Our pastor is pretty progressive on this. He is a chaplain for several of the local police agencies and tagged up with a couple of them where doing consulting on the side. He knew a number of us in the congregation concealed carried so he invited any concealed carriers in the congregation who were interested to the training. Consisted of 3hrs of class room and 4hrs of range with a timed qualifying test at the end. The instructors said the biggest thing that should be taken away from the test was for the participants to better understand their skill level/ability should a situation go down and to keep that in mind when reacting (and to continue practicing to improve). In addition to several of the congregation who conceal carry and went through the training we have two congregation members who are former LE manning the doors and then lock them and monitor them after service starts.
we have a safety and security team, all volunteers as of now… our team consists of both armed and unarmed members… the list of members is only shared with the church staff and the team itself… some positions are obviously more visible than others… i am the lobby attendant for our childrens church. this takes place in a separate building away from the main sanctuary… anyone dropping off or picking up their children will obviously see me and my radio earwig… they do not know that i am armed…our main sanctuary has 3 lobby attendants and numerous team members seated in the sanctuary as well…we are present for every service and event on the church grounds
Unfortunately, it’s a sad fact of life that we have to be prepared to defend our congregations from a possible attack. I’m glad to hear about all of the training and thought being given to church security.
Stay safe out there everyone!
A sad fact we live in a broken world, fallen away from God’s design. Our main focus should be glorifying God, exhausting the name of Jesus
God has given us free will to choose or reject Christ. There are those that choose to use that free will to harm or kill. We, conceal carry community, use the blessing of free will to defend our families and God’s flock.
I live in FL Dawn and for some reason our church calls us the Safety Team but in our meeting it’s sometimes referred to as Security team and as far as I can tell we are a Security Team… Do you have any thoughts on this… I would like to hear them before I go and start asking questions…
William I also believe that God is our protector and feeling this way I had a very hard time even thinking about owning a gun let alone have a CCW… Then I was threatened by a (no longer in my life, my choice) family member and their drug friends… That night and for about a week I Prayed, talked to God and read what ever I could get my hands on to help me know what to do… AND I was very frightened… On the 8th day I broke down with God and ask Him to take my fear away and to help me to know what to do… I cried with God for over an hour and then it happened… I heard a soft voice (no I’m not crazy) telling me to stop being afraid and put ALL my trust in my Father… WOW… what a night, but I didn’t get an answer on what I was to do… The next morning as I drove to church I saw a Gun Shop that I had never seen before. (find out they have been there for years and years and years)… When I got to church and was handed a bulletin there was a Ladies Shooting Class for Saturday at our local firing range (never seen our church do that before)… I starting laughing as I sat down and told God He had a great since of humor and I heard Him… Sorry for going on and on, but I am just feeling lead to tell you this… God put it on my heart that I was to go shooting and to buy a gun… I didn’t have the money for this at all… BUT God provided… I now realize I had to do my part in this world today with all the satan filled people killing and hurting others… Yes, our Great-God takes care of us, and we need to do our part… Thanks for listening…
Yes, and I finally came to understand this and I’m going to use self defense…
Exactly.
Perfect story. Thank you.
Thank you Luci for your letter and I fully understand. God is still your protector
and HE loves you deeply.
Thank You very much,
William H Smith Jr
Thank you Zee. I just finished my last E-learning course and I enjoy reviewing them
all (4) of them. Countering The Mass Shooter Threat is a great place to review the
Special Consideration for Houses of Worship, the Security, and planning the Emergency
Operations Plan. It has to have other people to agree and work together on this as one
or it will not work well. I am a part of the team and have 9mm and 10mm pistols, one at a time, and I got to meet one of my pastors that served in the NAVY and we share books and education on how to become better in security. It is going to have to go slow for others. Pastor carries as well, just trust him and learn. thank you
I don’t believe we have a security team. They’re not visible at all, if we have one. I know at least two other individuals in our congregation who carry (one is an FBI agent).
I did a lot of soul-searching before I started carrying. I read “A Time To Kill,” by Greg Hopkins. In it, Mr. Hopkins lays out excellent, biblically supported arguments in favor of carrying.
My church has received threats in the past. Our pastor is extremely visible & vocal in the community. Even though I believe we are ahead of the curve, I worry about complacency. Unfortunately, our existence has been leaked to the public. I hope that the brothers & sisters, young & old, feel safer by our presence. Most importantly, I thank GOD for His protection because we are but men & women. Truly, we have come this far by FAITH. 
Nice article in the Springfield MO paper about training church security. This features a local company that does this, but has some salient points and things to consider if you’re putting together a church security team.
Unless you everyone takes action as a team, active legally to the laws of your state, train properly ( Which many of us fall very short in this area; I have.). Everyone finds their purpose and talents, ( Not everyone uses a firearm ), and we all have very special gifts; helping and serving other people. Not all people are trained in the military or hold certifications in weaponology or special forces. You are very important and priceless; everyone.
We do have one and most of our security team is former military and retired or active law enforcement and for security measures different people are used for specific duties each week so know one can figure out a pattern
We have two churches under one name (2 locations) and about 4000 in the congregation. One location has 3 services, our newer location 1 service with about 400 people.
We have a multi-layer security system at both locations and all services and special events. Which includes paid uniformed “security”, (though they look like custodians in my mind)… in the parking areas and roaming the building to watching the doors during services.
Also, paid city uniformed deputies or local PD directing traffic between services, and also in the atrium during services. They know our next bunch of guys… We have a mix of armed and unarmed “security team” these are the sheepdogs, placed in the sanctuary in strategic positions, they blend in and no one knows they are there, many former or active military. Additionally, we have a sign in sheet for Dr’s and Nurses, so we know where they are seated in case of a medical emergency. Inside sanctuary security (usually 3), have 2 way radios with hidden ear-pieces, and also communicate through encrypted text, pointing out things to each other. One is of the team members is closer to the pastor as a personal protection, that means they are blind to most things behind them, so communications is paramount.
ALL ARE TRAINED!!!
We go through monthly training, and have specific “levels” of training, including live scenario training, where volunteers come in as the congregation, and “disturbance players”, and we will do things ranging from minor disruptions, drunk people, medical emergencies, angry father trying to get his child although unauthorized, to a full on “I’m going to kill you all” active shooter scenario! We will include live fire range training, so we know those authorized to carry are proficient.
We just did a level 2 training event last week and on an active shooter, even with me miffing my draw from seated concealed cover garment, I neutralized the threat from first ID of threat/start of draw to shots placed in 1.25 seconds according to the video. I also closed in at the same time, and trapped his gun after I had placed first shots. Still errors, but that is what training helps with. In the after action, the “shooter” said he never saw me. I actually thought he did… funny how visual and auditory exclusion works.
Our training is taught by a member who is a founder of an organization that provides many services such as close protection. He has quite the resume. including active combat in Afghanistan and with the CIA.
Overall leadership has been very accommodating knowing that the barbarians are no longer AT the gates… But are now IN the gates.
@Richard176 sounds like you’ve got an awesome plan working there! Sounds like your training program is pretty dialed-in.
And welcome to the community (a little late on my part, but welcome!)
Looks like we have an appointment, with a retired Illinois Master Sargent State Policeman. He teaches CCW, and is a very Pro-2A guy. He’s going to discuss our churches security with the security team, deacons, church staff, and department heads. Yes, I’m in that group, so I was invited to be present.