staff members, including ushers and security officers, should be watchful for strangers loitering around the premises, including those sitting in cars. When observed, they should write down descriptions and, if possible, license numbers, and immediately report them to the staff member who serves as the security manager. If that person isn’t immediately available, local police should be contacted to check out the suspicious individual.
• A screening procedure for visitors and delivery people should be implemented during weekday office hours. The purpose is to prevent unscreened strangers from entering the building unnoticed. All staff members should have responsibilities in this critical function.

According to Witherspoon, the “overall thrust of these suggested policies and procedures are to train facility staff and the lay community to recognize unusual activity or persons, to report them in a timely manner, and to be prepared to react appropriately in a planned manner in the event an emergency does occur.”

Just as many churches have become proactive with regard to evangelism, worship, education, missions, and building projects, churches must also become proactive—instead of reactive—regarding church safety and security. My hope is that church leaders and congregations will find a good balance of providing a nurturing yet safe environment in which people may come to worship God.

[Because this topic is so important, and because it potentially affects all your volunteers, we asked Mr. Cirtin to prepare a new training module for Church Volunteer Central on this topic. We urge all of our members to take the free course RM 102—Dealing With Threats of Violence, which you can preview here.]

Robert M. Cirtin has 22 years of experience in the area of law enforcement and investigation, and is assistant professor of criminal justice and director of the criminal justice program at Evangel University. Robert Cirtin Investigations provides services to churches as well as other organizations. For more about this and other church security topics, check out his book , A Practical Guide to Church Safety and Security , to be published in early 2005 by CSS Publishing.

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