For decades, every church across the country was considered a sacred place to worship and parishioners were safe from all harm and danger. As a whole, people had reverence for their local churches, and people of all ages would show respect by being on their best behavior on church property. This reverence was taught throughout each race and nationality and was handed down from one generation to the next. Churches could leave their doors open from sunrise to sunset to allow everyone and anyone that special devotion time with God without any harm or repercussion to their staff and volunteers.
Sadly, those days are a thing of the past. As a matter of fact, we have seen amazing spikes of violence and murder in churches. In today’s world, criminals view churches as easy targets because they have very little or no security to protect their property which may include expensive items such as high-end sound equipment, an assortment of musical instruments, and multiple televisions. Robbery is not the only crime plaguing churches. Criminals are now walking into churches and committing violent crimes such as physical assault, sexual assault, and even murder. Churches in America today are also becoming targets for protesters , predators , and often terrorists . It is imperative for church leadership to realize that times have changed, and the risk of not having security in place could place people’s lives in jeopardy.
The leadership team has to make preparations for the possible threats that could come from any area of the church. Next, the leaders must be aware of the weekly church activities and have dedicated trained staff and volunteers ready to assist if needed. It would be foolish to believe all churches have the same safety concerns. The majority of churches have less than 500 members in attendance at a time. Therefore, leadership might know everyone in the congregation. Megachurches, however, are now on the rise and have 20,000, 30,000 and even 40,000 plus in weekly attendance. Thus, leaders must be pro-active and have security protocols already established before a threat against the church building, or even worse, a member occurs.
There are some churches that have security alarms to protect against burglaries and thefts; and some take the threat one step further and install surveillance cameras to see all activity both inside and outside the building. Some people might find it hard to believe that some churches even hire their own members who are current or former police officers; they also hire former military trained officers as security guards who carry guns to protect the people.
Here is a list of possible criminal activities in the church;
When leaders’ eyes are open to the possible threats against the church, changes will occur. The leadership team will seek guidance from security alarm companies to protect both the people and property . Take heed churches because we are living in perilous times!! At ATP many of our clients are churches , temples , synagogues and mosques . We can provide fire alarms , security , fire sprinklers and security cameras . Call now and take advantage of our complimentary security survey . This is real life; you need a real security company. ATP Alarms is American Total Protection.
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