“A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep
going and suffer for it.” (Proverbs 22:3)
It is sad to see a murder or other type of tragic incident happen
on a Sunday, especially a son shooting his father. But, this is the world today and one of the
risks that can happen at church anytime and anywhere, and why you need to be
prepared.
This is the very reason that a Church Safety and Security Plan
should be developed, and the congregation educated in carrying out the plan needed.
It should be done after a Risk Assessment is completed and approved by
the church. After making sure the plan
conforms to the requirements of the insurance company, and to the Security Team
mission statement, it should be copied for distribution to the security team to
be carried out.
An example of a security
team mission statement might read something like this: “The Security Team assists
in the magnification and multiplication of the gospel throughout community and
to the ends of the earth by good stewardship of a safe and effective worship
environment for our Sunday gatherings.”
In addition to radios and other safety and security equipment
needed, the team needs to practice the plan on a regular basis to be sure it
works. After all, without the proper
tools, the assurance by officials that the Plan meets the church’s needs and is
acceptable to their insurance carrier, and not put it into practice to be sure everyone
involved knows what to do is not a good way to start. Any program needs practice and a review, to be
sure it meets the need, so that you know you are ready to act.
The goal of the Plan and Teams should be to deter, detect &
defend from attack or disruption of services, and to be able to respond to, and
aid with, any emergencies that cannot be prevented. While 911 should be called
we have to realize, and accept, that they cannot always be counted on to get
there as quickly as they would like and we need. The church, like a business or home has to be
able to defend and care for itself until the Public Safety can arrive.
If and when a crime, natural disaster, or any other issue happens you may
have to shelter in place or evacuate to a safe area of the building. It is not always reasonable, or reliable, to
depend on others to do for us what we have to realize we may be responsible for
doing to take care of ourselves first, so we have to have the means to do this
and to be sure it works.
The Bible calls on the pastor to be the Good Shepherd who takes
care to provide for and protect the flock that the Lord has guided and provided
them. If the pastor and church don’t try
to do their very best to provide for the safety and security of the flock, by
being ready and able to act, then they have not met the obligation that the
Lord has given them.
Be safe!
Integrity Security Consulting
Russ Sharrock
405-762-2471 |
integrityseccon@hotmail.com
I have developed and made available to anyone interested, for FREE, a series of Security & safety forms that can
be printed for your use:
1) A Safety & Security Risk Assessment Form
2) Church Security Plan Template
3) Church Emergency Plan Template
4) A General Fire Safety Checklist
5) A Bomb Threat Checklist
6) A Bomb Threat Distance Chart: Includes various types of
explosive devises and to be referred to in an event of a bomb threat
evacuation. These are minimum distances to evacuate away from the area of
explosion.
7) Facility Lockdown Checklist
8) Child Protection Covenant
These MS Word documents can be adapted as necessary to fit your
church size and needs. I will be adding new forms as time allows.
For a copy of any of these FREE
forms, or if you have any questions, contact me and let me know what your needs
are.
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