church security – Page 8

Church Security: Most Church Attacks Occur During Activities Other Than Sunday Morning Worship Services

A three-year study by Concilium Inc. concludes that criminal attacks during church services and in church buildings, not motivated by robbery or theft, are usually foreshadowed by warning signs—erratic behavior, severe mental health symptoms (hallucinations, paranoia, delusions, depression, and suicidal thoughts), a major life stressor, communicated threats, or the harboring of a grievance against a church or member—which are visible to people the assailant knows.

[ Read SemperVerus articles on the topic of DE-ESCALATION ]

When these observable warning signs are reported, law enforcement and the potential assailant’s family members, friends, and peripheral contacts stand a good chance of preventing violence.

Church Security Team Pistol Qualification Course

Keith Graves, founder and trainer of Christian Warrior Training, has developed the following 43-round course-of-fire pistol qualification for his church security team.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Interview with Keith Graves of Christian Warrior Training ]

Before allowing people to carry a firearm to protect the congregation, they must demonstrate competency with their weapon; at the very least, safe drawing and re-holstering, accurate shot placement, reloading magazines without prompting, and malfunction and stoppage clearing.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, What to Take to the Shooting Range—Including a Prayer ]

He says, “A proper annual qualification test is a non-negotiable requirement for church security. You know exactly where your incident will occur: in your sanctuary, your parking lot, your classrooms. Your qualification course should reflect that.”

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Firearms Training: A Directory of Shooting Drills ]

To qualify, he requires that all rounds must be verified on target; any miss from the target is considered a fail. If at any point a person’s firearm has a malfunction or stoppage, it’s up to the person to clear it and continue with the course-of-fire within the set time limit, otherwise it’s considered a fail. He allows 3 attempts to qualify; after 3 the person must practice and schedule another qualification session.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Organizing, Training & Running a House of Worship Armed Congregant Security Team ]

Watch him demonstrate the course-of-fire in the video below:

Self-Defense and Church Security: Breathing and Mental Techniques to Reduce Anxiety

When stress and anxiety take hold during life-threatening criminal or terrorist self-defense and church security encounters, your body can feel like it’s working against you—your heart races, your chest tightens, and your mind starts spinning. But one of the most powerful tools for calming your body and mind is breathing.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Concealed Carry Daily Prayer ]

Spiritual First Aid^™ has created two complimentary resources to help you regain your composure in critical incidents.

1. Breath-Based Grounding Techniques: 3 Evidence-Based Exercises to Reduce Stress and Restore Calm introduces three evidence-based breathing skills to help bring you back to a state of calm and focus:

Box Breathing — a structured method used by Navy SEALs to regulate stress.
Resonance Breathing — a rhythmic pattern to balance the nervous system.
Coherent Breathing — a slow, steady technique that promotes relaxation.

For example, here are the steps in the Box Breathing Pattern:

Over 86% of Police Chiefs and Sheriffs Support National Concealed Carry Reciprocity

Imagine if your driver’s license was not officially recognized in USA states other than your own. That would mean every time you drove across state lines, you’d be violating those states’ laws. Now imagine if some states accepted your state’s license, but they added on traffic laws that your state didn’t have. That would mean you’d have to know each state’s particular laws as you drove through them, or you could be ticketed or jailed.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Important Judicial Decisions Regarding Self-Defense Law ]

That’s the current state of affairs in the lawful act of concealed carrying of defensive firearms. The USA consists of a complex patchwork of concealed carry legislation state-by-state that unsuspecting responsible law-abiding armed self-defenders can easily be ignorant of and in danger of unwittingly and innocently violating.