Protecting Your Church
By: Raymond R. Lewis and Eddie L. Moye

We leave our homes with our families Sunday morning on our way to church. Depending on your particular church, you pull into the parking lot. You park your vehicle and go inside and participate in the worship service. As soon as the tithes and offerings have been given, approximately half a dozen masked gunmen rush into your church with precision and take the offerings from the usher. As quickly as they came in, they rush out. The entire ordeal occurred in less than 45 seconds. The gunmen all pile into an old grayish colored van that has no license plate on it and speeds off.

No one was physically injured accept the usher who had the tithes and offerings taken out of his hands. This act was so frightening to everyone in the church that an elderly woman collapsed and went immediately into cardiac arrest.

Amidst the fear, confusion and heartache, someone called 911. An ambulance arrived first and transported the elderly woman to the hospital. About 10 police vehicles arrived, and about 20 officers exit the vehicles and begin an investigation. Some people were crying, some were afraid, some were angry and some were praying. The aftermath was very confusing.

By the time the police completed their questioning and investigating, the time of the church service had past by three hours and the realization of being victimized in your church sets in. You begin to ask yourself, will this happen again and will I ever feel safe in that or any church ever again? What, if anything, could I or the church have done to prevent this?

Later, you go home and you think about this ordeal during the week. As you tell friends and neighbors about what happened, they all seem to have a story to tell you about a crime that occurred in their church or a church somewhere else in town. Maybe this is hard for you to believe because you’ve never heard about this before, but it is true.

Are you still asking why a church would need security?

What image comes to mind when you think of a specific type of crime committed against the church? For many people, the first thought that comes to mind is usually the crime of arson. Images of a little church located in a rural area of a Southern state being burned to the ground are the first thoughts that many of us have. With the recent burning of 10 churches in Alabama, it is certainly understandable how someone would have that thought.

While the crime of arson is a very real threat to churches not only in the Deep South but all over the United States, the focus here is to look at all crimes committed against the
church. Our hope is to bring awareness to church leaders about the importance of enhancing security for not only the protection of the church building, but also the safety of staff and members who make up that church, as well as securing the assets of the church. The book of Nehemiah provides the spiritual blueprint for protecting God’s people and his assets.

Churches of just about every size and denomination have historically been a place where hurting souls go to seek comfort during times of trouble. They are a place where practicing Christians go each week to be fed with the word of God and to connect with other Christians. The doors were always open just about any day of the week for those seeking spiritual guidance, emotional support or financial assistance. Unfortunately, in more recent times and with increasing frequency, this open environment has also been seen as an opportunity by the criminal minded who exploit the church’s lax security to commit a multitude of criminal acts, ranging from murder to vandalism and everything in between.

In this year alone, violent crimes such as murder, rape and robbery have occurred against church employees or members at various churches throughout the United States, while less violent property crimes such as burglary, theft and vandalism are more the norm and occur with much more frequency. The state of Tennessee has been especially hit hard with multiple homicides occurring at churches in the Memphis and Nashville area this year.

As previously stated, property crimes such as burglary, theft and vandalism occur with much more regularity. The number of incidents are too numerous to report, but suffice it to say that property crimes are occurring at churches throughout the United States. These incidents include such crimes as vehicle thefts and break-ins as well as theft of church property to include musical instruments, sound equipment, computers and religious artifacts. Those who burglarize churches have been known to damage property by painting derogatory racist words and religious symbols on walls, leaving running water to overflow the facility and breaking windows. Many of these acts are considered hate crimes by law enforcement, which brings a much more serious penalty if a suspect is ultimately arrested and convicted for his crime.

However, not all crimes committed against the church are hate crimes. To be considered a hate crime, law enforcement officials must be able to establish the reason the crime was committed was due in whole or in part to the race or religion of the victim. Random acts of violence or property crimes that do not fall into the category of a hate crime are reported by the type of crime committed. The fact that a crime occurred at a church may have no relevance for the purpose law enforcement statistical gathering if it can not be classified as a hate crime. The actual number of crimes committed at churches each year is most likely unknown and under-reported.

Most crimes committed against the church are crimes of opportunity, meaning that circumstances make the church an easy target for criminals. As an example, during the day, the church is left open with only one or two staff on site. At night, the lighting is substandard, and maybe a door or window is left unlocked. Keys from previous employees or volunteers are unaccounted for.

All of these types of security breaches make the church vulnerable to the criminal opportunist. Drug addicts are most certainly aware that churches leave the doors to the sanctuary open during the day. They are also keenly aware that Mondays are typically a day off for pastors. Therefore, on any given Monday, the church may have only a limited number of staff on the premises, and those staff members may be all females. This means that items, like musical instruments, can be easily stolen and then sold to support a drug habit.

Likewise, any church staff members and volunteers are vulnerable to physical attack for these same reasons. Many churches do not have written security policies that clearly establish a minimum number of employees and/or volunteers that shall be on the grounds at all times. Many churches allow their church secretary to oftentimes work alone. The problem is that many attackers target churches for the same reason the drug addict does, and they know that on any given day of the week the church has a limited number of personnel at the facility. Scam artist, sexual predators and the mentally disturbed have been known to target churches because staff members often work alone or in small numbers.

Churches should have written policy with respect to how small groups and other ministries that use the church during the evening depart the facility. Recently, a female choir member was raped as she walked alone to her car following the midweek rehearsal.

What can churches do to better protect their property, employees and assets? First, the single most important change that must occur is for all church leaders to become proactive toward security. Unfortunately, most church leaders tend to be reactive, waiting until an incident has occurred and then making a conscious decision to make security changes. The problem with this approach is civil liability. Your church could face the devastation of a costly lawsuit if negligence can be established.

Second, the church should designate a specific pastor with the responsibility of being coordinator over the security ministry. This includes developing a security team if your church does not already have one. Individuals in the church with current or prior law enforcement or security experience should be sought out.

Third, the policies that govern the practices of the security team, staff and volunteers should be placed in writing in the form of a security manual. This will allow the church to maintain consistency in practices as your coordinator and team members change. Those

practices should be reviewed annually or as events arise to ensure that the best practices are being utilized.

Recent church crimes committed across our nation include two men defrauding elderly church members of more than $550 million dollars over more than 10 years, a Kansas church experiencing two fires in less than one year, and crosses burned in front of a Miami church and expletives against God were spray painted on nearby vehicles.

Can you do a better job of protecting your church?

Raymond R. Lewis and Eddie L. Moye are with RL Security Solutions, www.rlsecuritysolutions.com.