I – Prepare

Counterterrorism: Violent Extremism Mobilization Indicators

The US Violent Extremism Mobilization Indicators, 2025 Edition is a PDF pamphlet published by the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to inform law enforcement, terrorism prevention practitioners, other first responders, community leaders, as well as the general public about both threats of violence and contextual behaviors that suggest an individual is mobilizing to violence.

[ Read SemperVerus articles on the topic of THREAT ANALYSIS ]

This is a helpful situational awareness resource for church security teams and self-defenders in general for identifying discernible pre-indicator signs of criminal and terrorist aggression.

Prepare for Teams of Terrorists, Says Gabe Suarez

Gabe Suarez is a no-holds-barred, full-throated, say-what-he-thinks, blunt, honest, speaking-to-the-point firearms and self-defense expert with decades of experience in martial arts and law enforcement, including being a SWAT sniper and assaulter. He was awarded the Police Medal of Valor for a gunfight against three armed robbery-homicide suspects and he’s the founder and trainer of Suarez Tactics, a training and consulting organization focused solely on developing the art of tactics and gunfighting. His YouTube channel is @suareztactics.

On his Patreon site, he’s written the forceful article, You and the Terrorist(s). With his permission, and because it has application for church security teams, we have summarized the article below (but you’ll want to subscribe to his Patreon site, read the full article there, and learn from all the site’s insightful self-defense content). As Gabe Suarez says, “We teach good guys how to prevail against the bad guys. Whether facing a common robber or a terrorist bent on mass murder, we teach you the skills to defeat them, and as well to live a life of excellence.”

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He begins by pointing to John Lott’s research paper, Do Armed Civilians Stop Active Shooters More Effectively Than Uniformed Police?, in accepting the fact that private citizens defeat active shooters to a greater degree and with better results—collectively—than law enforcement.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, A List of Active Killer Incidents at Houses of Worship and Religious Schools ]

Mr. Suarez stresses that, in today’s anarchistic world requiring the need of heightened self-defense, “we are not looking for a lone wolf terrorist, nor a drugged up psychiatric patient, but rather—as Sarah Adams notes—a well trained and dedicated terrorist known as a ‘Fedayeen’ (Arabic: ‘those who sacrifice themselves’).” He compares this combatant to the Kamikaze of WW2. He says, “Their goal is to kill as many Americans as possible and to die ‘gloriously’ in the process.”

The Ministry of Protection: Why Church Safety Teams Matter and How Serving in the Ministry of Protection Brings Clarity to the Calling

[The following is a guest article by Trevor DeGroote, a safety and protection professional with a background spanning law enforcement, private-sector operations, and consulting services. He’s the author of Serving in the Ministry of Protection: Fulfilling the Call to Faithful Readiness in the House of God.]

In recent years, conversations around church safety have shifted dramatically. What was once considered a distant “what if” has become a practical, deeply necessary part of ministry life. Across the Midwest and beyond, churches are recognizing that the responsibility to create a safe environment for worship is not merely logistical; it’s pastoral. It’s spiritual. It’s an act of service and love.

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That’s what makes the concept of a church safety team so vital. These groups of volunteers, men and women from within the congregation, stand quietly at the intersection of faith and readiness. Their job is not to control, but to care; not to intimidate, but to ensure peace. When done the right way, a church safety ministry doesn’t make a church feel guarded. It makes it feel secure enough to worship freely.

Self-Defense Body Armor for Spiritual Warfare

For the Christian, self-defense is not limited to warding off physical threats only; it includes the tactical necessity for acute and discerning situational awareness to thwart personal temptations and spiritual attacks.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Free Online Educational Resources to Grow Your Spiritual Knowledge ]

The pastor of Ada Bible Church, in Grand Rapids, MI, Aaron Buer, preached the 4-part sermon series titled The Armor of God, which examines each element of the Roman armor and weapon that the Apostle Paul used as a metaphor for the defensive and offensive tools Christians require when battling against spiritual forces. (An earlier series explained the reality and nature of spiritual warfare in our daily lives; attacks to our soul coming from three directions: the devil, the world, and our own nature.)

[ Read SemperVerus articles on the topic of the BIBLE ]

Watch each of the videos below to more completely understand the protective biblical body armor God tells us to put on every day.

Free Download: Church Safety Walkthrough Checklist

Have you conducted a safety audit of your church building lately that exposes possible hazardous gaps before it’s too late?

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The Sheepdog Church Security Academy free Church Safety Walkthrough Checklist is a simple, practical checklist that helps you pinpoint risks before they become emergencies.