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Every Church Needs These Safety and Security Features

By charlie worley
 Never assume your church building is a safe and secure place. For example, in a church where I was serving as an interim pastor, we had a sheriff's deputy come and do a safety check of our facilities. I'll never forget what he said about the possibility of an active shooter coming to the church. Here's what he said: "It's not a matter of IF it will happen here, but WHEN." He offered some very practical suggestions to our church leadership after a tour of the building. Here are some suggestions for you and your church to make your people and facilities safer.

     Never assume your church building is a safe and secure place. For example, in a church where I was serving as an interim pastor, we had a sheriff's deputy come and do a safety check of our facilities. I'll never forget what he said about the possibility of an active shooter coming to the church. Here's what he said: "It's not a matter of IF it will happen here, but WHEN." He offered some very practical suggestions to our church leadership after a tour of the building. Here are some suggestions for you and your church to make your people and facilities safer.

     Do annual criminal background checks on all church staff, children's ministry, and youth ministry teachers and workers.

     Provide annual safety and first aid training including CPR and AED use for all staff and ministry workers.

     Provide active shooter training for church staff, teachers, and leaders at least three to four times a year.

     If your church has any active duty or retired law enforcement or military personnel, recruit them to be part of your church's security team.  Some churches want qualified people who fit this description to carry their handguns with them to church in case of an emergency.

     Place first aid kits and AEDs in prominent places around the building with signs indicating their location.

     Identify rooms where people can go if there is a tornado or severe weather warning, and post signs where those rooms are.

     Churches need a building evacuation plan in the event of a fire, gas leak, or earthquake. And pastors and church leaders need to be trained to implement the plan.

     Place nursery and very young children's rooms where they are not visible from entrances to your building.

     Train security guards and have them at every worship service.

     Develop a fire escape plan for your building and post directions around the facilities.

     Provide several fire extinguishers around your building.

     Have two or more qualified adults in every nursery and children's rooms.

     Designate the back seats in your auditorium for families or single parents with special needs children or infants.

     Put glass windows in all church office doors.

     Develop church policies for reporting and investigating accusations of misconduct or inappropriate behavior by pastors,  staff, teachers, workers, or classmates.

     Every week, thoroughly clean and disinfect all nursery and children's equipment and rooms.

     Provide several prominent places around your building where hand sanitizer dispensers are available.

     Some churches have chosen to lock the entrances to the church building 10 minutes after a worship service begins provided people can open the locked entrance doors from the inside. In such cases, post someone at the entrance to let people in if they are late to a service. And, explain to the congregation when and why the church is doing this.

     If possible, designate and equip at least two safe rooms in the church building where people can quickly go if someone is threatening the safety of the congregation.

     Train the ushers or security personnel of the church on what to do if someone interrupts a service or class in a threatening manner.

     Develop and apply a biblical church policy for what to do if someone with an LGBTQ+ orientation wants to attend, join, or serve in your church.

     Special trips for children or youth should always have at least two or more qualified adult sponsors.

     Nursery or children's classes need at least two qualified adults in the room at all times.

     If you have a permanent building, invite the fire department to come and tour your facilities offering any suggestions for safety.

     Have appropriate church leaders conduct an annual tour of your facilities to survey and evaluate your church's safety and security.

     Make sure your church has a sufficient insurance policy that covers its safety and security.

     What would you add to this list?

[Photo by Piotr Chrobot on Unsplash]