Why Your Church Needs a Safety Team
The topic of church safety and security has been a growing concern for the last few years. Nationally publicized attacks on churches such as Sutherland Springs and Lakewood Church, growing polarization of our country, and the politicization of first responder agencies and their training has led to concerns about the safety of our once sacred institutions. Building a well-trained, proficient church safety team provides a peace of mind to the congregation that there is someone there protecting them at all times ready to respond to any type of emergency.
Attacks on Churches
Recent years have seen a steadily growing number of churches being the victims of targeted attacks, vandalism, and mental health outbursts. While this truly is nothing new, the media publicization of it is. Negative attention in the media, and a still recovering trust post-Covid are causing church-goers concern over the safety of church attendance.
Increased prevalence of mental health illnesses have also contributed to a rise in church violence incidents. Churches are seen as beacons of hope for those that are desperate. They actively reach out to the needy, underserved, and downtrodden in obedience to our calling by Jesus. These acts of service, though noble and much needed, leave churches vulnerable to increasingly violent and disgruntled populations. Services that were once revered and appreciated are now demanded, expected, and leave participating church patrons exposed.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/14/us/lakewood-church-shooting-joel-osteen-texas/index.html
Polarization of America
America is becoming polarized to a degree not seen since Vietnam. There are two distinct and widely separate sets of beliefs that receive all of the media attention. There is no compromise anymore. I am right, you are wrong, and I’ll do what it takes to prove it to you has become a recurring thought process in American society. This is evidenced by the growing prevalence of violent protests on both sides of the political spectrum. Each side is becoming more and more extreme.
As such, churches are viewed by opposing factions as representative of the very people they vehemently disagree with. This paints a giant target on the back of religious institutions.
Politicization of Emergency Services
One of the biggest victims of the growing discord in American society are municipal emergency services. Defunding of the police, DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) initiatives, staffing shortages, and lowering of hiring and training standards have resulted in understaffed, underappreciated, and poorly trained first responders.
While the population has become more and more dependent on police, fire, and EMS the quality of services has dramatically dropped around the country. Response times have increased, provided services have decreased, and the preparedness of the individual responder falls more on them than the institution they work for. Police receive less and less department provided firearms and use of force training. Tactics and problem solving are replaced by strict SOPs (standard operating procedures) and policies that result in responders being fired for any deviation. The unfortunate result of all this is that safety and security of the population is falling more on the individual and the institutions (churches, business, etc.) that they are a part of.
A Solution
There is no single solution to this kaleidoscope of problems. However, churches can continue to be a light in the darkness by doing everything they can to become safe places for people to worship or get help. This is done by building a trained, coordinated church safety program or ministry.
When people walk into a church and see professional looking, friendly, competent volunteers from within their own congregation who are known to be the protectors of the church they feel a sense of peace and comfort. They are able to worship unconstrained by the worries of “what-if”. This is what you want as a church.
This is why you need a church safety team if you don’t already have one.
