Church Safety & Security – A Biblical Perspective

In an increasingly unsafe world, people are seeking safety and security.  Armies face each other across vast deserts, nations arm themselves with nuclear weapons, and radical ideologies endanger millions.  Closer to home, we face threats to our safety and that of our families every day.  The Bible has much to say about safety, both physical and spiritual.

Leviticus 25:18–19; 26:3–5; Deuteronomy 12:10)  When God’s people turned away from Him and followed other gods, their safety was threatened, and the result was disaster.  The ups and downs recorded in the book of Judges clearly link ancient Israel’s national safety to their obedience to God’s Word.

In the Old Testament, God promised the Israelites that they would dwell in the land in safety if they obeyed His commandments. (See

The Hebrew word translated “beh'takh” or safety in the Old Testament means “a place of refuge; security, confidence, hope.”  Proverbs 18:10 describes the name of the Lord as a strong tower into which the righteous run and find safety.  Safety also involves trusting in the Lord.  According to Proverbs 29:25, “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe.”

Let’s look now at the story of the watchman in Ezekiel 33:1-9.  “The word of the Lord came to me: Son of man, speak to your people and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword against a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their watchman, and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not heed the warning and the sword comes and takes their life, their blood will be on their own head. Since they heard the sound of the trumpet but did not heed the warning, their blood will be on their own head. If they had heeded the warning, they would have saved themselves. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes someone’s life, that person’s life will be taken because of their sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood.’ “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to the wicked, ‘You wicked person, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade them from their ways, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. But if you do warn the wicked person to turn from their ways and they do not do so, they will die for their sin, though you yourself will be saved. “

Israel has always had many enemies and historically the city of Jerusalem, and many other great cities in those days, had thick high walls around the entire city for protection.  For example, we read in scripture about the walls surrounding Babylon and the great walls of Jericho.  The watchmen were guards who would stand upon the walls of Jerusalem and in the towers and lookout upon the land.

The Hebrew word for watchman is tsaphah and it has the meaning: to lean forward, to peer into the distance; by implication means to observe, behold, spy out...  So they would be in their towers and on the walls and would literally be peering forward, looking out into the distance, on the watch for messengers, unusual activity, or most importantly, any sign of an enemy or approaching army.  A very, very important job!  With that in mind, why then, would God not make us a watchman for His people today?  By having a church security team in place, you are giving warning that you are prepared to take action if, or when necessary.  If you took this scripture alone as the foundation for having a church security team it is more than enough.

Now, let’s take a look at what Jesus said to the disciples in Luke 22:36; He said to them, “But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you do not have sword, sell your cloak and buy one.”

The disciples were Jesus’ closest friends here on earth.  Before we go on, it is important to understand that a sword was the firearm of the day.  And so Jesus told His disciples to make sure they had protection for themselves.  Why in the world would Jesus tell them to do that?  Because Jesus knew that the world they were going to go and preach the Gospel, was not a safe place.

Psalm 94:16 asks the question, “Who rises up for me against the wicked? Who stands up for me against evildoers?

Any man that does not provide protection for his own family, is not a man.  Protecting yourself is an individual responsibility.  But protecting one’s family is a man’s responsibility given to him by God.  You will meet resistance at all levels in the church when it comes to church security.  The main reason for the resistance, is due to pure ignorance in what God’s word actually says.  Yes, even by pastors, elders, or other leaders of the church.  Just because people do not see the need, does not negate the need.  Simply because your pastor or elders and deacons do not acknowledge the need for church security, does not mean that God has relieved your church of that responsibility!

People tend to say things like, “God will protect us.”  While we believe that God can and may do that, it may come in the form of being ready to protect yourselves.  Again, David did not slay Goliath with just prayer and faith.  David picked up a rock and took action.  Did God help David’s aim?  That is very likely true.  But the point is that David did not just sit down to pray and wait on God to strike down Goliath.  Instead, David prayed for God’s strength and deliverance as he ran on to the battlefield and met Goliath head on; trusting God to help him defeat this giant of a man. (See 1 Samuel 17:32-51)

Too many times we sit and wait when we should be taking action.  God will guide our paths, but we have to do the walking.  He does not make us take each step.  Rather, that is up to us to do that.  Why then, is protecting the church any different?  James 2:17 says that, “In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”  In Joshua 7:12-17 we find that when it was time to cross the Jordan to enter the land of Canaan, which God had promised the Israelites, nothing happened until the Priest’s feet touched the water’s edge in faith, then the river was divided and they were able to cross on dry land.

You can have all the faith in the world, but if you do not take action on that faith, then you really do not have faith.  With that in mind, if you have faith and you do not have a professionally trained church security team in place to protect your flock, then you are a hypocrite.  You see, we cannot pick and choose what parts of the Bible we want to live by.

One of the main issues with Christianity today is that we have made it American.  God is not American. He is not confined by the way we think.  God operates on His standards, not ours.  If you look throughout the Old Testament, there is plenty of bloodshed.  That bloodshed, for the most part, was done by the hands of humans.  That means men, obedient men, had to take responsibility and action.  God did not “just” kill the enemy.  

Most people will agree that having law enforcement and military is a real need.  How is it that you think that those are necessary, but you don’t believe for a second that church security is necessary? People these days, are all about putting the responsibility of their own protection on someone else. And, most of the time, that someone else is God.  This way of thinking is a poor one to have as a Christian.  Why do you have a job if God is just going to provide?  The reality of it is, that God expects us to do our part.  And in the case of having a church security team in place, that is our job to implement.

The New Testament does not ignore physical safety.  Jesus spoke of carrying a sword for protection (See Luke 22:36), and Paul was kept safe from those who would harm him physically on several occasions. (See Acts 9:25; 17:10; 19:30; 23:10)  However, the New Testament focuses more on spiritual safety, i.e., salvation.  Jesus and the New Testament writers had a great deal to say about being saved.  Spiritual safety is found in only one place—faith in the shed blood of Christ in payment for our sin and in His resurrection. (See John 3:17; Acts 2:21; 4:12; Romans 10:9; Ephesians 2:8)

Jesus came into the world to provide spiritual safety and eternal security to all who would believe in Him.  The need for physical safety pales in comparison to the universal need for spiritual safety.  One may be in great danger in this world of physical harm and still have the assurance of an eternity of security in heaven.  We fear not those who can only harm the body yet never touch the soul (see Matthew 10:28).

Unfortunately, many are deceived into thinking that true security is provided by the things of the world—money, comforts, position, or power.  But the safety these things provide is temporary and fleeting.  Riches “…will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky...” (Proverbs 23:5)  Nothing is sure in this world.  “The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all.” (Ecclesiastes 9:11)  No worldly foundation can provide spiritual security in heaven.  

Paul spoke of a time to come when the Lord will return to earth. At that time, those who trust in anything other than Christ will find they have no peace or safety, “For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.” (1 Thessalonians 5:2–3)

Where does that leave us?  At the end of the day, we have to trust the Lord and live in faith, not fear.  We live in a world groaning and broken under the weight of sin where evil knows where to find and harm the good.  Yet despite this, scripture consistently calls us to not be afraid.  We must remember that God is sovereign, all powerful, and loves us. (See Isaiah 41:10)

We must be wise and decisive and, in all our actions, we must reject fear.  Our fear says that we control all things, whereas God’s Word reminds us that he is sovereign.  So as we begin to think through how to keep our people safe, we should begin with the reminder that our hope is secure in God. (See Hebrews 13:6)


Be Safe!

Russ Sharrock


I have made available to anyone interested a FREE series of Do-it-Yourself forms that can be printed for your use:

1) A Safety & Security Risk Assessment form.

2) Church Emergency Plan Template

3) General Fire Safety Checklist

4) A Bomb Threat Checklist

5) A Bomb Threat Distance chart for various types of explosive devises to be referred to in the event of a bomb threat evacuation.  These are minimum distances to evacuate away from the area of blast.

They’re Word documents so you can make any changes necessary to fit your church size and needs.  I will be adding new forms as time allows. 

For a copy of any of the Do-it-Yourself forms, or if you have any questions, you can contact me at: integritysecconslt@mail.com