Church security team

[sword]

Based on this post from Jubal Sackett "I sit in the balcony because I'm the best long range shot with a pistol on the security team" I'm wondering about other churches security plans.

We have 24 men, all who have had pistol training & have permits to carry a concealed weapon on our security team. Each applied and were approved by the pastor to join. They work in 3 man teams every service, 2 patrol the parking lot and every inch of the church building. Parameter doors except the main entrance are checked and locked, then they do the same with interior doors. The 3rd man sits at the welcome center and greets and assists late comers. All carry weapons, flash lights and have cell phones. Ours is nothing fancy, but seems to work for us.

Does your church have a security plan / team and what suggestions do you have for other churches considering such a plan?

 

[Smellin Coffee]

I wonder if churches in the NT era had such a plan of defense...

 

[subllibrm]

I wonder if churches in the NT era had such a plan of defense...

They would have needed lion rifles.

 

[subllibrm]

No one packs heat that I am aware of, at least not under the direction or authority of the church leadership. We do have several men who have an eye for things out of the ordinary, who sit in the lobby through the services to monitor things. No shootouts at Tombstone Baptist Church.

 

[Twisted]

I wonder if churches in the NT era had such a plan of defense...

No need.  No Democrats back then.

 

[Smellin Coffee]

I wonder if churches in the NT era had such a plan of defense...

No need.  No Democrats back then.

And probably the number of SS teachers, youth directors and pastors that fondle children in church was limited too.

 

[Twisted]

I wonder if churches in the NT era had such a plan of defense...

No need.  No Democrats back then.

And probably the number of SS teachers, youth directors and pastors that fondle children in church was limited too.

Right.  That's why the FFF couldn't survive back then.

 

[HeDied4U]

No one packs heat that I am aware of, at least not under the direction or authority of the church leadership. We do have several men who have an eye for things out of the ordinary, who sit in the lobby through the services to monitor things. No shootouts at Tombstone Baptist Church.

Same at my church.

 

[Tim]

Based on this post from Jubal Sackett "I sit in the balcony because I'm the best long range shot with a pistol on the security team" I'm wondering about other churches security plans.

We have 24 men, all who have had pistol training & have permits to carry a concealed weapon on our security team. Each applied and were approved by the pastor to join. They work in 3 man teams every service, 2 patrol the parking lot and every inch of the church building. Parameter doors except the main entrance are checked and locked, then they do the same with interior doors. The 3rd man sits at the welcome center and greets and assists late comers. All carry weapons, flash lights and have cell phones. Ours is nothing fancy, but seems to work for us.

Does your church have a security plan / team and what suggestions do you have for other churches considering such a plan?

Wow. I don't believe we really have anything in place at our Church like that.

We did get a defibrillator last year.

 

[Smellin Coffee]

 

[Twisted]

We did get a defibrillator last year.

You try to resuscitate them after you shoot them?

 

[Tim]

We did get a defibrillator last year.

You try to resuscitate them after you shoot them?

We pin them to  the ground and zap their nipples until they repent.

 

[Twisted]

We did get a defibrillator last year.

You try to resuscitate them after you shoot them?

We pin them to  the ground and zap their nipples until they repent.

Great idea for a new Chick tract!

 

[qwerty]

I wonder if churches in the NT era had such a plan of defense...

No need.  No Democrats back then.

And probably the number of SS teachers, youth directors and pastors that fondle children in church was limited too.

Well.... With no Democrats....

 

[ALAYMAN]

I raised this subject with my pastor last Sunday evening.  I am about to get my concealed carry, in part, for this reason.  We don't really have a "security team" but I intend to start one.   We do already have a couple of folks who are packin',  but I'd like to have an organized and systematic plan.  We don't really have enough people to form anything big, but if a worst case scenario were to occur I'd rather have the "good guy with a gun to stop a bad guy with a gun" approach fully functioning.

 

[Jubal Sackett]

I always figured that Jesus carried a Winchester!

Jubal Sackett

 

[Jubal Sackett]

I wonder if churches in the NT era had such a plan of defense...

Personally, I've always been a big fan of the Knights Templar. They were a really good idea. I also have absolutely no desire to be a martyr. To paraphrase Gen. Patton, Let the other guy be a martyr for his religion.

Jubal Sackett

 

[sword]

I like the term "Watchmen" for the church security team.

Luke 22:35-36
35 And he said unto them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing.
36 Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one.

Ezekiel 33:1-6 Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman:
3 If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people;
4 Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.
5 He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul.
6 But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand.

1 Chronicles 9:19-20 And Shallum the son of Kore, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, and his brethren, of the house of his father, the Korahites, were over the work of the service, keepers of the gates of the tabernacle: and their fathers, being over the host of the LORD, were keepers of the entry. 20And Phinehas the son of Eleazar was the ruler over them in time past, and the LORD was with him. 21And Zechariah the son of Meshelemiah was porter of the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 22All these which were chosen to be porters in the gates were two hundred and twelve.

 

[TheRealJonStewart]

I wonder if churches in the NT era had such a plan of defense...

No need, there weren't any Muslim terrorists around that time.

 

[greypilgrim]

I'll chip in the discussion.  Security, small unit tactics and using firearms in close quarters are things i am familiar with.

I will leave the decision to have an armed presence in your church up to you and your particular church.  The willingness to use force and accept the consequences (legal, moral, emotional, etc) are highly personal matters.

However, simply having a handgun is not enough.  It's miles better than dirty looks and nasty words if force is needed, but please think about the real situation for a moment.  That building will be filled with people you know, some of them close friends or family.  It behooves you to know how to properly engage a threat while at the same time minimizing risk to bystanders.  Being a "good shot" on a square range is no substitute for knowing the proper tactics and methods for moving with a drawn weapon in crowded spaces, transiting obstacles and other people while maintaining a line of attack, and a dozen other things.

I'm not saying don't do it.  I am saying get some real training specific to the real world situation you'll be faced with.  The last thing you want is to be responsible for killing or wounding a fellow church member because of lack of preparation and training.