Five Things to Consider When Evaluating Your Church's Security Practices

It's always a good time to review/evaluate your church's security practices. Is your church ready for anything? Can you protect the senior pastor and everyone else should somebody decide to do something stupid?

Here are a few things to consider:

1. Be Intentional - The first step is to raise the awareness of the staff and key volunteers. Everyone must understand the threat.
2. Preparation - As the story illustrates, literally anything can happen. Is your church ready? As you probably know by now, I'm highly in favor of a volunteer security team.
3. Procedures - At a minimum, your church should have a procedure in place for emergency evacuation and "lockdown and search" in the event of a lost child. What is the step-by-step procedure in the event of an intruder who intends harm to a person or the church as a whole?
4. Local Law Enforcement - It's important to have a relationship with local law enforcement. They should know who you are and, in general, what's happening at your church.
5. Firearm Policy - Does your church have a firearm policy? Are off-duty police officers attending your church encouraged to carry while on your campus? Are others authorized/encouraged to carry? Would an armed intruder be unpleasantly surprised?