Protecting the flock

Security experts teach churches how to deal with violence, safety concerns

People comfort one another after a 2007 shooting at New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colo. that killed two.
People comfort one another after a 2007 shooting at New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colo. that killed two.

Joel Humphrey thought his church had a solid security plan. But when he and fellow safety team members from Crossgate Church in Hot Springs attended a Sheepdog Seminar for Churches in Texas last year, he realized they had a lot of work to do.

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AP file photo

Bullet holes riddled the entryway of the New Life Church after a gunman entered the building in December 2007. Similar incidents have prompted many churches to form security teams.

"It just blows your mind what you don't think of," he said. "We talked all the way back from Dallas."

In addition to improving their own safety team, Humphrey said, the group agreed they needed to share the information with as many churches as possible. They were already receiving several calls a week from nearby churches asking for information about their safety ministry and how it works, but the seminar made them realize they needed to do more to help.

"This is God saying, 'You guys need to do something.' This information needs to get out there," Humphrey said.

The church will host a Sheepdog Seminar for Churches on Feb. 7. Pastors, church staff and others concerned about violence in public places are invited to attend. Cost is $99 per person. The seminar will run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The program will feature a talk by retired Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, executive director of Sheepdog Seminars Group International, as well as Carl Chinn and Jimmy Meeks.

On Dec. 9, 2007, Chinn was at New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colo., when a gunman opened fire, killing two people. Chinn was one of those who actively engaged the shooter as the emergency unfolded. It wasn't his first violent encounter at a faith-based facility. In 1996, he was also a responder during a hostage situation at Focus on the Family.

Meeks, a native of El Dorado who now is a police officer in Hurst, Texas, has been in law enforcement for 33 years. He has led about 100 seminars on church security since 2009. His specialty is helping churches be prepared for acts of violence.

According to an FBI study of "active shooter" incidents in the United States between 2000-2013, six incidents occurred at houses of worship. The bureau defines an active shooter as "an individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a confined and populated area." Twenty-one people were killed and 27 wounded, with half of the incidents occurring on a Sunday.

But those statistics don't take into account other acts of violence at houses of worship, including sexual assault or incidents involving intruders, domestic quarrels, burglaries, arson or other emergency situations.

The FBI offers a guide for houses of worship interested in developing an emergency operations plan, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security also offers resources for conducting a security assessment of facilities. Seminars like the one offered at Crossgate Church are another way for churches to find out more about security.

Meeks said he'll talk about why churches and faith-based organizations need to be concerned about safety issues.

"The problem churches have is they think because there's a steeple on top it has some special protection, when in fact Scripture shows that's not true and statistics blow that theory out of the water," he said. "We have to move beyond this mentality that nothing bad can happen."

Alluding to the shooting at New Life Church that killed two sisters, he said, "Who thinks on the way to church that you are going home with half of your children being murdered?"

Meeks said he and Chinn will talk about what happened at New Life Church and the lessons the staff learned. The goal is to get churches to think about the unthinkable.

"You've got to start training," Meeks said. "We are in a season of violence."

Humphrey, who also has a background in law enforcement, said most safety issues in houses of worship don't involve violence. There are medical emergencies, custodial parent issues and personal conflicts. If the church has a day care, that creates all sorts of safety concerns, as well.

"It runs the whole gamut," Humphrey said. "If you don't have a plan when something bad happens, that's your plan -- blind panic."

Humphrey said the need for security extends beyond Sundays.

"We've had people walk in our church during the week and walk through the whole campus looking around," he said. "Jimmy [Meeks] is big on controlling access to your administrative areas. Our church is newer and it's easier to limit access but some of the older churches you come in and you are right there in front of the secretary. What if she is there by herself or she and the pastor are the only two there?"

Humphrey said church staff need to know what to do when situations arise and he hopes the seminar will provide them with some direction.

"We want to give people the benefit of what we went through so they don't have to start from scratch like we did," he said. "If you make a mistake in this business it can be very costly, not only monetarily, but the impact on victims or if somebody is hurt or injured. Most churches, larger ones, have insurance and it will pay, but you can't give somebody money and restore their psyche after they've been molested or held hostage.

"It pays to be prepared."

Jon Hodoway, owner of Nighthawk Custom Training Academy in Centerton, offers security training for churches and individuals. He also teaches in symposiums around the country and has seen a steady increase in interest from churches in recent years.

"I would say that church security training has gone from being something we don't talk about to pretty much mainstream," he said. "People really want to know: Is this being looked at? Am I safe?"

Hodoway said he tells church leaders to first look at the personality of their congregation and what they want to accomplish. Because each congregation is different, the goals and plans for each will differ. Some are willing to have a heavier security presence than others.

He also said the security team must be willing to take on the task -- one that is often uncomfortable.

"I call it the ministry of no. Once you start doing security your job is to tell people, 'I'm sorry you can't do that.' You need someone prepared to do the ministry of no," he said. "Are you really ready to walk this journey? You are about to find out things about the people you are going to church with, and you are never going to look at church the same again. So-and-so is getting a divorce and they are fighting over this, or so-and-so is a sex offender. You get into a lot of things that are not ministry related."

Hodoway said he urges churches to look at the layers of security around the church -- or circles, as he calls them. The first is the parking lot and outer grounds, the second is the entryway or vestibule and the third is the classrooms and the worship area. He said the goal is to defuse situations before trouble starts, preferably stopping it at the outer circle.

"But if someone is there to do violence, force might be necessary and it must be immediate," he said.

Hodoway said that when working with church security teams, he trains some to use firearms, some in self-defense tactics and some to be screeners -- those who look for potential problems. Finding the right people for the team is key, he said.

"You are looking for someone not working on their authority issues. You want someone with heart to serve and who will know that force is not needed most of the time," he said. "Once you've got that, retaining those people is really tough because you are asking them to serve in church in a way that's not typical ministry and in a way that's not really rewarding -- people screaming at you in the parking lot and a teacher who's also offended and now everybody is mad at you when you are done. It's a pretty thankless job and pretty high attrition rate in doing that."

Registration for the Sheepdog Seminar for Churches at Crossgate Church, 3100 E. Grand Ave., Hot Springs, is available online at arkansassheepdog.com. Information about Nighthawk Custom Training Academy is available online at nighthawkcustomtraining.com.

Religion on 01/17/2015

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