Church security team...

[tRidiot]

Good on you.

We have a team, and we have paid off-duty law enforcement at every service. We have a meeting scheduled in a couple of weeks, though, and I think we need to take things a little more seriously.

 

[MilitantBEEMER]

Good on you for working to improve the safety of your church congregation. I can imagine it would be difficult to convince many that it is needed. Many have been guilted into believing that they are lacking in faith if they turn to a firearm for protection. Best wishes.

 

[osupoke]

I have been a member of our church security team for a couple of years. Couple of ideas:

A Time to Kill: The Bible and Self Defense, by Greg Hopkins, is an excellent read. If you can convince anyone to read it, you might get some traction. That's a long shot, but if you read it you might pick up some good talking points.

Also, I would say don't be afraid to start small. Our team pretty much started as one man, then several eventually joined. Many were not even armed, but were just "eyes and ears" with radios. Several in the congregation were leery at first, but eventually got used to seeing the earpieces. We are well accepted now, and are even thanked for what we do. It has just taken time.

That being said, you may have to start as a very small team (maybe even just you). If you make the congregation aware that you are taking up the mantle, I suspect that eventually others will get used to the idea, then eventually join you.

 

[CorpsVet]

I've went to church with these same women for 30 years. The one that's married to the 40 year old has already told me how she feels about guns and my oldest daughter would carry if I asked her to. But yeah, I know the women of my congregation don't want nothing to do with firearms.

So, in other words, it's an assumption

 

[okierider]

So, in other words, it's an assumption

I think he is pretty clear on the 15 or so women in his church are like family and he knows them..............

 

[Glock 'em down]

So, in other words, it's an assumption

Yeah, I guess so. We are very old school. I wouldn't feel right asking the women to pick up a weapon and help.

 

[TerryMiller]

Roughly about 10 years or so ago, I was part of the security team at our church. At least two of us were armed and sat/stood in the lobby/foyer of our church. When church services started, one of us made the rounds of the doors with access from the outside and locked them all. This effort began right after 9/11 and it still continues. However, we are a church of around 300, and I have no idea how many of the congregation are armed.

A friend expressed concern that anyone other than "hired" security would act as security for a church and whether their actions to stop an intruder would even be legal. I visited with one in our church today who is still on the security team and is also an attorney. He stated that a firearm is simply an "extension" of one's hand and arm. If one would be willing to use one's hand and arm to disarm or disable a dangerous intruder, then using the firearm would simply be likely to be considered as "legal."

By all means, any that consider doing such a job need to watch that video of the guy that critiqued the shooting at the West Freeway Church of Christ in White Settlement, TX. In talking with my attorney friend today, we discussed that. Our "read" was that the guy that pulled his weapon when the intruder stood up and showed a weapon was in the wrong place. Granted, he was behind the intruder in the church, but he wasn't close enough to the guy. If he had been seated immediately behind the "suspicious" attendee, he might have been able to disarm the guy instead of being too far away and being a target himself. In my view, he died for that mistake.

All that said, I can fully understand GED's church problem. I've been a member of churches with that small of a membership and getting sufficient enough people for a security team can be difficult. However, remember that the guy that stopped the shooting mentioned above is probably in that 60+ age range, so don't rule out the older guys.

 

[donner]

Yeah, I guess so. We are very old school. I wouldn't feel right asking the women to pick up a weapon and help.

again, respectfully, they are targets whether you feel good asking or not. It should be their choice.

 

[SPDguns]

I'm on my church "safety" team (security is too scary for the little old ladies plus it has a legal connotation that's bad) and I do presentations to churches on the subject on behalf of my PD. One of the biggest obstacles is the older parishioners who say "Jesus will protect us form harm". My response to them: If Jesus is busy across the street with the Episcopalians, the preacher better have a Glock....

Check these guys out, I've been to a couple of their seminars. .http://okcsn.blogspot.com/

 

[Hangfire]

Just turned 70 yesterday and when I was growing up you never heard of armed security in churches, cops walking the halls in schools or in malls......seems like times have really changed since I was a pup and not for the better.