The need for Church Security + Safety is on the rise with incidents regularly occurring across the United States. Therefore, it is important that every Church starts taking measures to ensure their congregation is protected for all types of Security and Safety incidents. This is why we encourage and help implement an approach that is Proactive + Intentional + Well Rounded. However, before we begin to explain our approach, we need to discuss the actual definition of Church Security + Safety.
When you hear Church Security, what is the first thing that comes to mind? For many Churches and people, a gunman or intruder situation is typically the initial connotation. But, Church Safety is much more than that single incident. It should include: Children's check-in, offering procedures, medical emergencies, missing child, inclement weather, office weekday operations, service disruptions, background checks, and much more. Like stated above, our philosophy is that Church Security should be Proactive + Intentional + Well Rounded.
Understanding what Church Security should encompass allows us to better understand our approach. In every single congregation, we start with a Site Consultation/Assessment. Every Church is different from their layout/campus to Sunday procedures to the overall operations and ministries. It is important for a consultant to have a strong understanding of your specific needs rather than listening to blanketed recommendation online or even at a conference. Once the Assessment is complete, you will receive a 12-15 page report highlighting all of our conversation and providing detailed recommendations. Then we have a follow up meeting to discuss the report and develop a strategic plan to grow this Ministry. Typically the next steps include: creating a written Critical Incident Management Plan, in at least a Flip Book format and we conduct an Insurance Review to assess your liability in any event. Then we move into conducting Trainings tailored to your needs and Church. There are a multitude of training's that can be offered but the most popular include: Church Security Overview, Beyond a Shooting, Layers of Protection, and Civilian Response to Active Shooter.
Overall, it is important to know and understand that each Church is unique and a one size fits all approach simply does not work. We would love to connect and learn about your specific Church and/or Private School and help develop this Ministry.