Articles with church security

Here’s What Your Church Safety Team Needs to Do Sunday Morning

Here is a list of killings that have happened at USA churches since 2012:

December 29, 2019: A killer murdered two people during the morning service at West Freeway Church of Christ in Fort Worth, Texas, before he was fatally shot by a volunteer member of the church security team.

November 5, 2017: A killer opened fire at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Texas, killing 26 people and wounding about 20 others. No church security team was in place to stop it.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Majority of Protestant Churches Plan for Security ]

September 24, 2017: A man killed a woman and wounded six other people at Burnette Chapel Church of Christ in Nashville, Tennessee.

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Majority of Protestant Churches Plan for Security

Around 4 in 5 Protestant pastors (80%) say their church has some type of security measure in place when they gather for worship, according to a survey from Nashville-based LifeWay Research.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Pastors Network: Churches Have Biblical Duty to Protect ]

Almost 2 in 3 pastors (62%) say their church has an intentional plan for an active killer situation. The more people who show up to worship services each week, the more likely the church is to have made plans for a potential murderer. Pastors of churches with 250 or more in attendance (77%) and those with 100 to 249 (74%) are more likely to have an intentional plan than those with 50 to 99 in attendance (58%) or those with less than 50 in their worship service each week (45%).

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Church Shooting Analysis Reports ]

Close to half of pastors (45%) say part of their security measures include having armed church members. Combining this with the percentages who say they have uniformed police officers or armed security personnel on site, 51% intentionally have firearms at their worship services as part of their security measures.

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President Signs Bill Authorizing $375 Million in Grants for Houses of Worship to Defend Against Violence

The Securing American Nonprofit Organizations Against Terrorism Act of 2019, signed into law January 24, 2020, formally authorizes the Department of Homeland Security’s Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP) for four years to protect the safety of non-profits facilities at risk of terrorist attacks, including synagogues, mosques, churches, and other houses of worship.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Pastors Network: Churches Have Biblical Duty to Protect ]

The new law, which passed the US House by voice vote and passed through the Senate via Unanimous Consent, authorizes the Department of Homeland Security’s ‘Nonprofit Security Grant Program’ to issue grant money for 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations that are at risk of a terrorist attack.

This grant funding will assist houses of worship to apply for $100,000 grants to be used for things like fencing, cameras, stronger doors, the hiring of security professionals, and security training for key personnel to prevent or protect against attacks.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Church Shooting Analysis Reports ]

Invite SemperVerus to present its 5 life-changing success-generating components—prepare, aware, be, know, do—to your organization to inspire and motivate your members.

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Pastors Network: Churches Have Biblical Duty to Protect

The American Pastors Network (APN) says churches have a biblical and moral responsibility to protect their congregations from attacks.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Church Shooting Analysis Reports ]

“Unfortunately, church security is now a pressing matter in our nation,” said APN President Sam Rohrer. “No longer can we fully count on the peaceful and serene sanctuary of the church. It’s clear that those with evil intentions, whether against the church itself or those inside, have sought to steal and kill and destroy, as we witnessed at West Freeway Church of Christ in a Fort Worth, Texas, suburb. We live in a culture where our churches must seriously think about how to keep people safe. Just as a shepherd carries a staff to guard his sheep, so must every pastor employ ways to protect his flock.”

[ Read the SemperVerus article, A Prayer for Church Security Team Members ]

APN offers 10 biblical recommendations for churches to consider when devising policies concerning church security:

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